Children of the cocoa plantation

Image Source

  Chibuke was a 11-year-old boy, living with his mum, dad and elder brother, Mojisola. Mojisola was 13 years old. The two brothers had a strong bond and loved each other very much. Chibuke and Mojisola spent most of their time together, collecting wood and capturing little animals. Chibuke and his family lived out of the city, deep into the jungle. It was secluded. The father wanted to live here due to Brazilian cocoa plantation owners abducting children and families.   

  Unfortunately, human traffickers stumbled upon Chibuke and his family. They were immediately chained and taken to the dock. There were approximately 50 ships. As they approach the ship, Chibuke’s mum was sent to a different ship. His dad tried to retaliate and was beaten unconscious and loaded onto another ship. The young brothers became bewildered witnessing the separating and the beating of their father. It was heart breaking to see the traffickers rip families apart.   

  Chibuke and Mojisola were made to stand in a line with other children. The girls were separated from the boys. Each child had a number placed around their necks, and were then loaded onto another ship with only children. The ships began to sail into the sea. It was really cramped inside the ships and there was no proper sanitation or food. Many of the little ones had died during the journey. Sadly, Chibuke and Mojisola’s father had succumbed to his wounds and died during the journey.    

  There was two days before the ship docks into Brazil. The traffickers got the news that they had exceeded the limit on the number of slaves brought in. The captain of the ship, who was also the owner of the cocoa plantation, ordered to throw more than half of the children into the ocean. Chibuke and Mojisola ran to the back of the ship and were spared.   

Image Source

  They finally reached their destination, Brazil Bahia. The boys were immediately sent to the cocoa plantation. They were given machetes and were taught to cut down the cocoa plant. The boys began to cut, they were exhausted and could not go on. As soon as they stopped, they felt a striking pain, the owner of the plantation began to whip them.      

  They were locked in a small room with many other young boys. The conditions were bad and they were given corn paste to eat. They were warned about trying to escape, there will be severe consequences. The other young boys explained to them that they could get killed. Chibuke and Mojisola did not accept their terrible fate and decided to escape at night.     

  Mojisola and Chibuke were very thin and managed to squeeze through the gate. Unfortunately, the boys were caught immediately. The owner of the plantation wanted to make an example for the boys. He demonstrated the punishment in front of all the captured children. He lashed the boys over and over until there was nothing left on their backs. Mojisola and Chibuke were no more. The children were terrified and heart broken.      

 The owner of the plantation went to bed the next evening. He was awakened by the screams of Mojisola and Chibuke. When his eyes opened, he saw the two boys standing in his room. He started screaming. His wife quickly woke him up and said to him, he was having a nightmare. A few weeks has passed since the boy’s demise and the owner of the plantation continued having nightmares.  

  Time had passed and the cocoa plantation was not doing well. He was not harvesting a successful crop. The owner decided to go on the ship back to Angola to bring more slaves. The journey to Africa would be his last. On the ship, he could hear the sound of little feet running and there were no children on board. At night, he would see Chibuke and Mojisola in his bedroom, staring at him.      

  When he looked into the ocean, he could see all the children that he drowned in the water calling him. He felt he was losing his mind and so did his helpers. The ship did not reach Angola. It mysteriously shipwrecked and there were no survivors. His body washed up ashore, covered in little child bites and scratchers.     

  Some say, you can still hear the cries of Chibuke and Mojisola in the cocoa plantation…       

Image Source