I PRAY FOR VENEZUELA

    Seven years ago when I came to this country, it was nothing like I had ever seen before. Wonderful people, peaceful country, happy people, abundance of food, they had everything. Venezuela was a complete epitome of a land where milk and honey flows, I prayed everyday for my country to be like Venezuela. Venezuela was a country where you could not distinguish between the poor and the rich because both had equal access and opportunities. Free healthcare,free education for all, electricity twenty four hours a day, good roads even in the innermost​ parts of the country and the quality of life was over the roof.

         As a socialist system of government, the government provided everything for the people. And as a medical student at the time, it was difficult for me to understand how healthcare could be totally free, you didn't even have to buy the drugs, the doctor attended to you and gave you your drugs.

      Venezuela became my home in no time, the people were always happy and that positively affected the way they treated us as foreigners. It was home away from home.

      Everything began to take a drastic turn after the death of the then president Hugo Chavez Frias in 2013. Since that moment it has been a constant battle between the ruling party and the opposition on who should rule the country, on who had better ability and capacity to run this wonderful country. The reality in Venezuela at the moment is unimaginable, I never for once imagined that Venezuela will get to this point where it is no longer safe to come out of one's own house. The insecurity is disheartening, people killing each other,closing down the subway station and the streets, people running to other countries for safety, people eating from waste bins and others finding joy in stealing from other people.

     This isn't the Venezuela of seven years ago, this isn't the Venezuela that welcomed me and became my home. The once Happy people are angry and frustrated. Killing one another and destroying infrastructures is not the solution, the solution is peace and love irrespective of your political party. Venezuela is a great country, we need to work together as one people, as one country and not as different political parties. I believe in Venezuela. Venezuela will overcome.

 God bless Venezuela.  

           Written by : Onyinye Mbata

THE GOOD FRIDAY

       Into a sinful world came a Pius man
       For our sins to die
       Salvation to mankind he brought
       And our sins he washed away

       For the sins of the world
       Said he, here I am send me
       For the love of mankind
       The father sent down his only son

       In the form of man came he
       Amongst sinners he dwelled
       In the house of the unclean,he dinned
       To the dead, he gave life

       What is man that he should care?
       Yet man betrayed the son of God
       For thirty silver pieces was he sold
       His fate lay in the hands of men

       Crucify him! Crucify him!
       They screamed
       On his head was laid a crown of thorns
       On his shoulder, our burdens

       Chastized for our sins
       Mocked and humiliated for us
       Nailed to a cross for our sake
       He breathed his last and
       Paid the ultimate price


                        Written by : Onyinye Mbata

                  FROM HOME TO HOME

   

                         

  As I sat and stared into space, I began to reminisce of the days of my childhood, playing with soil and running around with my friends; I had absolutely no worries. Simplicity was the keyword. While I let myself wonder in my little world of no worries, I was led into a realm of nostalgia wanting to be back home, to run into the widely open arms of my mum,to see my dad and be absorbed in the company of my siblings and friends relieving the memories we once shared.

      The joy of being back home in my own country, walking the streets I once walked years ago,sharing wonderful moments all over again in the land I yearn to return to. Suddenly I am hit with a wave of sadness; how could I leave behind the life I now have here? This once strange land had become my home, the most important parts of my youth were spent here trying to adapt to a new country, new people, new culture and a new language. This right here is where I have belonged, what and where I have known for the past seven years. In a foreign land I have found a home, family and friends who have gradually found their way into the deepest part of my heart and people who have shared in the worst and best moments of my life.

     The struggles, the joys, the tears, the loneliness, the pain and the laughter all bundled up in the person I have now become. But as I struggled to push this conflicting feeling away, I realized I was stuck, stuck in a state of ambivalence; how do I leave home for Home?

                Written by: Onyinye Mbata