Lost in paradise.

by Violet Ikong (Nigeria)

I didn't expect to find Nigeria

For a moment, I got lost in the thoughts of what my life would have been like if I had to be taken away from my home, family and friends, bound in chains, across seas to a world unknown. It wasn't just my quest for an adventure that led me to the ancient city of Calabar, but my burning desire to satisfy my curious mind and solve the puzzle surrounding the history of the Calabar people. The moment I set my eyes on the Marina resort Calabar, it was love at first sight. The green scenery and structures painted in colours of blue and white, were a beauty to behold. Situated by the great Calabar River, the Marina Resort sure took my breath away. The sound and waves from the river made it seem as though there was a communication between the waters and the green vegetation around the resort. With the sun shining above me, the wind on my face, a breath of fresh air and nature smiling at me, I gave a smile of affirmation that indeed Calabar was a place to come and live and be at rest. "Welcome to the Marina Resort slave history museum Calabar", that was my tour guide , a tall man on a blue shirt and black jean pants. "This should be exciting", I thought to myself as we made way into the untold world of relics of the Saharan slave trade which had lasted in the 17th century. No words could be more devastating at that moment than being told that the Marina Resort which I had fallen deeply in love with was actually where most of the slaves who were taken out of the shores of Africa were hosted before their voyage to the unknown world. The Marina Resort I was also told was at the time of the slave trade called 'the place of no return', as no slave who was taken there ever made it back home. Every document, artefact and memorabilia I saw made me imagine how painful it must have been for the captured slaves to have lost their homes, freedom and identities. I didn't know which was more disturbing, the sight of the chains which were used to tie the slaves or the whips which were used to subject them to severe torture and pain. My heart sank the moment I heard that over 275,000 slaves who were taken away from the shores of the Marina Resort Calabar were sold in exchange for bottles of gins, spices and mirrors. Monumental displays of black slaves systematically arranged in a boat with one slave lying parallel to the head of the other to make rebellion impossible made my eyes teary. "For the nights where the seas became turbulent and mighty storms tried to overthrow the ships, some slaves were thrown out into the sea to reduce the weight of the ship", those words by my tour guide left me even more broken. Suddenly the Marina Resort felt like the opposite of all I had imagined it to be. The atmosphere felt all gloomy and sad for me. "That was several years ago, we've come to realize that slave trade is bad and one thing is for sure, we can't indulge in it anymore" my tour guide emphasized. We stepped out of the museum and with my head full of worries. I was ready to return home but a part of me wanted to stay back and rewrite the past which was of course impossible. As I sat in the cab staring at the flowers and trees at the resort, I gave a sigh for I didn't expect to find sadness in such a beautiful place neither did I imagine there would be tales of darkness in a place which had so much light. I didn't expect to find myself almost crying in a place that brought smiles to my face the moment I walked in. I didn't expect I would write this story with a sad ink or that you would read it with a gloomy heart.