A Private Experience

“Even without the woman’s strong Hausa accent, Chika can tell she is a Northerner, from the narrowness of her face, the unfamiliar rise of her cheekbones; and that she is Muslim, because of the scarf.”

Chika catalogs the indicators of her rescuer’s ethnic and religious background without judgment or antipathy, although that background differs from her own. This contrasts with the murderous rioters outside. As yet, Chika has no idea how much danger she is in as an Igbo. However, the woman might, and this might explain why she stopped Chika and led her to a safe hiding place. This initial description characterizes the woman as “other,” a characterization that Chika maintains throughout the story even as the two women bond. This innate distance is symbolized by her never learning the woman’s name.

“Later, Chika will learn that, as she and the woman are speaking, Hausa Muslims are hacking down Igbo Christians with machetes, clubbing them with stones.”

This is the first of several flash-forwards, in which the reader gets a glimpse of future Chika. The flash-forwards depict Chika learning details of the atrocities she so narrowly escaped, and each detail represents a corresponding loss of innocence. Each flash-forward is accompanied by a return to the present, and the juxtaposition of the two timeframes emphasizes Chika’s current naïveté.

“[S]he knows nothing about riots: the closest she has come is the pro-democracy rally at the university a few weeks ago, where she had held a bright green branch and joined in chanting ‘The military must go! Abacha must go! Democracy now!’”

Chika’s knowledge of politics comes from her political activist sister, Nnedi. Despite the earnestness with which the students protest, their knowledge of political injustice is theoretical rather than direct.