A cry from Sambisa

My name is Mary Sule

I am one of the Chibok girls

We lay in bed in darkness

And waited for sleep to come

Anxious about our impending exams

I have always wanted to be a Doctor

Papa had refused to let me return to school because of the recent killings

But I was resilent

I did not want my dreams to die


As i dozed off dreaming of white lab coats

 I heard loud screams from some girls in the hostel

And then I saw them

The Men in Army Uniforms

Speaking in a language I did not understand

I was sure it wasnt Hausa

Sounded like they were

chanting prayers in Arabic

They carried big guns


We were all terrified

They told our teachers to lie flat on their bellies

 or they would shout at them

I saw my English Teacher lie face down

even Mr. Musa our Government Teacher was face down too


The fear of death levels all men


And we were left to our fate in the hands of

the Men in Army Uniforms

They counted us and squashed us lie sardines in the back of the trucks

The trucks smelt of rotten tomatoes and cow dung


Some of the girls were screaming

No one came.........

My tears flowed freely and

they have not stopped since



These Men in Army Uniforms

They took us to a forest

Sambisa

They beat us and rape us
and force us to chant their prayers with them in Arabic

And they starve us, and beat us and rape us


Some of the girls have fallen sick in their bodies

But all of us have been scarred in our minds for life


I will never feel safe again


My tears have not stopped flowing


I cry for my life, my future and my dreams

I cry for my mother and my father

I cry for my siblings, my family and my friends

I cry for Nigeria


In the midst of my tears

I have hope of freedom

But with the dawn of another day in Sambisa

my hope withers................