Another war survivor pours out his heart!!

 Leonard Ikpe wrote:

RE: THE FOREST DAMES BY ADA OKERE AGBASIMALO

I have gone through the 207 pages of your book. After reading the book, let me tell you how I see it.

Firstly, the men have told their own story of the war – Obasanjo, Madiebo etc. Yours is a woman’s pathetic story of what happened during the unfortunate Nigeria – Biafra Civil War when rampaging Federal soldiers saw the rebel women and girls as part of the spoils of war. It narrates the travails of the rebel girls and mothers who make the forests their abode just to avoid being captured (kwaptured) by soldiers. That is the struggle of an African woman during a war.

Secondly, the speed of the story is dramatic in a sense. It has the speed comparable to the now legendary 

 “Things Fall Apart” . One chapter weaves into the other without the reader losing track of the previous chapters. Our own Chinua Achebe has that speed too.

Thirdly, the handling of a complex matter like war was delivered as a simple story yet bringing out the sad effects of war which include hunger, malnutrition, disease, deaths at the battle field and the refugees.

A fellow survivor pours out his heart

Victor Emeana writes:

Ada, this is not a review in the literary sense. As I said  earlier, it is just my impression of your book-Forest Dames.
Firstly I found the title in sync with the story. It matched like hand in glove. Just the way" Things Fall Apart" for instance is so apt a title for its story.
Secondly,the book is so readable that an average literate person shouldn't have problems with understanding the
diction because they are so lucid. My experience is that most great authors write in that style including our own Achebe.
Thirdly the print and editing were top class. One of the readers, Dr Megwa who is quite fastidious in such matters was full of praises.

Immediate end of war situation

Immediate end of war situation - "The Forest Dames

“Doesn’t it amaze you that without a dime, we find free food to eat? Ochongalofu springs up on trees for us to uproot and eat, snails roam the bush at night for us to pick and prepare meals with. Okazi vegetable grows wildly in the big bushes for us to harvest and make our leafy soups with, palm nuts are picked up for palm oil, palm kernel and palm kernel oil; and many others. Is it not amazing?” Ijeoma was grateful to God.

“The hunters hardly come back empty handed these days.” Oyoyo informed, equally grateful to God.

“Don’t forget the Otamiri river fish. They seem to have grown bigger. Orjay caught a big one yesterday.”

“We are like cows whose tails have been chopped off by war action, so God Himself is the One keeping the flies in check for us.” Oyoyo philosophized. “Cow wey no get tail, na God dey drive am fly. Is that not how they say it in Pidgin?” Oyoyo was dancing.Culled from "The Forest Dames" available at amazon.com, barnes and nobles, authorhouse, etc

 

Don't let this happen again please!

Deze stood, arms folded across her chest, watching a group of children trying to kick about, a round object made of folded rags. Her mother was sitting by her side, on an overturned tin container.

“Oh my God, mama, see how lean this one is. He can’t even run.”
“My daughter, I don’t know which one is easier, the lean type or the bloated type of this disease. It must also be difficult to lift those bloated feet. Haa! God have mercy.”
“Poor children; robbed of fun! How can any child possibly play with such protruded stomach? Sometimes I wonder what is in that belly, liquid or solid. Mama, look at this other one’s cheeks, looking like they are filled with puss that needs to be pressed out. His head has become too big for his neck. His neck looks like a string. Ha mama, I am tired.”
“Courage daughter, I understand how you feel. We know how healthy these children were before now. Hmm, at least they are happy to be alive, when several of their playmates have died; emaciated or bloated. Oh! This new disease, hmm!” They were both shaking their heads. 

Remembering those who did not survive

“Yes especially with what I saw on the way. We saw dismembered body parts lying here and there as if forgotten by their owners. One young man with two legs cut off by mortar bomb pleaded with us to help him but we could not. He was bleeding profusely but we needed help ourselves and did not even know which direction we should be heading. We were already so wearied that we had difficulty carrying even the small bags we had, let alone an amputated human. I cried for him but there was nothing I could do. It still pains me.” Culled from "The Forest Dames" - available at amazon.com/theforestdames, barnes&nobles/theforestdames, authorhouse/theforestdames, some Nigerian bookstores.

Survivors help to clear the mess!!! No more killing!

"Before the echo of their cries faded, the deadly “birds” had gone to roost, and those they cut short remained still; dismembered and dead.

The people cursed but the deed was already done and many hearts were broken.

Amidst tears the survivors gathered scattered body parts to ensure that each dead person was buried whole or at least near whole.

They knocked up make shift coffins from bamboo and twine for the burial of the dead.

But more was to come.
That was just the beginning. That was only the Air Raid!

Culled from "The Forest Dames"  - Available at Silverbird Galleria bookshop, Abuja;
Quintessence, Falomo Shopping Complex, Awolowo road Ikoyi, Lagos and Debonair bookstores, Herbert Macaulay Way, Sabo Yaba, Lagos. Also at Booksellers shops (opposite Biobak), Garki 2, Abuja; and Pen and pages, Wuse 2 Abuja. Also at amazon.com/theforestdames, Barnes and Noble, AuthorHouse and other online marketers.S

Protection makes them survivors

The Forest Dames

It was Jacob Kellenberger, who in 2001, as President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), said that “Protecting women in war is not merely a question of law; it is also a matter of social responsibility and common sense, because it is thanks to women that life goes on in times of upheavals.”

Culled from "The Forest Dames" (Old and new page viewers, please go to this page on fb and like it, if you have not done so. Thanks.)

Available at Silverbird Galleria bookshop, Abuja;
Quintessence, Falomo Shopping Complex, Awolowo road Ikoyi, Lagos and Debonair bookstores, Herbert Macaulay Way, Sabo Yaba, Lagos. Also at Booksellers shops (opposite Biobak), Garki 2, Abuja; and Pen and pages, Wuse 2 Abuja. Also at amazon.com/theforestdames, Barnes and Noble, AuthorHouse and other online marketers.

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Move from that valley..Get to the mountain top!

Read below please. Go to The Forest Dames Page on Facebook and like it also. Thanks.

Although the girl died, her parents are survivors. They worked hard to leave that valley of circumstance and get to their mountain of hope and success. It takes determination only. We appreciate feed backs

..."Orjay’s wife sensed that the baby strapped to her back was now lifeless. She did not feel her daughter’s heartbeat anymore. Heoma’s heartbeat had stopped, she knew it. She had felt the baby ...slump, even though strapped to her back. With tears in her eyes, she drew her husband’s attention to this development. They trooped on. He was thinking. She was sobbing. The five year old girl’s body had stiffened"... Culled from "The Forest Dames".

Available at Silverbird Galleria bookshop, Abuja;
Quintessence, Falomo Shopping Complex, Awolowo road Ikoyi, Lagos and Debonair bookstores, Herbert Macaulay Way, Sabo Yaba, Lagos. Also at Booksellers shops (opposite Biobak), Garki 2, Abuja; and Pen and pages, Wuse 2 Abuja. Also at amazon.com/theforestdames, Barnes and Noble,

INSANITY WAS COMMON DURING THAT PERIOD

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  The Forest Dames

  DEAR FRIENDS,
  MAY INSANITY NEVER BE YOUR PORTION! NEVER! NEVER! NEVER! COMPLIMENTS OF THE SEASON!
  
  
  An obviously insane young man positioned himself at one corner dancing very joyously, oblivious of the hundreds of eyes watching him, and those who were entertained by his dexterously apt dance steps. The man felt as free as the air and danced as if he was created for that purpose only. When he got tired, he went to the area where the food for the funeral was being prepared and began to lurk around.
  ...
  “Evagri, what do you want?” One of the cooks asked. Evagri pointed at the pot of food.
  “Have you finished dancing?”
  He nodded.
  “I did not see you dance. Will you dance for me later?”
  He pointed at the pot of food again.
  
  The woman sensing that the man was hungry, quickly gave him some food. Evegri kept his plate of food on the ground and went to the area where the drinks were stored. All he did was to stretch out his hand and the person in charge gave him a bottle of soft drink. Evagri returned to the spot where he had left his plate of food and sat on the ground, pulling his food and drink closer to him in between his legs. He had applied his teeth to the cork and got it off the top of the soft dink bottle. After eating and drinking, he lay down on the ground just beside the empty plate and bottle. He had consumed a large quantity of food. Without worries or anxieties, Evagri, in a matter of minutes, slept off right there. No one disturbed him. They were all used to him and his ways.
  
  
  Culled from "The Forest Dames" true Life Biafran experience. The book is available at Silverbird Galleria bookshop, Abuja; Quintessence, Falomo Shopping Complex, Awolowo road Ikoyi, Lagos and Debonair bookstores, Herbert Macaulay Way, Sabo Yaba, Lagos. Also at Booksellers shops (opposite Biobak), Garki 2, Abuja; and Pen and pages, Wuse 2 Abuja. Also at amazon.com/theforestdames, Barnes and Noble, AuthorHouse and other online marketers.

Always think ahead of your attackers

 Read a true life account of a survivor. Always think ahead of your attackers

 

All those efforts and devices did not stop the move to Okolochi, after mortar bombs had dropped ceaselessly on the people and their surroundings. Deze remembered how pandemonium had reigned, how people wailed, and how only a few people remembered to take cover due to heavy bombardment. The memory of Okolochi remained vivid, mainly because of Madam Rosa’s predicament. It did not happen in Okolochi alone.

            “Knock, knock” Ukoha tapped gently on his mother’s door.

            “Who’s that?” His mother whispered, trembling.

            “Ukoha, Ukoha, your son.”

            “Hey my God,” his mother trembled with fear. “Ukoha, where are you co…

            “Shh, mama, open the door but please bring me a wrappa, I am naked.”

“Ewei, Ukohaa, hmm,” she muttered, pulling out a wrappa from a pack.

Ukoha had just escaped from terror. He had, when pushed, leaped across his own grave and fled. They had stripped him naked before the exercise but he disappeared into the bush and found his way home after midnight. Ukoha lived to tell his own story.

Biafra was Eldorado

Yes Biafra was Eldorado turned hell

And I am a Biafran war survivor, motivated to open a Survivors' blog to also motivate others and help stop further wars. 

Biafra was Eldorado, turned into hell. As a teenage girl, I lived in that hell and as an adult I documented my experience in a book - "The Forest Dames." You'll see people suffering and smiling in the book.

Under Siege! – a poem on Biafra.

Under Siege! – a poem on Biafra.

They wanted me, I did not want them.

They pursued me, I out ran them

One of them aimed to shoot at the fleeing girl

Some fleeting object blocked his view

I meandered the nooks  and they got confused

They were strangers and wouldn’t dare, even with their guns.   Disillusioned they grabbed an older woman

Entreaties. Entreaties. Entreaties!

All fell on deaf ears.

Look beyond your attacker, always.

SURVIVAL REQUIRES SHARP THINKING EVEN AT GUN POINT

 Deze was in her early teens. Her mother’s worry over the unwholesome manner in which the invaders took the girls, even under-aged ones, against their will, had reached its peak. She therefore re-tutored Deze on the need to remain indoors until dusk. Deze had complied until one warm day when she felt bored and tired of remaining in a dark warm room. She desired to take some fresh air. Right from inside the room, she had been listening to a discussion going on outside and was enjoying every bit of it.  She now wanted to be part of the discussion and enjoy it to the utmost. So she came close to the door. She peeped left and peeped right. No sign of danger. She stepped out and joined in the conversation. For a moment everybody forgot that Deze was not doing the right thing as she freely chatted in the open. Suddenly from nowhere, a black and sturdy soldier with ugly tribal marks walked to the spot without being noticed. Fear gripped everybody as he yelled at Deze.

“Hey! You! Ajuku tamato, follow me quick.” That was how the vandals referred to the girls who were pretty, fair and ripe as tomatoes. This soldier stank heavily of sweat, alcohol and tobacco, not ordinary cigarette but something that smelt like burnt dry grass. It must have been God Himself that gave Deze the strength, courage and wisdom to do what she did on the spot.

A true life experience of the Biafran war comes to your door step - "The Forest Dames"

A Nigeria-Biafran civil war survivor lives to tell her story of the elasticity of human suffering. She survived it all and prayed God to keep her alive to record what she went through. God answered her prayer and she wrote 'The Forest Dames', a book about four girls hidden away in a "safe haven" - the evil forest, where they were hearing the roars of wild animals but fortunately did not see any. This was because the soldiers wanted the girls by all means but two mothers vowed that their daughters would never belong to the soldiers. But did they? Find out. "The Forest Dames" now selling at Silverbird Galleria bookshop, Abuja. Quintessence Falomo Shopping Complex, Awolowo Road Ikoyi, Lagos. Debonair   Bookstores, Sabo Yaba Lagos. Also on Amazon.com/theforestdames  


  Documentary on The Nigeria-Biafra Civil War(The Forest Dames)

The forest dames is an epic african novel written by a prolific Nigerian author- AdaOkere Agbasimalo. It's a true life story narrated by a teenage girl now turned elderly. She talks about the elasticity of human suffering and why it must not happen again.