Baaba Djibo

^{The  capture}

^{Baaba Djibo lived in a small village on the west coast of Africa. One day in June,}

^{1837, as he was coming back to his village after visiting a sick aunt, he was captured}

^{by a band of African slave traders. He was then forcibly taken to a group of other}

^{prisoners who were waiting in a clearing: men, women with bundles on their heads,}

^{naked children... They were all scared to death but they knew that they were}

^{powerless and seemed to accept their fate: being reduced to slavery... Baaba’s}

^{hands were tied behind his back, a yoke was placed around his neck and the small}

^{group was herded like cattle towards an unknown destination. The prisoners who}

^{didn’t walk fast enough were whipped without pity and the traders even threatened}

^{to kill those who were too slow on the spot.}

^{The journey}

^{After a long painful walk, the small group reached the sea at last. A slave ship was}

^{at anchor in a bay, waiting for them. Pitiless white men paid the slave traders and}

^{forced the prisoners to climb on deck. The men were then all crammed into the}

^{hold and shackled together. But it was just the beginning of their predicament...}

^{The endless journey was horrible/ dreadful. The prisoners had to endure all sorts}

^{of hardships: they starved because these cruel, inhumane white men hardly gave}

^{them any food. They suffered so much from the harsh / terrible conditions of the}

^{journey that nearly half of them died after a few days. Every night, Baaba could hear}

^{men sobbing near him and he was heartbroken. In his grief and despair, he knew}

^{that he would never see his village again...}

^{The sale}

^{One month later, they reached a small harbour on the southern coast of America. The}

^{white men selected the strongest men and women and immediately took them to an}

^{auction sale. They were insensitive to the tears of despairing mothers whose}

^{children were torn away from them...}

^{The auctioneer was perched on top of a barrel and buyers kept climbing on the}

^{platform to inspect the prisoners, looking at their teeth and eyes, as if they were}

^{cattle. A tall, severe-looking white man made a bid and Baaba was suddenly}

^{dragged from the platform. He had just been purchased for $500...}

^{The runaway} 

^{Baaba’s master was the owner of a large sugar plantation. More than a hundred}

^{slaves toiled away in his fields from early morning till night, under the watchful eye}

^{of the overseer, a cruel man who kept shouting at them. They were forbidden to}

^{talk to each other and whenever a slave disobeyed or tried to rebel, he was flogged}

^{mercilessly. Baaba’s living conditions were dreadful: he had no bed and had to sleep}

^{in a small shack, on a straw mattress that had been placed on the earth floor.}

^{After six months, Baaba could no longer endure all this suffering and decided to}

^{escape. He knew that he could hide in the marshes for a long time but he was also}

^{aware that a reward would be offered, attracting bounty hunters who would try to}

^{track him down. However, there was no other way out...}

 ^{Baaba  was starting to loose faith when he heard some men talking in the distance.}

^{The vision he had  astonished him…Not only were these men black as him , but they were wearing blue uniforms…One of them saw baaba and using their mother tongue ,told him  not to be afraid. They were here to free the slaves! Baaba knew from that moment that his place was with his brothers in arms, he joined the army and fought  on the side of the northern troups..}