The Woman Died

For Ama Sumani Who Died Of Cancer Few Days After Her Deportation From The UK

In faraway Wales she laid alone in the hospital with none to lean on

Except her debt the death and stone-faced immigration officials

Pacing up and down and scaring away the remaining life in her

Even though what she needed most was just our compassion

But none of us was kind enough to show it to her

In the name of the law we cannot show it to her

“But she is dying of cancer”, cried her nurse

“But that is not our business”, replied the immigration officials

She broke the law and she must go home to die

As a lesson to other illegal immigrants

That the streets of London are not paved in gold

“She must be deported to Ghana to die there”, boasted the immigration officials

The next day she was dragged out like a rag from her sickbed

And in a twinkling of an eye deported to Ghana like a vegetable

And she died few days later in sorrow and agony

We killed her, our silence and inaction killed her

The only hope she had was crudely taken away from her

And she died a lonely grief-stricken death

What a shame and an ignominy

That she was treated like a Christmas chicken

By a country deeply Christian in religion and government

A country whose right is God

A country whose Queen is the head of the Anglican Communion

And yet we could not prevent this cruelty and barbarism

Adieu Ama Sumani for by your death you are now free

And your executors are in chains and bondages

For their sins will forever live with them and their children

And consume them like a raging fire eternally

Sleep in perfect peace till that day

When every man under his oak tree shall be free

And there shall be no more need for boundary or law

For we all shall be subject unto the law of the Lord alone.

Chukwunwikezarramu Okumephuna

March 30, 2008.