The House at Sugar Beach: In Search of a Lost African Childhood by Helene Cooper

The House at Sugar Beach: In Search of a Lost African Childhood by Helene Cooper

Author:Helene Cooper
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Cooper, Elite (Social Sciences) - Liberia, Editors, Biography & Autobiography, Publishers, Journalists, 1980, Liberia - History - 1971-1980, Liberia - History - Coup D'aetat, Journalists - United States, Cultural Heritage, Liberia, Helene - Childhood and Youth, United States, Elite (Social Sciences), Personal Memoirs, Historical, History, General, Liberian Americans, Helene, Liberia - History - 1980, Biography
ISBN: 9780743266253
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Published: 2008-01-02T00:00:00+00:00


One wore a uniform that looked to be that of some kind of noncommissioned officer. He pulled up his belt and strutted to the front of the house. He looked at Mommee, standing above him on the porch, and grinned. Then he looked at us, peering from the kitchen window, and grinned some more.

"Everybody out of the house," he said, waving his arm toward us.

Marlene, Eunice, and I followed Mommee down the steps into the yard. The dogs -- Christopher, Christopher Junior, Savage Sam, and Happy -- continued their excited barking and scampering. Like Mommee, I had on my bedroom slippers, shorts, and a T-shirt. Marlene and Eunice were dressed similarly, except Eunice was still barefoot. "What do you all want?" Mommee said, articulating carefully.

"Where John Cooper at?" the lead soldier asked. Mommee told him Daddy was not home. She said that he didn't live here anymore. She made it sound like we never saw him.

Shifting from one foot to another, I was torn between rage at my father for not being there and relief that he wasn't. The rage came out of nowhere, as I watched Mommee answering the soldiers' questions, getting clearly more agitated. Daddy was supposed to be there taking care of us! He was more level-headed than Mommee, who had Mama Grand's quick temper and was apt to yell at the soldiers at any moment. What kind of father was he?

But if he were there would they hurt him? "My father isn't in the government," I said.

The soldiers ignored me. They walked around the yard for a while, conferring among themselves. Then they ordered us to stand against the wall of the house.

All four of us moved to the wall. One soldier grabbed Eunice's arm. "Not you," he said. He pulled her aside.

Mommee, Marlene, and I lined up against the house, next to the laundry room. Three soldiers pointed their guns at us. "We're going to splatter your blood against this wall like paint," one said. Then they fired into the air above our heads.

"Stop, stop, please stop," Eunice said. She kept repeating that: "Stop, stop, please stop."

The soldiers were all laughing and grinning now. Marlene's dog, Christopher Jr., ran to one soldier, barking furiously. One of them pointed his gun at the dog and made as if to shoot him. Marlene bolted from the wall, running to the soldier and jumping on his gun arm. He flung her to the side. Mommee ran and grabbed Marlene.

Mommee started yelling at the soldiers. "What the hell is wrong with you! You want to shoot women? Then shoot! We're going inside. We're not putting up with this shit anymore."

Mommee grabbed my arm and motioned us to go back into the house. "Speak for yourself," I muttered. I didn't think her Congo Lady of the Manor act was a good idea.

We went into the house and the soldiers followed us inside. One turned to Eunice. "Where you da sleep?" he asked her. "On the floor?"

Eunice was calm. "Come," she said.



Download



Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.