Night Owl The Beginning

NIGHT OWL: THE BEGINNING By Lynette Wairegi

THE BEGINNING

On a planet we call earth is another planet, thousands of miles away. For us it is a tiny, grey speck. But for them, it is their home. If you look down from the planet you will see it. Here is the place we are looking at. On a small, abandoned island, there was a town. The town was called Luka Luka. This is an island with a hood of nature. The trees stood tall and proud guarding the island. Their small, cottagelike huts were sitting on the ground. Small children were running like headless chickens around the town while the grown-ups worked hard to keep the town running. They had no king, no queen but they had a mayor. The jolliest mayor on the island. You will meet him later but let me introduce you to Coral.

Coral Kaki is the daughter of Mrs Kaki and Mr Kaki. Currently, Mrs Kaki (Delphine) is in the house washing up. She cannot go to work because she is pregnant. She is the only person in the house for now. Coral is now in Luka primary school. We cannot bother her. Mr Kaki (vai) is working on the beach making boats. So, everyone on the island has a role. Men: They build houses, boats, tools, and all the everyday tools we need. Woman: They do the cooking, collect food, knitting or making clothes. Mayor: He runs the island making sure everything is in order, so the island does not have arguments. Children: The children go to school every single day and come back home at 3:30.

Chapter 2: The Competition

When Coral got home, she told her parents about her day. When she and her friend were walking back home from school, they saw a letter. It was as colourful as a rainbow. In bold, it said “Art Competition!”. Coral absolutely loves art. Painting, drawing, silhouette, sketching anything about art she loves. At the back it had some information about the art competition. It said The Art Competition takes place at Luka’s church hall at June the 7th. If you want to compete, the sign-up sheet is around the whole town. The judges are Professor quiltatch, David Monerossor and professional artist of Luka Luka Town, Rose sandriser. When you arrive, follow the arrows saying, “Art Competition this way”. When you follow all the arrows, you should arrive in a big hall. The way the competition works, is that you have 10 minutes to create a piece of art against the other artists. When the 10 minutes are over, you must explain your masterpiece and why you drew it. The winner takes home a big trophy. Good Luck and I cannot wait to see you at the competition. Coral gave her Mum the leaflet. Her mum looked at her dad and her dad looked back. Coral knew she had to convince them to let her go to the art competition tomorrow. So, she said (in a pleasing voice). “I really, really, really want to go mum, this is my chance to show everyone in Luka Luka that I am a really good artist.” “Please let me go, all my friends are going.” Her Mum said in a soft voice: “Sorry honey, the baby is due tomorrow, and you know we can’t afford a babysitter. I am so sorry honey. Maybe another opportunity of doing art in front of your friends will come but tomorrow no.”

Coral’s heart broke in half. She stormed out of the room. This was her only chance and there will be no other chance again. She always thought to herself she is an amazing artist that when she paints it is like magic. But maybe her mum does not want her to go because she might make a fool of herself. She also thinks why my mum not let me go to different events. Is she scared for her? No…. Well, she had a plan, to go to the art competition by herself. She checked the time of the art competition. Luckily, you can go there at dawn to practise (5:00). But the Luka Luka church is very far. So, the only option is walking because her mum has not got the money for a taxi or a bus.

Chapter 3: The Special Place?

At dawn, she set of to the art competition. She wore a blue straight drees and cute sandals. She also wore a summer hat with a ribbon (pink). Her hair was down; she curled it by herself. She carried a white backpack which had: Food | Water | Colouring book | Drawing book | Pencil case | First aid kit (just in case) | Magic Memory (her favourite book) | A coat/ jumper | Her camera (not in backpack, just around her neck) | And her phone. The winter white bag had a white wolf on it. Coral felt confident. She looked at her watch and it was 05:10. She thought since she had enough time, she would the more scenic route. She went on the grey solid footpath. The Fazed footpath had beautiful flowers on the side. Coral took some photos. Everything was going well so far.

BLACK PEOPLE DIDN’T LOSE THE EUROS, ENGLAND DID

By Rosie Vacciana-Browne

For the first time in 55 years, England’s football team had made it to a major tournament final. The energy across the nation was electric. The England squad was young, diverse, and talented it felt like a true representation of the country. A team we could all get behind; until we lost. For many people of colour, the George cross is a symbolism of hate. Extremist right-wing groups have long appropriated the flag, supposed to represent us all, to represent racism and white supremacy. From knee-high, we are made aware that areas and pubs flying the flag are not for us. That we should be on guard, hypervigilant, and ready to leave at any moment should we be confronted. I had believed that maybe, just maybe, that was all about to change with the Euro 2020s.

“A team we could all get behind; until we lost.”

Raheem Sterling, who has spent most of his career at the mercy of the right-wing press and racist abuse, carried the England team throughout the start of the tournament scoring the first three goals and seeing us off to the quarter-finals. It seemed like the tides were changing; the country was proud of Sterling. Saka quickly became a fan favourite, labelled man of the match in his first appearance. People were getting behind an England team that had black players as its stars. The unity was empowering, it was hopeful, it was joyous. For the first time, many people of colour embraced the George cross; we wrapped it around ourselves in pride. It didn’t represent racists. It represented Sterling, Saka, Kane, Maguire, Walker, Grealish, and the diverse face of the country. Many of the England teams players are first and second-generation migrants from Ireland, the Caribbean, and beyond. After the divisions of last year, it finally appeared that England could come together under the same flag and rejoice in its diversity. But the waters of racism doth run so deep through the heart of England, it took just one penalty shoot out for the poison to resurface.

“the waters of racism doth run so deep through the heart of England”

It was 1-1 between Italy and England after extra time. The dreaded penalties were next. We were facing a team that had won 33 consecutive games. The odds were not in our favour, but that didn’t matter. For some England fans, the only thing they saw was the race of the three England players, Rashford, Sancho, and Saka, who missed their goals. Before anyone could react, people of colour up and down the country already knew the response. We’d been here before. For Black people in Britain, we are only as good as what we can offer. We aren’t individuals, we are commodities. The second the goals were missed it wasn’t England who had lost, it was the three black lads. Social media became instantly ablaze with foul racist rhetoric and memes. The FA, England, the Prime Minister, the press, and many former players had to come to the defence of Rashford, Sancho, and Saka. In an attempt to educate and calm the vitriol spewing from the mouths of adults who were unable to process a football game. It shouldn’t be this way. But the stage has already been set for racists to flourish in England. One politician who ironically came forward to defend the team was Priti Patel. Patel has been at the forefront of strict anti-immigration legislation and persistently targeted black and brown people here in the UK. At the start of the games, she emboldened English hooligans who wanted to boo the players for taking the knee in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. It was those same hooligans she then condemned in her own “gesture politics”.

“black people will always be one penalty miss away from racist abuse and degradation.”

The events of the last 24-hrs have been heartbreaking for all across the country. But it has been earth-shattering for none more than minorities who have once again been reminded that we are not part of this team. Until England can dismantle racism from the heart of its institutions and ideologies, black people will always be one penalty miss away from racist abuse and degradation.