Intro: Strange fruit the nature of the beast
Like Steve Biko , he is slowly internally bleeding to death on the floor of cold holding cell from the injuries he received after a vicious phone book beating provoked by a long and strained racially tense relationship with a certain police officers (the over seers) which finally crossed the line, it had previously being humorous banter with empty threats up until then when he clearly out smarted them, a nonviolent battle that was started by the clash of opinions’ and war our people have being fight for centuries ever since they stole our books, the police officers racial slights and socio economic profiling versus his quick wit intelligence and un repentantly humorous emasculating tongue. His mind and spirit subconsciously travel back and forth to the Ether ( dream world) to avoid his physical pain of dying slowly, and this is where he is confronted by “Azreil” angel of death or Grim as we called him; upon realising he is dying he makes a request knowing his last rites a Christian.
Ta asks to send his loved ones good bye letters in the form of dreams, unfortunately Azreil cannot grant this right nor deny it so he transfers him to Saint Peter who handles such divine matter . Peter needs a justification for such a request and so Ta our victim tries to justify the request by saying “strange fruit is what brought me here, strange fruit is what I am , strange fruit is what I would like to leave for my seeds not to follow in my footsteps? ” and so he takes us back to the start of his life in post-colonial Zimbabwe, a time of so called integration and what not which was like trump and his wig, hope as false old white peoples teeth and the promise that never came, a time when inter racial relationships that we take for granted today were a taboo approached with caution and distrust by those outside of them while scarring those with in, it was also a time when children were seen and not heard and it’s contradiction the good bad and ugly... A time before Facebook and twitter where people just did not say whatever they wanted without thinking of the ramifications of their words “what happened in the house stayed in the house” so we get to be voyeurs to horror stories and comedies never told . A time when Children did not speak back to their parents anyway they wanted ( white kid- “I hate you”) or else they would face the wrath of a leather strap or worse (black kids parent “ I brought into this world and I can take you out”). We are taken into the world of two young lovers and the “wolf pack” where their innocence battles and struggles to breathe and it (the innocence) is seemingly being stripped away from them painfully by dogma societal fear and circumstance .
He (Ta) is African and he has just lost his father to liver cirrhosis the year is 89, not yet angry but confused as to what the next move is, what the future holds and how to be man for his family he himself is try to learn how to be a boy, we journey with listening to his inner thought that for most of time are hidden behind a timid smile as he struggles on the path to masculinity and identity, coupled with the natural challenges of going through puberty without a father to guide and the complexities that arise from his home environment as his mother attempts to find the right way to raise them alone as well as the complex process of integration going on at his school and the society…
Detta is white Zimbabwean and she has also lost her mother to breast cancer, her guide to her femininity she faces the same challenges as he does accept that after her mothers death her father has become emotionally vacant and avoids her not because he doesn’t love her, it’s just everything about her reminds him of her ( his wife and love) and he would rather not engage her ( the fear of being vulnerable and breaking down to her vs the foolish lies indoctrinated about masculinity over a lifetime) until he figures it out in the process he goes into his mental man cave and gets stuck , by the time he comes out will it be to late , and so our epic heros these two, they are drawn to each other’s pain ( because pain doesn’t see skin colour) brokenness seemingly unaware of each other’s race accept when reminded by “they” and assure “they exist” and come in many shapes and forms even family, very aware of … I am a boy and you’re a girl … I feel the same pain and anger you feel … acceptance not understand and you make me feel safe .
At only 12 years old they trying to deal with not only puberty and battle for both femininity and masculinity and as change happens in the body mind and emotions, but the issue of identity created by the new independent Zimbabwe and people constantly imposing their values fears and opinions on them and “love” relationship, the deeper struggle is with their parents “do as I say not as I do” attitudes, we watch the evolve and morph . They hold onto each for dear life “strange fruit ” with hands the world cannot see for if it could it would chop them off to retain the status quo, as they wade through life and the fog of change, as they try and figure out what traditions to hold onto leave and what new things to embrace and create , while dealing with the fear of the walk into unknown of adulthood and away from family and nation. Old souled children with the knowledge of adults as hard times make you mature faster than most people sometimes even more than adults, armed with only one knowledge that time never moves backward , I loves u’s are not saved for the grave and change is the only constant that doesn’t change. They face 3 realities how they see the world through their eyes, how other people in world see life and their perspective of things and what really going on minus the bull shit in between. Along the journey they are joined by the “wolf pack” a brotherhood of friends who confide in each right or wrong to retain their sanity from their home lives, a family away family bonds forged in hell almost impossible to break.
Funny a times painfully earnest the light humours side of dark realties (the funny thing about Ubantu or Africans no matter how dark ever it is we face we find a way to smile and laugh through it all a resilient strong proud people). The Strange fruit is simply the bi products of the situations they are forced to adapt and evolve around as infants and how it affects their adult lives in the latter years they are the strange fruit... when you plant Good seed in strange soil there can only be one out come and yet the world finds it strange that many of us are strange fruit .
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