Diary of Kuta.

Life In Village. (2/6/1774)                   

The sun was shining absolutely bright today. Every once in a while, I looked up to the sun wishing it would just go away until I finished sharpening the few sets of spears and Hunga Mangas. Sweat trickled down my back. There was sweat in my eyes and all over my face as well. I was drenched. Kubal told me about the paled-skin Europeans a little earlier before. I imagined them and their long clothes covering them. They would never survive here in this kind of weather.

I finally finished sharpening the tools. I was happy but tired. My stomach then rumbled I was definitely famished. I went back to my family’s hut. My little sister was cradling in my mother’s arms while my father was whistling a cheery tune while carving a piece of wood into a beautiful pattern. I greeted my family and I took the bowl of rice resting on the little table as my mother prepared it for me. I told my father I had done sharpening the tools, he smiled proudly at me and praised me. I took my little sister, Adia and brought her outside after eating that delicious meal. The sun was almost setting down. It was beautiful. Slowly, my sister fell to sleep. I kissed her on the forehead before giving her back to my mother. My mother put her in the small, wooden crib located at the back of the hut. She then walk towards me and hugged me. She told me she was proud of me for helping out with the family. I hugged her back tightly. There’s nothing more important than my beloved family.

Since I had done with my work for the day, I wanted to see my friend Koba, in the fields. On my way there, I was greeted by a lot of neighbours and friends. When I reached the fields, I saw a boy playing with a drum. I could immediately tell that it was Koba even from a far distance. I recognized that rhythm he was playing. He and I made it up when we were 9, when his uncle gave him his first drum. I shouted to him and he looked up and smiled. He had a friendly and warm smile plastered onto his face. I sat down next to him while he bangs on the drum. I hum to the rhythm and soon, it was night-time.

The Capture. (5/6/1774)

I had experience one of the worst things a person could ever experience. The screaming of mothers, the crying of babies, all of the horrid sounds still buzzing in my ear. It all happened too fast. No one even expected it. There was a loud bang from across the fields at first. The villagers were all surprised and scared, yet curious. The men, including me, gathered some weapons and moved out to the fields. From a far distance, we could see a man, with white skin dressed in boots and his whole body was covered with clothing. Along him, came a few more white people, they were carrying weapons. I could see some leashes and neck chains. The men then stopped, we were all thinking the same thing, we definitely had no chance against them and those weapons of theirs.

We ran back to the village as fast as we could. The white people were already chasing us. I was running as fast I could till I stumbled across a medium-sized rock. I tripped and fell. The white people were already gaining on me. I tried to stand up, but my ankle was twisted. Then, my father stopped and ran back to where I was at and he took my arm and pulled me up. He helped me get to the village. I don’t know what I’d do without my beloved father.

Once we got back to the village, we warned the people that kidnappers were coming. I quickly went into my hut and I told my mother everything. She took Adia and climbed into the box me and my father built in case of emergencies. I took my diary with me and put it in my pocket on the way out. I exited my house and the first thing I saw was the white people walking towards villagers that were scrambling, trying to find a place to hide. Before I could even react to the horrible situation, a white man took my hands tightly and locked them with two huge metal cuffs. Behind me, I saw Kubal, he didn’t have his friendly smile on like he usually did. Instead, he had a bitter frown and a scrunched-up face filled with sadness, confusion and rage.

The men pushed a few villagers they managed to capture to the shore. I saw a huge wooden ship filled with white men walking around. The white men lead us onto the ship then down a basement. In the basement, I saw wooden bunk beds with no pillows or sheets in them. The basement was dirty, dark and cold. Then, the white men locked our cuffs to the wall and we were told to sleep as it was dark already. I couldn’t sleep, knowing what the white men could’ve done to my family. I was worried. 


Transport To America. (8/6/1774) 


It had been a few days since we’ve been held here, in the basement. I hate this place. The basement is hot, stuffy and dark. I can barely see anything. I’ve made friends with the man next to me. His name is Kutu. Even though we are from different tribes, we can communicate well. I learned some of his language and he learned some of mine as well.

Men were groaning. All of us were dirty, sweaty and hurt. I miss the bright sun, the freedom to run around, the sound of laughter. I miss home.

Later, the first-mate came down and ordered some man to unlock us. The first-mate was white, of course. He had messy hair and he always kept a sly grin on his face. It makes me want to punch his face even more. A few white men unlocked us and pushed us up onto the deck. I squinted my eyes as I came up from the basement. The sun was burning my eyes. Having to be in a dark basement for 4 days made it harder for me to face brightness again. Soon, I got used to the brightness and I no longer had to squint my eyes. I see white men all around the deck. The first-mate and captain was on the top deck laughing. How could they even laugh in front of us when they knew how badly we were treated. How could someone be that heartless?

We were told to scrub the deck and clean the wooden poles. We each took a yellow, squishy equipment and did what we were told to do. When we stopped for a rest, they whipped us. The feeling of being whipped was horrible. The pain spread around my whole body for a while. It hurt so much.

Once we were done, we got dragged back to the basement. I’d rather stay down there than to go up there and face the whipping again. Somehow, I have a feeling there will be something else worse than that. I just know it.

Later, we were each given a plate with a small portion of rice. I was starving. I picked some rice up and ate it. It was very hard and difficult to chew. I missed my mother’s cooking. How I wished I was back home.

After finishing the horrible meal, I was tired and I went to rest for a while. Kutu was groaning, I don’t know why, so I just went to sleep. The moment when I woke up, the groaning stopped. I called out to Kutu without facing him. He didn’t answer. I called his name again and he said nothing. I quickly turned to the other side, now facing him. His eyes were wide open, his body was stiff, and he wasn’t breathing. My eyes widen and I shouted in horror as I flinched. Two of the white men came down to check what the scream was all about. They saw my shocked face. They headed towards me. They saw Kutu’s stiff body, they also knew he was dead. Just to make sure, they pulled out a needle and pushed it in Kutu’s feet. No scream. He was definitely dead. The men took out a key and unlocked his cuffs. They brought him up to the deck. All of us were quiet, half-scared and the other half, shocked. Then, there was this loud splashing sound on the deck. All of us heard it. They definitely threw him out in the seas. I was devastated and angry. We were just getting to know each other. He was my friend.

I couldn’t sleep again. I was scared. I was missing my family. I wasn’t even prepared for the worse.

The Auction. (8/9/1774) 

After 3 horrific months of whipping and torturing, our ship had reached to our final destination. We stopped at the harbor and were being shouted at to stand in a line. The white men chained our necks so that we connected in a line. We walked down the sturdy plank, onto the hard ground.

The streets were busy with markets, weird-looking seats with wheels connected with horses and of course, white people. Even though the sight of white people sickens me, I felt a little relived and happy that we were out of that filthy ship. Nothing could possibly be worse than that ship.

"Get in the "pen", you filthy beasts." We were pushed harshly into this cage-like place. It was a little big; big enough to fit all the men. Our chains got released. Before that, some of the crew took jugs of oil and just carelessly put some on us. Probably to make our skin look shiny and healthy, for show perhaps. Even though what they did was sleazy, it worked. It didn't look like we were in a filthy, smelly, compacted ship for almost three months.

They locked us in. A few people came to look at us. They had disgusted looks on their face, like we were some kind of weird creature. Soon, a crowd of people surrounded a stage near the pen. There was a man on the stage. "Attention, attention, ladies and gentlemen. The auction is about to begin, so gather 'round." I was curious to know what auction meant. Well, I just had to wait and see.

Soon, the "auction" began. "Alrighty-o. Let's begin. Bring out one of those dogs, Larry." the man on the stage said. A white man unlocked our pen and his eyes began to search for something. Finally, his eyes set on me. He grasped my arm and pulled me out of the cage. I was so surprised and I didn't know what to do. I struggled to escape his grip but he was too strong. He dragged me up the stage and told me to stand there. "Ahh, fine choice. Healthy. A firm and strong body. Well, of course. We feed them with sufficient amount of food on the clean and fresh ship." That liar. The people nedeed to know the truth, but I kept my mouth shut.

I wanted to run away. Away from those people. I wanted freedom. I wanted to go back to my village. I wanted to see my family again. Unfortunately, those chains on my leg were stopping me to do so. White men from the crowd came up the stage and checked my teeth, my body and my hair. Then, the man on the stage talked really fast and next thing I knew, I was dragged towards a white man on a carriage. I was tied to his horse and we walked away from the stage.

Life On The Plantations. (9/9/1774) 


I was dropped at a huge field full of my people doing work.  I was free from the chains on my leg once I got there. I didn't know if I should be relieved to see my people or to be scared of what's going to happen. 


I've just got here and I hate it already. There were crops in the field ready for harvesting. We were suppose to harvest the crops - under the blazing hot sun. We weren't allowed to take breaks.











(I finished Entry 5 but my data got lost.)

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