(I have recently been hearing about the conflict in Kenya (which may have genocidal elements) after an election in which the result is being disputed. I began to think about the real cause of the conflict in Kenya and many other conflicts on the African Continent. So I wrote a little allegorical story.)Best Friends
Two little boys where the best of friends; they came from different families but they felt like brothers. The played wonderful games together, they explored, they had loads of fun.
One day a new kid showed up on the scene; he was a few years older than the boys. He began to play with them and observe them. He noticed that the younger boys had nice games, new footballs and basketballs to play with and always had a little bit of money for snacks or ice cream
So one day when the older boy was alone with one of the younger ones he told him that his friend, the other younger boy, had confided in him that sometimes he thought he was stupid and only tolerated hanging out with him because there weren't any other kids to play with.
On a different day the older boy relayed the same information to the other little boy.
Soon the little boys who had been the best of friends became suspicious of each other, they began to bicker and fight.
The older boy would always be there to break up their little fights. He also separately made each of the boys believe that he was really only friends with him.
Soon with out the others knowledge the little boys where giving money and buying things for the older boy. They were just so happy to have the older boy as a friend. They let him borrow their games and sports equipment.
As the little boys grew older they began to resent each other even more. Neither had forgotten the information their older friend had shared about the other.
That resentment continued and ultimately ruined the friendship of the two boys.
One day when the boys where teens and in high school they got into an argument over a girl. One of the boys pulled a gun out of his back pack and shot and killed his former friend.
Now one of the boys was dead and the other was in prison, possibly for life.
The older boy pretended to be upset, but he secretly thought them stupid for letting him ruin their friendship.
Soon the older boy found another set of best friends.
Do you think as I do that Europeans and others such as the Chinese (supporting the Sundanese Government) are responsible for planting the seeds of conflict in Africa?
What do you think of my allegory? (I've never written one before)
