Skip to main content

Beneath the Rubbles

 


The earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria was a disturbing news. Have you seen the videos of those tall houses sinking? A fifty floors building just decides to feel weak on its legs and topple? And the human remains beneath the rubbles? What’s even sad is that after all those people perished, Turkey and Syria were yet hit by another 6.4 magnitude earthquake early yesterday. 

I’m not a journalist, I’m just a story teller. I’ve been so much interested in Christian Atsu since the earth quake. From the time he was reported missing, to the time he was announced ‘rescued’ and finally to the time he was pronounced dead 12 days later after his body was found decaying under the rubble of his apartment. A father, a husband, a son, a brother, a footballer and most importantly a humanitarian - but also a decaying body.

Those who were wiser than us said that when death wants to visit it sends a sign. It knocks and might delay a bit. But when it already made its mind that it will strike. It surely does. Adede Owalla says the language in which death makes the announcement is either too complicated for our understanding or we ignore and fail to listen. Also known as Derep Ruoth, Adede Owalla is an author, educationist and a thespian. He takes us through the events that unfolded before Atsu met his untimely sad death.

Christian Atsu's twin sister Christiana Twasam, also known as Atsupie, called him via WhatsApp on February 5, at 10:34 AM TΓΌrkiye time - 7:34 AM in Ghana. Atsu assumed she was calling about a playground project at a Children's Center in Ada Fadoah that he promised to fund during the December holiday season, and Atsupie was his point person. However, this was not the case for the call. His sister had a dream the night before in which her brother Atsu was arrested in TΓΌrkiye and the residents were going to their house to express their commiserations.

In the dream, the family had chosen her to go and help negotiate his release, but she had no idea where the jail or his residence were to begin with. When she told Atsu, he chuckled and said, "sister, you are overly concerned about me, and it has gone into your brain; nothing is wrong." He instantly dismissed the dream and promised his sister that he would send the money for the playground project by the end of the week, as well as that he would be traveling to Paris that evening after their game with Kasimpasa to see his wife and children.

He assured his sister that he wouldn't be too worn out to travel because he wasn't selected for the starting lineup when Hatayaspor played Kasimpasa. His wife Marie-Claire Rupio called him that same day at approximately 12:00 PM to wish him luck in their match with Kasimpasa at Hatay Stadyumu, Hatay city, Turkey. The young ones greeted him as well. He assured his wife that he had already made travel arrangements to Paris and would depart Hatay that evening, on February 5, 2023. He promised to join them the next day.

After their match, his sister Atsupie, who was watching the game and keeping track of the scores, called to congratulate him on scoring in the 97th minute winner after coming on as a substitute in the 87th minute. Atsu informed her that he would not be departing that evening as scheduled and had postponed his trip to Paris in order to join his teammates in celebrating their win. The flight had been postponed for the morning.

When his sister questioned whether canceling the flight to celebrate a goal was necessary, he  told her that the goal he scored meant a lot to him and his football career in TΓΌrkiye. It turned out to be true; it was his final goal in life as well as his final goal in Turkey. His wife Marie-Claire was also not happy with his choice to reschedule the flight, but she suggested that since they would be hosting a small party with friends and it might go late, he should just pack his stuff, leave the house, and consider spending the night at a hotel close to the airport so that he wouldn't have trouble getting to the airport the following morning.

Atsu confirmed that evening to the wife that he had left the house for the party and would be making an arrangement for a room near the airport, and not going back to the house . He had his luggage in the car which belonged to Savut.

 At around 11:00 p.m., Hatayspor's sporting director Taner Savut, who lived in the same building as Atsu and was supposed to drive him to where he would spend the night, convinced him to return and spend the night at his house. Savut promised to drive him to the airport early the next morning if he didn't have anyone else. Savut has also been missing since the earthquake on February 6th.

His wife was dismayed by his decision to return home, but she assured him that as long as he could handle the morning rush, he would be fine. According to his wife, he was bad at keeping time, especially in the morning.

That same night, his twin sister Twasam had another dream about him, but she chose to share it with another sibling rather than with him. In this dream, Atsu returned to his home, but he couldn't speak to any of them because he had gone dumb. Many people had come to see him, but he was deafeningly silent.

They had no idea Atsu would be caught in the 7.8 magnitude earthquake on February 6th when the news broke. Some of his teammates assumed he spent the night in a hotel as planned, while others assumed it happened after he had already left the house.

His phone remained on until few days later, and his travel bags were strewn a few meters from where his decaying body was found. His bedroom clock continued to tick in the rubbles, maybe calling someone to come see how cruel death can be. I somehow wished Atsu was the clock and the clock was Atsu. What did the clock do to deserve survival? Did it score a winning goal anywhere? why didn't it show Atsu its ways at least? I feel hurt for someone I didn't even know, why are wishes not horses?

Of course he was arrested in the rubbles, just as his sister Atsupie had foreseen, and was flown back home when he couldn't speak. Dead silent!




You might also like 

Poems at Times





Comments

  1. Let me put this emoji here πŸ₯²πŸ₯²even before I read because I know it's a sad one

    ReplyDelete
  2. I knew it was going to be a sad one when I saw the picture of him.
    The language of death is too complicated for us.
    How a pregnant mother went into labor from the tremors and gave birth beneath the rubbles, mother died and baby survived? Nothing short of a miracle.

    Condolences to the families and a moment of silence for the victims. πŸ•―️πŸ•―️

    ReplyDelete
  3. This is a sad one. May he rest in peace. If only death listened we would have begged for more time...πŸ•―️πŸ•―️πŸ•Š️

    ReplyDelete
  4. This death really showed a sign. RIP AtsuπŸ•―️

    ReplyDelete
  5. The saddest story I've read in a while. May he Rest in Peace

    ReplyDelete
  6. May this son of Africa have peaceful transition. What a sad story!

    ReplyDelete
  7. This is quite πŸ˜”

    ReplyDelete
  8. This one broke my heart. Beneath the rubbles is a story of broken hearts

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Major Ariel

Ariel studies Chemistry, but is also a footballer who retired prematurely because of a bad knee. A knee that chose chemistry over football. He is a farmer during long holidays. He keeps chicken and milk his father’s cow on a good day. On a bad day he goes to a nearby dusty arena to play football, to see if his knee could have possibly changed its idea about chemistry. Ten minutes into the  game he becomes a living testimony that his knees were actually meant to stand long hours in the chemistry lab doing tests and mixing chemicals to see colour changes, precipitates and what have you that don’t excite me. He is a vocabulary expert and a story teller. He is a fitness aficionado. He is a brother and a son. I can’t prove that he is a boyfriend but I can prove beyond any limits that in the past 7 days he has eaten chapatti at least thrice.  He's authored   THE FAMILY MAN ,   WHAT I WANT , GRIP REAPER ,  J'S COCUNUTS just to mention a handful. He is a huge...

The Torque Talk Episode 5 (KIA Sorento)

KIA Sorento 2025 could be cheaper than the 2024 model by Mandla Lubanzi Image by: Motor1 Mid last month, Kia revealed the pricing and details for the 2025 Sorento Hybrid and Plug-In Hybrid, both of which have received the same updates as the 2024 pure combustion model. Unsurprisingly, prices have increased compared to last year—quite significantly in some instances. However, there's an unexpected twist. The base price of the new Sorento plug-in hybrid is actually lower than it was. This is because a new entry-level trim has been released. The plug-in hybrid's base price, which includes a $1,375 shipping charge, is now $49,365 for the EX model. This preserves the same hybrid drivetrain with 261 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque, but it comes with a $2,300 lower starting MSRP than the model from the previous year. In summary, it has a 14-kilowatt-hour battery pack, a single electric motor, and a turbocharged 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine. The 2025 Sorento has a 30-mile ele...

The Torque Talk Episode 7 (Subaru Forester vs Mazda CX5)

Battle of the Giants: Subaru Forester SJ5 vs. Mazda CX-5 – Kenyan Edition! Here's the thing , we have the Subaru Forester SJ5 2017 model, a vehicle that’s practically a Swiss Army knife on wheels. In the other corner, the Mazda CX-5 2017—sleek, stylish, and always ready to give you side-eye like your secret admirer-crush. Let’s start with the Forester. This beast is like that one friend who insists on going on safari every weekend. With enough space for a whole family (or that Kadebe thing), it’s perfect for those kanga road trips to Diani. Plus, it has a fabulous symmetrical all-wheel drive system—because the last thing you need on a rainy day in Nairobi is a car that decides it's taking a detour to the nearest pothole. Now, the CX-5 is like the cool guy who eats mutura and chafuas meza ya kalocal. It’s stylish, it’s got curves in all the right places, and gives you the rich uncle/aunt vibes! With a plush interior and impressive tech features and premium music sytem, it might ...