Child of Unknown Father

Before the birth of fatherless children Life was good, the land was peaceful To the field we went happily Children knew and played with fathers Peace died because war was awful To unlivable areas women fled unhappily Fathers taken as war hostages Evils of sickness, hunger and thirst we endured In our hideouts, the worst of evils was war rape Unknown gunmen made us impregnated Fatherless children we delivered Children of mothers they are Community hates this for man decides On him, mother and child depend Wordless the mother is, and so the child becomes Unhappily and unfreely the child grows He cannot play with his unknown dad So shame builds on him, as no father he has We never decided to bear a child in impurity Who will never be at harmony And whose life and education are risky For he is fatherless and family ignominy Ultimately, mother and child need basic rights For they both are victims of their innocence Poem by Mugisho N Theophile