Of Beetles and Angels by Mawi Asgedom Page A

CHILD HAD VANISHED BEFORE THE POLICEMAN COULD SEE THEM .
    A s TO TEMESGEN AND KIBROM EXPLAINING THEMSELVES TO THE POLICEMAN , I TOLD THE JUDGE THAT THEY HAD JUST COME TO THIS COUNTRY AND COULD NOT COMMUNICATE .
    I DO NOT LIKE TO LIE— YOU KNOW THAT THE BIBLE IT SELF TELLS US THAT WE SHOULD NOT LIE . B UT THEY CAME TO ME AND ASKED FOR HELP, AND I KNEW ONLY ONE WAY TO HELP THEM . M AY G OD FORGIVE ME .
    My father paused before continuing with his next tale.
    A NOTHER TIME, THE SON OF T ESFU CALLED ME IN A PANIC . H IS FAMILY HAD JUST COME TO THIS COUNTRY AND HAD MOVED INTO THEIR HOME . T HEN THEIR YOUNGEST SON, THE BIG, LUMBERING ONE, WENT TO TAKE A BATH .
    W ELL , H AILOM HAD NEVER TAKEN A BATH THE AMERICAN WAY AND DID NOT KNOW HOW TO OPEN THE WATER . H E PUT HIS BIG HANDS ON THE TWO WATER OPENERS, AND INSTEAD OF TURNING THE OPENERS, HE PULLED .
    I DON’T NEED TO TELL YOU HOW STRONG HE IS . H E WRENCHED BOTH OPENERS OUT OF THE WALL .
    T HE WATER STARTED TRICKLING OUT AT FIRST, THEN RUSHED AT HIM IN FIERCER BURSTS . S OON, IT HAD FLOODED THE BATHROOM AND FLOWED TO THE REST OF THE HOUSE .
    T HE POOR FAMILY SCURRIED LIKE A ROOSTER WITH ITS HEAD CUT OFF, TO THE KITCHEN, TO THE BASEMENT, TO THE LITTLE PIPES OUTSIDE, LOOKING FOR A WAY TO TURN THE WATER OFF . B UT THEY HAD NO IDEA WHAT THEY WERE DOING. THE WATER KEPT CLIMBING HIGHER AND HIGHER, AND DAMAGING MORE AND MORE OF THE TOWNHOUSE, SEEPING INTO THE WALLS AND EVEN INTO THE APPLIANCES .
    F INALLY, THE SON OF TESFU KNOCKED FRANTICALLY ON HIS NEIGHBOR’S DOOR . H E COULD NOT TALK WITH HER BE CAUSE HE DID NOT KNOW E NGLISH, BUT SHE UNDERSTOOD THAT HE NEEDED HELP, AND SHE RAN BACK WITH HIM AND TURNED OFF THE CENTRAL WATER SOURCE .
    B UT IT WAS TOO LATE . T HE WATER HAD FLOODED THE ENTIRE HOUSE, AND WORST OF ALL, IT HAD SEEPED INTO THE WALLS . P ERMANENT DAMAGE HAD BEEN DONE .
    W HEN THE LANDLORD SAW HIS HOUSE RUINED, HE BECAME CRAZED AND TOOK THEM TO THE HOUSE OF JUDGMENT, CLAIMING SOME THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS . B UT SEVERAL THOU SAND DOLLARS MIGHT AS WELL HAVE BEEN A BILLION DOLLARS — THEY COULDN’T PAY IT .
    I HAD ALREADY TRANSLATED FOR THEM DURING THEIR FIRST DAYS, AS I HAD DONE AND STILL DO FOR MANY OF THE
HABESHA .T HEY HAD HEARD ABOUT HOW I HAD HELPED T EMESGEN AND K IBROM YEARS AGO . S O THEY CAME TO ME AND BEGGED ME FOR HELP . A GAIN , I DID NOT KNOW HOW I COULD HELP, BUT I COULD NOT REFUSE THEM .
    I TOLD THE JUDGE — A DIFFERENT JUDGE FROM THE LAST TIME — THAT I COULD TRANSLATE . A GAIN , I TOOK THE PROMISE . AFTER EXPLAINING THE ACCUSATIONS TO ME, THE JUDGE ASKED ME TO ASK THEM IF THEY WERE GUILTY.
    L IKE WITH T EMESGEN , I KNEW THAT WE COULD NOT COMPLETELY DENY OUR GUILT . T HE PROOF WAS TOO STRONG . B UT NEITHER COULD WE ADMIT OUR GUILT BECAUSE THEN THEY WOULD PUNISH US BEYOND OUR MEANS .
    “W E ARE POOR PEOPLE ,” I TOLD THE JUDGE . “W E DO NOT KNOW YOUR LANGUAGE OR YOUR WAYS, ESPECIALLY WHEN WE FIRST COME HERE . THEY CAME TO THIS COUNTRY FROM THE BACKCOUNTRIES OF E RITREA AND S UDAN, AND THERE, WE DO NOT HAVE PLUMBING SYSTEMS . H ERE, YOU CAN EASILY OPEN THE WATER AND TAKE A DRINK OR A BATH . T HERE, JUST TO DRINK WATER, YOU MIGHT HAVE TO DRAG THE WATER FROM THE WELL, EMPTY IT INTO A KETTLE, AND BOIL IT TO KILL THE PARASITES .
    “W HEN THIS FAMILY CAME HERE, THEY DID NOT KNOW HOW TO OPEN THE WATER . I N FACT, YOU ARE LOOKING AT A FAMILY THAT KNEW SO LITTLE ABOUT LIFE IN AMERICA THAT WHEN THEY CAME, THEY MARKED THE SAME BIRTH DATE FOR THEMSELVES . L OOK AT THEIR M EDICAID CARD HERE; IT SAYS THAT ALL SIX OF THEM WERE BORN ON J ANUARY ONE .
    “T HE SON WENT TO THE BATHROOM, HOPING TO TAKE A BATH, AND INSTEAD, HE FLOODED THE HOUSE . W E DO NOT DENY HIS MISTAKE, AND IT SEEMS THAT HE SHOULD BE PUNISHED .
    “B UT LET’S THINK ABOUT THIS : W HO REALLY MADE THE MISTAKE ?
    “T HE LANDLORD KNEW THAT HIS TENANTS WERE REFUGEES FROM AN UNDEVELOPED COUNTRY . H E KNEW THAT THEY HAD JUST ARRIVED. D ID HE GIVE THEM A TOUR OF THE HOUSE AND EXPLAIN THE NECESSARY THINGS TO