Ink Around the World

Margaret Chinaza Nigeria Glimpses of Black and White   I recall that particular day, flashes of burning flesh and the thick smell of iron in the blood that was spilled on the brown sand.   That day Mother dressed so well, so sure today would be her biggest...

Ansila Ummer UAE The new teacher   “Aren't you the one who applied in the angels school?” asked a lady in a blue tee and jeans. She probably looked like she was from the Philippines. She, along with some others, were cleaning off the mud from playing in the...

Oluwatoyosi Kehinde Sokeye Lagos, Nigeria Tradition should be appreciated not forced   I wonder why tradition is being forced upon us. I know our elders and parents see it as a way of keeping the lineage, but something that should be taught in a way that we -the...

Anushka Unknown Inauguration   Numerous international leaders attended the inauguration because it was an autumn day for the people of South Africa. They have gotten freedom from restriction and deprivation. They are now free, no longer treated differently or...

Nancy Ouma Kenya When Lagos and Nairobi Collide   It was a good day, one of those beautiful sunny afternoons. And he was just sitting there, on a bar stool, eating his lunch quietly. He looked unsettled, like something was bothering him, like he was quite out of...

Tushar Abdullah Dhaka, Bangladesh Keep Smiling   “Keep smiling!” The doctor said to the patient, “you have tea, coffee, wine, cigarettes. What to eat?” The patient smiles shyly and says: “Don't stay, doctor, it doesn't take anything, I have eaten from home!”...

Arooj Tariq Pakistan Look At Me   I used to be human friendly and used to help them live comfortable and luxurious lives. I provide them with food, water, wood and pure air to breathe which are common but most essential things for life, without which a life can’t...

Sudiksha Karthika India The Brass Teapot   Steam curls out of the spout of the brass teapot. On its surface, you can see the reflection of an old man slowly arranging two cups and two plates of biscuits. He sits down and opens up a newspaper, reading its contents...

Adomako Eugene Ghana The escapable plight of intercultural boundaries   An adage that implies that, divided we fall, united we stand is so true. Imagine a world with uniform ways of life, where people adore different cultures, not seeing theirs as superior to...

Supriya Shukla India Deceased Visions   We buried my brother with his dreams. On colored scraps of paper my young son, Teddy, and I scrawled all the fantasies Abe never achieved for lack of trying: hero, quarterback, singer, actor and more and crammed them in the...

Mihir Bhatt India India – End to the missing glass of life   I remember the day when I stepped foot on Indian soil. The vibrant shades of the market – cauliflower, golden mangoes. I listen to the walls tell their stories of kings and queens wrapped in sandstone...

Jigyasa Tandon India Cremated Fireworks   A delighted synonym to city dwellers, Avram was a proud college president. Mostly found in the circle of praises, good greats, right social choices, good team and upright fashion. She never realized she was running...

Prince Acquah Ghana The Broken Wing of Adolescence   Growing up wasn’t something easy for me; especially in the environment I found myself in. The awful name people called me was “Kojo Besia”, which was a shameful name that referred to a boy who behaved like a...

Marilyn Dankyi Ghana Together   The transition from Junior High School (JHS) to Senior High School (SHS) in the Ghanaian context is one every student eagerly anticipates. One of the exciting things about SHS in Ghana is meeting new people from different...

Varshini bg  Mysore Poverty   Poverty is a problem we have been facing for many years. Everywhere we  see, there is the agony of poverty. Is India a poor country? Or does it not take any responsibility for this issue. Hunger, weakness, weeping, is overflowing...

Vidhi K Sanghvi India The Us beyond I   Under the dark, silent skies in the middle of lush green fields in Punjab, in a small village called Moga, we were celebrating and rejoicing our independence from British rule. It was the third year of our independence. We...

Nancy Mwacharo Voi-Kenya Brave Boy Tabo   Orphaned at an early age, he had a lonely, difficult life. He was tossed from one relative to another, denied the basic needs of a young man. At the age of 22, Tabo could not hold it anymore, therefore settled for early...

Chelsea Waithera Munderu Kenya Visiting Wajir County   Beyond the dusty road, lay a beautiful homestead in Wajir county, Kenya, about 100 meters away from the main road. We were graciously welcomed by Ishmael's mother, who was wearing a beautiful smile adorned in...

Lavanya Krishna Bangalore, India Afraid of the Dark   I didn't know what a skort was when I first walked into the homeroom. I didn't know what homeroom was, either. My teacher said, "a skort is in between a skirt and shorts. Both and neither. Like you. Indian and...

Shivani Raj Urs L India Sight   Sitting across the corner was an old man with tattered clothes. On the other side of the hospital room separated by a black thick curtain was another man aged towards his mid-thirties. The two men could not see each other's faces,...

Gal Markovitz People you meet   I used to travel a lot across the world. It was mine as I traveled alone. The only problem was that I am from Israel. I don’t think it's really an issue for everyone, but you hear enough scary stories, and you know your status....

Linda Uchegbu Nigeria The Decision   “I needed to grow. The thought made me scared because I knew everything would have to change.” Alphonsus had never shared his story before. The worried look on his granddaughter’s face prompted the flow of a story long...

Elizabeth Oluwayemisi Idudhe Lagos, Nigeria Lost in translation   I had just resumed at my new office. Henk, the Head of Department was Dutch and a Bachelor, while the Travels Coordinator Sasha, a woman, was Russian. A few days later, another Russian woman, Olga,...

Preetima Das Assam, India From Darkness to Light   I opened my eyes, catching my head due to pain while sitting up from the ground and told myself: "How dark the sky is!" Then I stood up, and while walking through the street, suddenly I bumped into someone. A man...

Tosin Morakinyo Lagos, Nigeria The Middle East God   As soon as I completed my University Education, my father's expectation was for me to return home with a fiancée. Prior to my final papers, my father kept ringing it in my ears to bring home my wife to be....

Jeffrey De-Graft Hanson Ghana Black Crime.   My name is Jeffrey. My only crime? I'm black. Black in a white country. I won't name it here, but you can guess. Put any racist country you want there. Come to think of it, every country has racism and ethnocentrism in...

Sophia Onwane Lagos Nime Choka   My school was big on ensuring that every student had the Pan-African experience, and I was also very excited to immerse myself into all the different cultures that I would come across on campus. But my social anxiety came out...

Edith Mokwe Lagos, Nigeria Tales of Enekhe: From Udo to Paris   As Enekhe laid on the street of Paris in the pool of her blood, her mind slowly losing consciousness, she could hear the faint sound of an ambulance as it was rushing towards her. But her thoughts...

Onoruoiza Mark Onuchi Lagos Nigeria The Strength in Our Diversity   The diversity of humanity is what beautifies and amplifies our cross-cultural evolution. The aesthetic ensemble of art is its colorful configuration on canvas. It is like the human body –...

Chigozie Mbadugha Lagos, Nigeria I Only See A Friend   3:40 a.m. in mid-August… A few years ago, I got a phone call that dashed my world. I lost my favorite sister-in-law after an elective surgery. I have consciously blotted out the exact date. It could have been...

Anonymous South Africa (limpopo) Africa, feminism is power   I was five years old when I was taught how to carry myself as an African female. As in how to speak, sit, walk and so on. It made me feel so trapped because I couldn't be who I really was. "Sit properly...

Aaditya Sengupta Dhar Mumbai, India Tug of War   No bigger Cricket match: India versus Pakistan! The stadium, packed with fans, on one side a sea of Indian blue, the other, Pakistani green, taunting each other as emotions boil over. Virat Kohli sends the ball...

Marvellous Adelaja Nigeria A Saturday like Today.   While I like to eat "amala" and "ewedu" soup on Saturdays, especially cold Saturdays, like today has promised to be; Amaka, my yellow-skinned roommate would always insist on having a plate of "Fufu" and "Oha"...

Abdiel Tabuzo Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Tolerance   One night, a child was born into a different land, far away from his parent's homeland. He grew up beloved by his parents and family. In the foreign land, he needed to blend in. He went to a school where...

Eniola Kwuelum Lagos, Nigeria. Onye Mmeri- The one who conquers   As I approach the exit of the Anambra International Airport in Anambra, Nigeria, I see banners of my name waved in the air. Some of them contain my old pictures, and I guess that must’ve been my...

Victor Udonsi Nigeria   Love is Love! Last month, I had the pleasure and privilege of speaking with a Palestinian expatriate living in the USA. I have never been more grateful for online forums in my life. We had a lengthy discussion and just like me, he revealed...

Fathia Kareem Nigeria I thought I was invincible   Yes, I tested positive for COVID-19. I fell victim to this virus: a nasty, lingering virus that gave me the worst symptoms I’ve experienced to this day, that I wouldn’t wish upon anyone. My story is to warn you...

Shakirat kareem Nigeria  Are We Healing Or Hurting?   2 p.m., we walked downtown, pushing our way through the ever-busy streets. For thirty minutes now, we had been enjoying our exploration of the city panoramas. Suddenly, the scenes started changing, and we...

Christiana Okere Nigeria Food Escapades in Egypt   As soon as my eyes met the abomination in front of me, my appetite quickly receded into the background. Why would anyone in their right mind combine okra soup with rice? Even more deplorable was that the okra was...

Zoe Octavia Obazee Lagos, Nigeria Call me, Zoe!   To be born in Freetown, is to identify with that ancient Cotton Tree and that my father is Liberian is a connection to that former Football Star, George Weah, who today is president.   It was time to give me...

Patrick Kinene Gichuki Kenya Ruiru campus Living for the future   Life works in mysterious ways. Ways we cannot explain. Life has its teeth, but if it’s not your turn to get bit, you’ll just have to continue living. Life was placing me in a corner. As a young lad...

Ayomide Benedicta Lawrence Lagos, Nigeria Light   Her stilettos flew swiftly, landing on my skull. An electronic current passed through my frail body. When she was done, I felt like I was stung all over by scorpions. I watched her shower love on the other...

Anonymous Rwanda “I once heard, we are all different, yet the same.   “Diversity, culture, traditions, beliefs, differences, complexity.” These are how we proclaim our differences to others.   “What!” She screamed, with her pupils dilated in shock. “You do...

Anastasia Ugwu Nigeria Unity in Diversity   Olamma sighed for what appeared to be the hundredth time that morning. She hadn't come to terms with the fact that she'd spend a year at a remote village in Northern Nigeria. She'd heard stories about the striving,...

Priviledge Chisumbu Harare, Zimbabwe My Little World Whenever I came back from college, I felt like a giant. This wasn’t because of my academic achievement. This four-roomed petite maison in the ghetto shrunk whenever I compared it to my exotic designs. Nevertheless,...

Audrey Obuobisa-Darko Ghana What Sweden Did   9 p.m., May 6th. Forehead kiss from Ma, sad goodbyes, and my final departure to a land far from home.   “Freezing!” “Welcome to Sweden,” Göran laughed. I met other writers on the African Literature Project; Mercy...

Omotara Akinsowon Lagos, Nigeria. I Heard A Rumour   Sheila walked down her street, dragging her feet along with a distraught look on her face. Why had she not studied more for her English test?   Possibly because her parent's late-night yelling had taken...

Riham El-Ashry Egypt Different   Students ran down the lobby; some were laughing and some excited to witness a fight. It would be the first this year.   "Milton got the new boy in a corner. He's dead," one whispered to his shorter friend, trying to convey...