Once upon a time in Bananaland there was a Leader who loved his countrymen, who shared their joys and pain and was determined to set the example to encourage his people to take the right path for the good of the country.

He made sure he was surrounded by the best possible team of ministers and counselors. While he travelled the world to explain his country?s visions and ambitions to other great leaders and to seek their learned advice his second-in-charge would work hard to make sure things continue to work smoothly. The latter would leave home early enough to accompany all the people travelling to work, even if that meant braving peak hour traffic: that was his way of gauging the daily pains endured by divers as they struggled their way into the capital city. As for the counsellors, they were all highly competent people the Leader could trust because they were among his closest relations or had been recommended by influent groups representing the people.

Our Leader was however facing very harsh conditions for his country ? because the people had been foolish enough to trust another leader a few years before. Thank God their eyes opened in time when our laudable Leader and his team came forth with their great projects that would ensure prosperity for one and all. To earn that prosperity this admirable people would have to make a few sacrifices: pay more for their daily bread, accept to give a big part of their savings as taxes and pay some more taxes on the land they had acquired through previous sacrifices. All the money would get back to the people ? some day.

This culture of sacrifice started with the children in the country who had to work the hardest possible to prove that they were apt to continue their education. The weakest ones would have to leave the system at some stage. If they were lucky enough, they would find a job as gardener or maid at one of the villas on the coast. A few others would probably end up like their father as drunkards or in jail for having stolen, killed, raped or committed incest, or their mother who was being sued for having committed abortion or join their 15-year old sister in her ?evening job??.. Such was the price of development.

One of these children was a little boy of eleven. Every day he worked hard at school ? listening very attentively to what the teacher told them, making sure he copied all the exercises on the blackboard and did them correctly, learning his lessons by heart and keeping it all to himself so that his classmates would not get past him when the exams came. In the afternoons he would go to private tuitions to learn more lessons from his teacher and in the week-ends he would also take tuitions from another teacher. He had no time for playing with his siblings or other children, going to the beach or visiting his grand-parents and it did not matter for his parents were there to support him. His mother was so proud to tell her colleagues how strongly she hoped her son would get that A+ and his father would sit with him until the early morning hours as he did all his homework.Inspired by his Leader he had many dreams for his parents, brother and sister and himself. He did not quite understand what sacrifice meant, but was sure that one day he would also have his villa with a swimming pool, his own laptop, a cell-phone that would be even more sophisticated that the one Mum and Dad offered him for his last birthday and yes, he would save every penny he had so that one day he could drive that same car that his Leader had afforded thanks to the savings he had made over many many years of hard labour ?..

M.S. CRETIN