They were wearing red, and that marked them as being
strangers to the area. Nor did they speak any Hausa. The daughter had the
fistula, and her father and mother had made the trip with her from tiny village
to small town, from small town to larger center, and from larger center all the
way to Danja. Shortly after arrival, Bintu had her surgery. She was in a bed on
the ward when I first spoke to her. I knew one single word of their language,
but I also knew another language which the mother spoke—a little, and the
father spoke—more.
A few days later the mother and father, along with my
husband and I, had a more meaningful talk. The Muslim feast of Eid al-Adha,
locally known as Tabaski, was about 10 days away. The father desperately wanted
to get back to their tiny village to celebrate with family. He proposed that
the women stay with relatives in the city near Danja while he went home. The
mother, listening to his plans, began to cry silently, a tear or two escaping
her. They all wanted to go home for this biggest-of-all-holidays. As we
talked and translated, it became clear that the daughter had had a successful
surgery, and was actually well enough to make the journey.
The head nurse talked to the father, and my husband translated
into our shared language. She’s to eat good food. She’s to maintain very good
hygiene. She’s not to have relations with her husband. That was not a problem,
as her husband was still in another country trying to earn money. She’s to return
in six months for a check-up. She’s not to ride on a camel or a horse. She’s
not to ride on the top of a vehicle. “Money,” said her father, “can buy her a
front seat inside the vehicle.” I put in, “When you finish the first day’s
journey, you should probably stay a whole day there, for her to rest.” “Oh,
that’s no problem,” he said, “all our extended family will be coming to greet
us and congratulate her on her recovery. We wouldn’t leave immediately anyway.”
The facts are dry: patient, age 20, first child, in labor
for 5 days, delivery by a midwife in a health center, vacuum extraction, baby
dead, uncomplicated obstetrical fistula. But a father and mother’s love for
their daughter and determination to surmount multiple obstacles for her sake
set the story in color for me.
