The Sunday Mail
I was disturbed from sleep early last Saturday morning by my neighbour’s three sons, who were growling at each other like hungry lions.
The boys called each other names and tore into each other’s character that one would be at pains to appreciate they have a blood bond, sharing the same mother and the same father.
When I hurriedly rose to separate them, I heard they were fighting over food, bill payments and the general upkeep of their late parents’ house.
One of them, I was told, has three children from an equal number of mothers, but he rarely buys food, neither does he care to provide for their tuition, foisting the burden of caring for their needs on his siblings.
The other brother, yours truly was informed, is a hustler, who buys and sells goods to make ends meet.
He is unmarried and childless but seems to be carrying the cross of providing for his brothers and their offspring.
The youngest brother is jobless, clueless and useless. All he does is spend whatever comes his way on booze and women of easy virtue.
The brothers’ only sister seems to be running an unregistered child-bearing project, with children of various totems, structure and complexions under her parents’ roof.
“Uyo ikatsi chaiyo, ane vana vemavara akasiyana-siyana, vananababa vakasiyana-siyana nehunhu hwakasiyana-siyana,” the fighting brothers told this writer as they had temporarily stopped their fight to gang up against their sister.
Welcome to the world of sibling rivalry and responsibility.
Gentle reader, sibling rivalry and disagreements over responsibility are not confined to my neighbourhood only.
It is a reality that affects people of all economic circumstances, colour, creed, sex, denomination and political persuasion.
Some people have grown so accustomed to sponging off others that they will never acquire medical aid and funeral policies.
When they fall sick, they usually worsen their plight by taking uncertified concoctions from unregistered street herbalists.
In the event of death, they leave people in debts but sadly brag: “Inini ndakarongeka. Vemhuri yangu vanazvo. Vanosota yese.”
There are some people who will never buy even a tablet of soap, yet they want to bath regularly.
They will take hours in the bathroom using water, soap and even towels that do not belong to them.
Others want to look chic at all costs, but they will never spend any cobble on the nice clothes they want to wear or want the world to think they have.
“I have a serious challenge with my sister. She wears my choicest clothes to her endless parties and weddings, and does not care to dry-clean or wash them afterwards.
“At one point, my dress was left with a cigarette hole after it was burnt at a party and she never bothered to tell me. I only discovered it when I wanted to attend a colleague’s wedding,” a workmate told this writer recently.
But she is not alone.
A drinking mate of mine has challenges with his brothers.
“The guys are certainly going to suffer the day I drop dead.
“They never buy food, neither do they pay for electricity and water. All they do is tell me when supplies are switched off for non-payment. I am living as though I was born alone.
“These characters want to cook a lot. They wake up to roast sausages and fry eggs in the dead of the night, but wait until the household provisions are finished and they start complaining about hunger. I don’t know what to do with these brothers of mine,” he said as we downed ice-cold beers at a city tavern.
As I commit pen to paper, gentle reader, there are countless characters who are wallowing in debt because they have to pay fees for children belonging to their thankless siblings who burden them with costs all the time.
“Taking a rural trip with my siblings is no joy at all. They do not pay for fuel; neither do they pay the tollgate fees nor buy food on the way.
“All they do is shout at my wife and demand respect while quaffing their beers in the car. They seemingly think it is my right to pay for their comfort,” he said.
“When you do good or shoulder their responsibilities, all you get is a half-hearted thank you, with prospects of being ushered into other challenges,” he sobbed.
Gentle reader, it is wise to strive never to always be a burden to others to make the world a better place for everyone.
Inotambika mughetto.
