THE FILMERS’ WORLD

Mr. Antwi’s burning car was between the Addos and his house
On the same street as those who filmed
They feigned shock and sympathy
As the man run from his bore hole to fetch water
No one thought to help
As they were busy answering to comments on their phones

II
Then it caught onto both houses
And Mr. Antwi rushed to call the Fire Service
The wind was working without restraint that day
So within a minute, it had caught on to four houses
It was then that Abu dropped his IPhone
And tried to rush into his house for his certificates
But it was too late
The fire was raging and had already married the wind
Still, the others filmed

III
Then more than five minutes passed
The Fire Service were not there
And the whole street had been engulfed by the fire
The only wooden house on the street belonged to Mr. Adrako
He was the chief filmer on set that day
I guess because his house was at the last end on his right side
When the fire met it
It licked everything like a sumptuous meal
He tried everything he could to stop it
Including using his hand to fan off the fire
And sustained severe burns

IV
The Fire Service van arrived when more than thirty houses
…had been razed to the ground
The fire had caught on the live electrical wires and were traveling through the air with sparks
It took a back up and a whole day with added hours
To stop the raging fire
By then, all the people on Ansah Lane
…where the fire started
Had lost their homes
All that were left were the phones of the filmers
For the fire started like a sad joke on a neighbour
And not a community threat
Why at all didn’t the fire start with a dangerous tag?
None of the filmers thought their actions flawed
And on that street, only Mr. Antwi had an insurance on everything he owned
That explains why many of those who were affected
…who were mostly renters
Now live in kiosks on the Abuako streets battling mosquitoes
…floods and insults
Amoafowaa Sefa Cecilia © November 7, 2021