Cracked lips, Cracked heels and dry skin.For three odd months, they persevere through the cold and dusty winds. Each morning, they have the extra burden of setting fire to enable them heat their bath water. Those who do not gather firewood rely on water heaters, which add to their cost of living through higher light bills.
The time has come for you to tell of the human and capital resources lost to the colder morning weather; The number of days you spend away from your posts, having been struck by cold-related sicknesses; the extra hours you spend under your sheets , escaping the colder winds and your subsequent lateness to your posts.
The month of harmattan certainly leaves its toll on us; The extra funds we employ to purchase thicker socks and woolen clothen to keep the cold a bay; The extra money we spend on body moisturizers and ‘mouth oils’ to protect our God-given delicate skins and lips; The extra resources we toil for in order to buy soapy and soapless detergents to clean our formal and casual wears affected by the dusty winds.
For me, the time has come to break the silence. With the extra time i spend collecting my scanty allowance from the district cordinator’s office usually in the 3rd week of the following month, it’s high time i was shown further appreciation by my government. For accepting to be posted to one of the northern regions to promote this nation’s development, while my colleagues in the south sought for changes, i deserve a 3-month compensation package: The Harmattan Allowance.
January 23, 2010
sataar
