Photos: Baby and I aboard Ethiopian flight: Addis to Pointe Noire

Cosmopolitanism best describes being aboard a flight – more so, an international one. I was aboard Ethiopian in early July 2018 from Ethiopia heading to the Republic of Congo.

More often than not, who sits close to you in an aeroplane is not for you to determine – at least I can say so for the economy class. Be they African, American, Asian, Arab or Australian.

Point is, you have to ‘entertain’ each other at that moment – for all it’s worth we all dished out as much as the other to secure our seats.

I particularly remember offering to switch seats with a father who needed to be close to his three kids. Daddy was to sit at the far back, whiles the boys and girl were in the middle. But this piece is more about a baby on board.

Having survived the laborious Addis Ababa Bole International check-in processes, there I was luckily with a seat close to the window. I needed shots of the skies and aerial views of Addis Ababa, Brazzaville and Pointe Noire – my final destination.

Not long before I found that my seat section will have only two passengers, myself and one granny, Congolese I surmised. The middle seat was unoccupied.

But right in front of us, an air hostess offered three seats stretch to a mother with her baby and that baby and I had a blast of sorts – teasing, smiling, cooing and gesturing intermittently. Here below: Captioned photos of our close to five-hour ‘aerial exchanges’ – Me and baby, on mom’s blindside. 

We had just taken to the skies with Addis Ababa down below

Then I spotted baby keeping mommy busy, they had ALL three seats to 'emselves

Wasn't long before baby started looking my way as she fidgeted with armrest 

Gave mom a hard time intermittently stopping by to hala at me ... uncle as always waved back

Oops! Then mom lifted the armrest and 'cut' communication. But she came even closer as she was passed to spend time with granny, seated next to me.

Back to base, armrest down and last leg of our muted communication continued unabated.

Before long, the skies of Pointe Noire beckoned, descent and disembarkment - sadly. Didn't ask for baby's name from mom, our little friendship was enough. LOL.

POEM: The corpse whose parents needed prayers than it did

That automobile is always a sign, that for someone the end had come

'Come' as he/ she/it had been brought for the last and final prayer

Prayer classically short: Four 'Allahu Akbar' and one "Salamu Alaikum"

Salamu Alaikum, the mosque announcer said after prayers and said

Said that we had a funeral prayer to offer – for a 10-month old baby

Baby's parents had brought it to the mosque for final Islamic prayers

Prayers they as parents needed lots of in what clearly were hard times

Time and again I joined funeral prayers but never for a young one as this

This remains a deep seep in the general scheme of events most profound

A profoundness steeped in the same funeral rights for the aged and baby

Baby was prayed upon, put in the same ambulance with its famed siren

Siren blowing as if to remind each of us of that inescapable fact of life

Life which is proverbially said is of three – yesterday, today, tomorrow

Tomorrow unknown, yesterday long gone, what is left for us is today

Today I seek patience and blessing for baby's parents and for my late dad

Dad and mom of deceased baby, I know you not, but for you I pray.

Context:

Islam gives equal prominence for even the fœtus when it reaches a certain stage of formation. So the baby had to be taken through the process any deceased Muslim – however old – goes through.

Again, our religion through the Prophet has taught us that such children who died before their book of account could be open are admitted into a School of Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) and will intercede on behalf of their parents on the Day of Judgment.

More often, at the Grande Mosque of Pointe Noire, Republic of Congo, the deceased is put behind the mosque as we pray Zuhr waiting to say their last prayer for them. On this day (July 30), the usual stretcher was absent but a small 'package' wrapped with green cloth – there lay the baby.

A number of men ordinarily carry the deceased from behind to the front and after prayers into the ambulance, in this case – there was one person doing the routine with the baby.

Having said that, Islam has a specific prayer in the case of a deceased being a baby – this was the first time I took keen notice of that. It is hereby produced below.