Our Sister Killjoy

Content Warning: This section includes discussions of anti-Black racism and anti-gay bias.

Sissie and Marija arrive at the cottage. The two women discuss Little Adolf. Marija cannot safely get pregnant again, so she is glad that her only child is a son. Sissie knows that people express similar sentiments all over the world. Marija admits that she will never visit Sissie in Ghana, though she hopes her son might travel to South Africa or Rhodesia (Zimbabwe). Sissie suggests visiting Nigeria, as she thinks it “has all the characteristics which nearly every African country has; but also presents these characteristics in bolder outlines” (52). Sissie has also visited Upper Volta (Burkina Faso) as a tourist. 

Sissie thinks about the difficulties facing Upper Volta and other parts of Africa that have recently become independent. Some areas deal with corruption, poor infrastructure, bad economies, and limited educational outcomes. The rulers of these countries often have European wives who bring “their brothers or…who knows? / To run the / Economy” (55). They also send a few of their young people abroad for a European education, allowing them to “make it” and live a good life while other people in their country suffer.