egungun a traditional Yoruba festival—a masquerade where masked dancers and drummers call on spirits of their ancestors to return to earth to bless them
gari ground cassava, a root vegetable
gele a head scarf for a woman matching her outfit (Yoruba)
harmattan a dry land wind that blows down south from the Sahara for about three months, usually beginning in November
iwin sprites or spirits believed to live in forests (Yoruba)
Iyawo a wife or a bride, partner of Oko (Yoruba)
naira Nigerian currency
O dabo! Good-bye! (Yoruba)
Oga, open de door! Master, open the door! (Pidgin English)
Oko husband, partner of Iyawo (Yoruba)
O ma se o! What a pity! (Yoruba)
Open am! Open up! (Pidgin English)
Or we go break dis gate o! Or we shall break the gate! (Pidgin English)
pawpaw a fruit with soft bright-orange flesh and small black seeds (also known as papaya)
peppersoup a soup made with hot chilies
Pidgin English a form of colloquial English that arose between English-speaking traders and speakers of various West African languages. Nigerian Pidgin has its own vocabulary and forms that are particular to Nigeria.
plantain a vegetable like a giant banana
Queen’s English Standard English, the official language of Nigeria
Wetin you carry for back? What are you carrying at the back? (Pidgin English)
yam a root vegetable
You think sey I dey play? Do you think I am playing? (Pidgin English)
Yoruba the language of the second-largest group in Nigeria, a vast country in which over 200 languages are spoken
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
For the knowledge I have gained of Nigeria over the years, I thank two families in particular. The Oke family—with special thanks to Dr. Adetinuke Tadese for her comments on my manuscript and to her parents for a lifetime friendship and the integrity of their vision. Also the Oyeleye family for a wealth of insight—with special thanks to Olusola Oyeleye, not only for her encouragement and comments but for introducing me to her mother’s proverbs before introducing me to her mother.
There are many other individuals, establishments, and organizations concerned with refugee children and asylum seekers whom I wish to thank. Unfortunately, they are too many to name in all but I would like to offer special thanks to: Jennifer Abuah of the Refugee Advisory Project; child psychotherapist Sheila Melzak of the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture; David Verity-Smith; Jill Rutter and Terry Smith of the Refugee Council; Sheila Kasabova of Camden Refugee Education Project; Jeanette Redding of Enfield Refugee Education Team; Enfield Language and Curriculum Access Service staff and their students at Kingsmead and Lea Valley High School; Annie Donaldson and her students at Warwick Park School in Southwark.
I thank all those who read and commented on my manuscript with a special thank-you to Zora Laattoe. Thanks, as ever, to my family for their various supportive roles. Finally, thank you to the Arts Council of England for support and acknowledgment in the form of a generous Writers’ Award.
ALSO BY BEVERLEY NAIDOO
OUT OF BOUNDS:
Seven Stories of Conflict and Hope
NO TURNING BACK:
A Novel of South Africa
CHAIN OF FIRE
JOURNEY TO JO’BURG:
A South African Story
AWARDS FOR THE OTHER SIDE OF TRUTH
Carnegie Medal
Smarties Silver Medal
A School Library Journal Best Book
A Publishers Weekly Best Book
Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Young Adult Fiction Finalist
An ALA Notable Book
An ALA Best Book for Young Adults
New York Public Library’s Books for the Teen Age
Capitol Choices: Noteworthy Books for Children
An IRA/CBC Teachers’ Choice
Copyright
THE OTHER SIDE OF TRUTH. Copyright © 2000 by Beverley Naidoo. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Naidoo, Beverley.
The other side of truth / by Beverley Naidoo.
p. cm.
Summary: Smuggled out of Nigeria after their mother’s murder, Sade and her younger brother are abandoned in London when their uncle fails to meet them at the airport and they are fearful of their new surroundings and of what may have happened to their journalist father back in Nigeria.
ISBN 0-06-029628-3—ISBN 0-06-029629-1 (lib. bdg.)
ISBN 0-06-441002-1 (pbk.)
1. Nigerians—England—London—Juvenile fiction. [1. Nigerians—England—London—Fiction. 2. Refugees—Fiction. 3. Brothers and sisters—Fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.N1384 Ot 2001 00-054112
[Fic]—dc21 CIP
AC
EPub Edition © March 2010 ISBN: 978-0-06-200789-6
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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