Intambara ya kabiri y’isi: Batayo y’abagore b’abirabura yasibwe mu mateka

Inkuru yo mu ntambara ya kabiri y’isi ya batayo ya gisirikare izwi nka Six Triple Eight y’abagore b’abirabura bagiye mu Bwongereza gukemura ikibazo gikomeye cy’iposita yarahishwe hashira imyaka za mirongo, muri iki gihe nibwo barimo guhabwa icyubahiro bakwiye. BBC yavuganye na bamwe mu bana babo.

Mu 1945, ubwo intambara yari ikomeje kuyogoza mu bice bitandukanye by’isi, abagore 885 bitabye umuhamagaro w’igisirikare cya Amerika wo kujya mu Bwongereza gutunganya no gushyira ku murongo amabahasha n’imizigo bimaze imyaka ibiri byaruzuriranye mu iposita.

Bahagurutse muri Amerika berekeza mu Bwongereza, bajya gukorera i Birmingham muri batayo yitwaga 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion.

Major Charity Adams wari ufite imyaka 26 yabaye umugore wa mbere w’umwirabura wayoboye batayo ya gisirikare y’abagore gusa mu ngabo za Amerika yoherejwe mu mahanga gukemura ikibazo gikomeye cyane.

Bahawe amezi atandatu ngo batunganye akajagari n’amabaruwa agera kuri miliyoni 17 n’imizigo myinshi, ariko kubera gukora amasaha 24 basimburana, ako kazi bagakoze mu mezi atatu.

Mu gukora ibi, bafashije kuzamura ‘morale’ y’ingabo ziri ku irasaniro zari zarabuze itumanaho n’ababo basize mu rugo bamenyaga amakuru mu kwandikirana biciye ku iposita.

Col Edna Cummings, umusirikare wa Amerika ubu uri mu kiruhuko cy’izabukuru wakibayemo imyaka 25, yagize ati: “Ni gacye cyane numvise ikintu ku bagore b’abirabura bakoze mu ntambara ya kabiri y’isi, ni nk’aho basibwe mu mateka”.

Aba bagore bakoreraga mu ishuri rya King Edwards School i Birmingham – nyuma barangiza bakajya gukorera n’i Rouen na Paris mu Bufaransa – bahuye n’ingorane nyinshi zirimo gukoresha ibikoresho bishaje, guhura n’imico itandukanye, ndetse n’ivangura rishingiye ku gitsina.

Bakoreraga mu nyubako zimeze nabi zikonje kandi hatabona neza zirimo imizigo irunze nabi indi igerekeranye kugera ku bisenge. Bagakora barwana n’imbeba nyinshi n’utundi dusimba twuzuyemo kubera ibiryo byaboze n’ibindi bintu byangiritse.

Ibi byose barabirenze bakora akazi kabo neza ndetse bibahesha ishema – bari bazwiho gukorera ku ntego igira iti: ‘no mail, low morale’ (Nta butumwa, morale hasi’ – ugenekereje mu Kinyarwanda)

Basubiye iwabo mu 1946, iri tsinda ry’ingabo, ryarimo na bacye mu bagore b’aba-Hispanic, nta gikorwa cyabayeho cyo kubakira, nta karasisi cyangwa kubashimira kumugaragaro kubyo bakoze.

Gusa imyaka hafi 80 ishize ubu, nibwo batangiye gushimwa.

Amateka yabo arimo kugarukwaho muri filimi yakozwe na Tyler Perry izashyirwa kuri Netflix.

Izaba irimo abantu nka Oprah Winfrey na Kerry Washington, igitekerezo cy’iyi filimi cyaje ubwo Perry yabonye inkuru yo mu ntambara ya kabiri y’isi ivuga kuri iriya batayo y’abagore yanditswe n’umunyamateka Kevin M. Hymel mu 2019.

Muri Amerika, ku muhate wa Col Edna Cummings wo kugaragaza ibikorwa bikomeye byakozwe na bariya bagore, hiyongereyeho iyi nkuru yatumye bamenyekana kurushaho.

Ikibumbano cyakorewe aba bagore cyubatswe muri leta ya Kansas mu 2018. Hashize imyaka itatu mu 2021 Perezida Joe Biden asinya itegeko ryo guha umudari w’icyubahiro abari bagize Six Triple Eight, ibyatumye muri Werurwe(3) umwaka ushize bagenerwa iryo shimwe ry’ikirenga muri Amerika.

Ariko se aba bagore barimo gushimirwa ni ba nde?

Bari ababyeyi, bari abantu basanzwe, bagize abuzukuru n’abuzukuruza, ariko ikirenze bakoze ibidasanzwe mu muryango w’abantu.

Ababakomokaho vuba aha baherutse gukora urugendo bava muri Amerika bajya mu Bwongereza kureba inzira ba nyirakuru baciye.

Umwe muri abo bagore bari muri iriya batayo ni Sgt Virginia M Lane.

Igihe abo bagore bavaga muri Amerika, amakimbirane agamije kurwanya ivanguramoko yari akaze, sosiyete ya Amerika icitsemo ibice kubera ivangura; abirabura bagengwa n’amategeko yihariye yagumyeho kugeza mu myaka ya za 1960.

Ayo mategeko yabuzaga abirabura gukoresha imodoka rusange n’ibindi bikorwa-remezo nka za parike, n’amashuri byanditseho ngo “white only” (abazungu gusa).

Danielle Sonnier Brown, w’imyaka 47, yibuka ikiganiro yagiranye na nyirakuru Sgt Virginia, ati: “Nk’umugore w’umunyamerika ukomoka muri Africa, buri gihe yavugaga uburyo abantu bamufata.

“Nubwo no mu Bwongereza bahagiriye ivangura runaka, yavugaga ko abantu hano bamufataga neza kurusha iwacu (muri Amerika), yabitindagaho cyane.

“Yavugaga ko yiyumvise uwo ariwe ari hano (mu Bwongereza).”

Afite ifoto ya nyina Sgt Virginia Ms Lane mu gituza cye n’ishema ryinshi, Sandra Frazier Dean, w’imyaka 67, ati: “Kujya mu gisirikare kwe byazanye ikintu cy’agaciro mu buzima bwacu, yari intego, iteka yatubwiraga gukora ibyo dushoboye tugatembera.

“Icyo ni kimwe mu bintu yabikundiraga, amahirwe yo gusura ahandi hantu.”

Umurage wasizwe na Indiana Hunt-Martin n’ubu uri mu bana be.

Indiana yavutse mu 1922, yakoraga nk’umukozi w’isuku mbere yo kwinjira mu mutwe wa gisirikare w’abagore nyuma akajya muri iriya batayo.

Umukobwa we Janice Martin ati: “Birababaje cyane kuba aba bagore, barakoze ibikomeye nk’abagore kandi nk’abirabura, ariko ntihagire ikintu na kimwe tubwirwa.

“Ntiyigeze avuga ibyo yabayemo kugeza mu myaka ibiri ya nyuma y’ubuzima bwe.

“Ibyo twabwiwe gusa ni uko hari uruhare bagize mu guharanira uburenganzira bw’abagore ariko ntitwigeze tubwirwa mu by’ukuri uruhare rwabo uko rungana”.

Nyuma yo kurangiza akazi ke mu ntambara, Indiana Hunt-Martin yasubiye iwabo aba umunyamuryango uhoraho w’amashyirahamwe aharanira uburenganzira bw’abagore b’abirabura Black Pioneers of Niagara Falls na Women's American Legion Lodge.

Yapfuye ku myaka 98.

Abari bagize iyi batayo ubwabo kutirata ubutwari bisa naho bari babihuriyeho, kuko na Roger Matthews w’imyaka 65, nawe atibuka nyina Vashti Murphy avuga ibihe bye mu ntambara.

Nubwo yabyanditseho.

Mu nyandiko yasohowe mu kinyamakuru cy’abirabura icyo gihe akiri mu ntambara, yavuze uburyo yararaga ahantu huzuriranye ibintu byinshi ndetse agakumbura cyane kwiyuhagira bya nyabyo.

Akiri ku rugamba yaranditse ati: “Ndishimye mu buryo bushoboka kuba ku nshuro ya mbere mu mezi ane mbashije kwiyuhagira…amazi ashyushye.

“Amazi ni ingume, ariko nyuma yo gukaraba kenshi nambaye ingofero ya gisirikare, ubu ndumva ari byiza cyane.”

Gusa bisa n’aho atashye atongeye gukomeza kubara inkuru zo mu ntambara.

Umuhungu we Mathews ati: “Ntiyigeze abivugaho, yumvaga ari ibintu gusa wakoze ntiyabibonaga nk’ibintu bidasanzwe, yumvaga ari ibintu byari bikwiye gukorwa, bikaba ari ibyo.”

Inama ya kibyeyi

Ibyo nyina yaciyemo byabereye umwana we urugero rwo guharanira kuba ingenzi no gukora neza mu gisirikare.

Nk’umusirikare, Mathews nawe yoherejwe kurwana mu ntambara ya Vietnam kandi yamaze imyaka 24 mu gisirikare ku ipeti rya suliyetona.

Icyo gihe mu 1974, inama ya nyina yari “niba ugomba kujyamo, ugiyemo nk’umusirikare.”

Ati: “N’ubu iryo jambo ndacyaryumva inyuma mu mutwe wanjye. ”

Sekuru John H Murphy, ni umwe mu bashinze kiriya kinyamakuru cy’abirabura, Afro Newspaper, kimwe mu binyamakuru bimaze imyaka myinshi bifitwe n’umuryango kandi kigikora – nyuma y’imyaka 130.

Umunyamateka Garry Stewart w’imyaka 51, yafashije gutegura no gushyira mu bikorwa uruzinduko i Birmingham rwa bariya bafitanye isano na ba bagore bari bagize batayo ya Six Tripple Eight.

Yagize ati: “Twebwe hano i Birmingham, ni inkuru ikomeye cyane. Tubasha kwerekana uko umurage w’abirabura muri uyu mujyi ukomeye no kuva mu 1945 gukomeza na nyuma yaho.”

Inkuru za bariya bagore 855 bafashije kuzamura ‘morale’ y’izindi ngabo ntabwo yahaye inzira n’urugero gusa abana babo n’abuzukuru, ahubwo yanabaye ingenzi cyane kuri sosiyete y’abirabura i Birmingham.

Olivia Brechon-Smith w’imyaka 33, umwalimu w’imibare kuri rya shuri rya King Edwards School (KES), ati: “Kuba batayo y’abagore b’abirabura yarakoreye muri iri shuri bimfasheho cyane. Ni urugero rwiza ku mugore w’umwirabura.

“Kandi no kuba abantu hano bazi ko 6888 yabaye hano ni ibintu bikomeye mu mateka ya Birmingham.

“Abanyeshuri bo bibatera intege kurushaho kuko mu gihe nk’icyo gito gishize hano hari itsinda ry’ingabo ririmo rikora itandukaniro, rihindura isi kandi rihindura amateka, bityo ko nabo bashobora kuba ikiragano gishya gikora nk’ibyo.”