There Goes the Neighborhood

          Nothing was the same since the big, god-looking men came into our tribe. I remember when they first came to discover my family on that sunny and peaceful morning the gods blessed us with. 
           It started as any other normal day with every tribe member fulfilling their duties. The men went to the fields in search for animals, the source of food that the gods gave to their faithful servants on Earth. The women were in the crops, planting and harvesting the delicacies and treasures that came from the ground. Even the children were behaving for once, playing and dancing near their mothers. As for myself, I was praying to the gods for giving us the pleasure of waking up another day with food and seeing a smile on everyone's face, the most important goal of a chief. 
            Just as I was done looking over the land, I heard the sound of the moving waters increase and the new sound of voices came to my ears. As quickly as I could, I ran around the rock, the only barrier to the marvel my eyes would see. In front of me, a towering wooden ship had just landed on our shore. The ship was huge with a white towering flag attached to the peak of the center wooden pole. As I approached this wooden marvel, a line of brave, pale men descending from the ship, as if they were sent from the gods. These men had pure clothing and shiny objects that all seemed obscured to me. But the most important member of these new men descended on top of this beautiful and majestic brown animal with a sight of power and height as its feet hit the ground.
           The first days with these men came as happiness to my tribe. We learned this new system of trade in which we, in return, taught these pales how to survive on these lands. We taught them to harvest the crops, the deliciousness of our meat, and our land treasures that they seemed so interested in. Months passed and we had learned to live amongst each other, sharing the land of the gods. Everything seemed well until a dreadful morning that rose with a dawn of fear.
           For some unknown reason, the men that my family learned to love turned our backs on us. They gathered us up as if we were animals, took our land, our treasures, and our freedom. They seemed to have forgotten more and more our friendship as each whip hit one of our backs. My tribe and I were forced to work on the plantations from the first light of day to the last. Many of us wanted to rebel yet one look in their eyes full of treasure lust, told us no human kindness trace was left in them. Little by little, they took everything the gods had given to us. Little by little, they destroyed the lands of the gods. Little by little, there goes my neighborhood.