God’s Bits of Wood

Diara, a railway ticket collector, votes in favor of the strike but then returns to work. While other offenders (“renegades”) are subjected to beating by union members, the leadership decides that Diara will stand trial in the union building. He is charged with dynfa, or “treason […] betrayal of one’s own people” (78). The author provides descriptive details illustrating Diara’s shame, noting the loss of his “normal dignity [and] […] splendid bearing” (80). His son, Sadio, feels that he is dying along with his father. Tiémoko, the strike commission record keeper, favors the trial but is conflicted about judging the accused, as Diara is his uncle. He also misses Bakayoko’s presence and guidance.

The story of Diara’s offense is told in retrospect. Striking workers receive mobilization orders mandating their return to work. Subsequently, Tiémoko realizes that five of the orders are missing, and that these men have returned to work; he proposes a “punitive expedition” (81). The idea is embraced by the committee, particularly since twenty of the strikers have been imprisoned under barbaric conditions. Tiémoko and several comrades beat the initial duo of strikebreakers in their homes, but Diara has been awarded constant police escorts and is harder to apprehend.