THE STREET ARMY --- O S P.

They march out in an impenetrable formation.
Armed to the teeth; battle-ready.
Blood-shot eyes from either the sheer hardness of being soldiers or from marching long distances to the battleground, I don't know which.
They are young and very strong; with very keen eyesight and swift feet.
They move with such intent and drive; passion and purpose; a oneness that defies logic.
They fight an eerie enemy and familiar foe.
He torments their very existence and they are sworn to end his tyranny. They would do this with every pint of blood that flows in their veins. Each soldier is loaded with just the right kind of ammunition; even Kalashnikovs don't come close. I pity them, because the battle conditions are harsh, but is there any war zone that feels like the South of France or the flowing meadows of New England? No.

The line is drawn; the battle-ground: the streets. The enemy is Poverty.
He assails with pangs of hunger that eat beyond the linings of the stomach into the very etchings of the mind.
The street army know him well.
He sneaks into their dreams at night and reminds them of the reality of their misery.
But they would not be defeated!
They rise up each day to fight him with an arsenal of weapons of mass destruction ranging from 'Gala', 'Plantain chips' and 'Pure-water' to 'Recharge-cards' and 'Rat poison'.
In order to asphyxiate the enemy; these soldiers must 'Fire' their weapons by selling them to as many buyers as possible. Firing the weapons can prove Herculean as it sometimes entails chasing automobiles moving at nearly 50 Km/H!

You call them street hawkers; I call them the Street Army. And they are an army indeed; of young men and women with so much life and energy on an ill-fated course. Wasting away; exerting and expending energy that can be harnessed and put to more useful use. The walls of the city are broken and need to be rebuilt but able hands are lacking because able hands are on the streets; fighting.
But do they have a choice?
Their battle will rage on and they will see no respite until they acquire a different cache of armaments; like the potent assault missile called 'Education' and the atomic bomb called 'Mental Illumination'.

The Street Army is in dire need of artillery upgrade; a change in battle-strategy and refocus of fighting-strength. When will the new consignments be delivered?
Who will be the Sun Tzu?
Who will be the Winston Churchill?
How long before the Trumpets of Victory make music? I wonder.

Copyright. O P., 2010.