Part 1-Men and the Children They Lost to Women Who Left Them: Caro Jaber-Omondi Long' Lilo (Featuring Osito)

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I don't know if Caro's story was true or just a creative product of Long' Lilo and his uncle Osito but, either way, I don't think that any song can capture, and with this depth of emotion, the realities of love, breakups, the strange clamor for sensual pleasure in men and women alike that has created so many dead families, that has created so many dead lives.

Here is the story. Omondi and Caro have separated ways for some years but we learn towards the end that they had a son together.

Somehow, Omondi and Osito realize that this story is the story of many of us and so they adopt the voice of a man describing the decay of the society. Men are betrothing women. They are falling in love. They start up families but they do commit themselves to it. They cannot wait to be in the next relationship. Osito and Omondi likens the relationships of today to cotton thread that breaks almost without cause.



Ah to hera nyiri ti chalo usi ma tinde chotnwa
( The love we have with girls nowadays is like cotton threads that break so easily)
They describe the nature of the relationships of that time, this time. Omondi and Caro met and after some dating, decided to settle. The beginning was rosy and Caro must have met the expectations of many. We learn this later when he (Omondi) remembers how he was misunderstood during the breakup by those who thought Caro was all good.


At the beginning, Omondi is pleased with her character. He tells us that he empowered Caro in all ways and brought her everything she asked for. And Caro, like the ladies Omondi warns us about, had asked for a lot of things.

To kawe wa nidak kode to tiek dwe wa
(Take her to your home as a wife and watch her for a month)
Gik mochando tee to opimo ni mondo ing'iewne
(Everything that she lacked she will ask you to buy her)
O-open moro nyocho oneno to mondo ing'iewne
(Some open shoes she recently saw, she will ask you to buy for her)
Eeh to kitenge moro nyocho oneno to mondo itwang'ne
(Some kitenge dress she recently saw, she will ask you to make her)
Ah to yie wich moro yande oneno to mondo ilosne
(Some knew hairstyle she recently saw, she asks to make)

But it turns out that Caro was beautifying herself for her next catch. Omondi tells us that after she met all her needs, she began showing a side he did not know. Caro is suddenly disrespectful to Omondi's family. She does not reply the greetings of Omondi's brothers. She is ever quiet when Omondi' s mother is talking to her. She puts on a deformed facial expression, a show of contempt.

Caro ultimately leaves for her parents' home but Omondi's intelligence reports reveal she never reached. She is out to explore some more after 'empowerment'. She is a free woman flying from pub to pub drinking with big men.

To kuro bende kiluwe moos to ok ochopie
(And when you follow her slowly, she does not reach their home)
Usenge Imbo ema iyude lady ka ema ogoye kom
(You will find her in Usenge Imbo as her new base)
Tiritop ka ema iyude lady ka ema omethe
(You find her at Tiritop bar drinking)
Safari gardens ka ema iyude lady ka omethe
(You will find her at safari gardens drinking)

But Omondi is worried that this has become the new normal. Young girls and boys are not satisfied. Boys are out to eat every girl they get. Girls are out to be eaten by every boy.
Ah! Nyithiwa nyiwa gi utamo wang'a nang'o!

Years later, Omondi has made a lot of progress. He has built a house. He has bought some classic furniture. He invites Caro to come back and witness the transformation. He achieved a lot of things. Somehow, he is still empty. There is no one to perform the functions of a wife in his home. But he feels absolved after all. Everyone blamed him for their breakup even when it was clear that Caro was wrong.
Jonyuol dhawo na ga ni Omondi riembo dhako
(Parents scolded me that I was chasing my wife away)
To kata dhako ema rach to an uchaya kayiem
(But even if it is the woman who is wrong, you are blaming me for no reason)
Some even alluded to impotence! This pains him especially when the memories of his son comes to him!
Sama aparo wuoda Omondi aywak ahinya!
(Sometimes when i remember my son, I really cry)
Ah! Of sons we lost to women who never meant to settle!


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