"Civil Peace" is a 1971 short story

Short story

A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...

 by Chinua Achebe

Chinua Achebe

Albert Chinụalụmọgụ Achebe popularly known as Chinua Achebe is a Nigerian novelist, poet, professor, and critic...

. It is about the effects of the Nigerian Civil War

Nigerian Civil War

The Nigerian Civil War, also known as the Nigerian-Biafran War, 6 July 1967–15 January 1970, was a political conflict caused by the attempted secession of the southeastern provinces of Nigeria as the self-proclaimed Republic of Biafra...

 (1967-1970) on the people, and the "civil peace" that followed.

Plot Summary

Civil Peace starts off in eastern Nigeria after the civil war has ended. The protagonist even was able to keep his bike which he turns into a taxi to make money. In two weeks he made 115 pounds. Jonathan then travels to Enugu to search for his home, and to his surprise it is still standing when other structures around it are demolished. The house needs some repairs so Jonathan finds some supplies around and hires a carpenter to fix his house. He then moves his family back in. The entire family works hard to earn money and rebuild their lives. The children pick mangoes and Maria makes akara balls to sell. After finding that his job as a miner isn’t a possibility he decides to open a bar for soldiers that is run out of his house. Then the night after Jonathan gets an "egg rasher" (a butchered pronunciation of the latin ex gratia

Ex gratia

Ex gratia is Latin for "by favour", and is most often used in a legal context. When something has been done ex gratia, it has been done voluntarily, out of kindness or grace...

, exchanged worthless rebel currency for 20 pounds legitimate currency) a large group of robbers show up at his house demanding 100 pounds. When Jonathan replies that he doesn’t have that much money, the robbers break in and take the 20 pounds anyways. After they take the money life goes on as usual for Jonathan because nothing puzzles God, which means that the robbery has a greater meaning than how it seemed in God's eyes.