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A Tribute To You……..
By Ann Leslie
Have you ever
felt humbled when you know that you are a part of something
special? Experiencing just such a ‘warm glow’ happened to us
recently while on a visit to Zambia. This visit was to be a heady
combination of catching up with family and old friends; revisiting
old haunts (I lived in Zambia between 1965 and 1988) and spending
some time in the bush and at Vic Falls.
Mal, my
husband and I had arrived from the UK feeling mentally bruised by
the events associated with the London bombings and the ensuing media
avalanche of mistrust and speculation. We live very near London.
Should we be jetting off on holiday, leaving our family and friends
to face the daily tabloid images of horrors? But we had been
looking forward to our ‘African fix’ and so began our journey with
heavy hearts.
But I am so
glad we did. For we in the West could learn a lot from the
understanding and respect that the peoples of Zambia, no matter what
colour
or creed, show each other and those from other cultures. Zambia
can indeed be proud of the way her people have embraced the
differences between the cultures that live within her borders.
Allow me to explain how examples of this special harmony manifested
themselves to us during our visit. Sometimes in the most unlikely
of places!
Our adventure
began in Livingstone. It was here that we first heard the term ‘Zim-Zam’.
Those of you old and wise enough to remember should cast your minds
back to the early 80s. Remember when we used to cross the border to
Zimbabwe to buy bread, cooking oil etc? Morale was low and the
Zimbabweans pitied us. But times have changed now and the tables
have turned. Zimbabweans are now making that same journey. They too
now know what it is like to fall on hard times………..hard being
the operative word. Hard to hold your head up. Hard
to keep your spirits up. We saw evidence of this at the border
crossing between Livingstone and Victoria Falls. People obviously
used to better times were just getting on with their lives, making
do with what life throws at them. We saw many Zimbabweans crossing
back through the border post from Zambia to Zimbabwe laden down with
essentials and quite happy to be referred to as ‘Zim-Zams’. In fact
they appeared to find the term a form of endearment and were highly
amused at the new state of affairs. But then their Zambian
neighbours
can afford to be magnanimous. They are a people who can
legitimately say – “We have been there. We know what it is like.”
The next part
of our journey took us out west to a camp on the Kafue River called
Kaingu. A truly delightful spot where the Kafue spills over
enormous granite rocks to settle in pools that beckon you to rest
awhile, watch the fauna drink its life’s blood or cast your line to
hook a prize fish. It was here around the camp fire at day’s end
that we met two extraordinary ladies.
Sister Leititia and Sister Rosamaria had decided to spend a couple
of days holidaying near the Kafue National Park before returning to
their place of work.
They both
worked in Mongu, helping to educate and ease the lives of pregnant
mothers suffering from the Aids virus. They had been there for five
years and clearly felt ‘at home’ in Zambia. I say ‘at home’ with
tongue in cheek as this couldn’t be further from the truth! Both
ladies had come to Zambia all the way from Mexico to help others by
using their skills and knowledge. What fine ambassadors they! We
had a wonderful evening and yes, they drank beer with us and told
some great camp fire stories!
On our return
to Lusaka, we met up with some friends who were also retracing old
steps and visiting familiar childhood haunts. Duncan had been born
in Zambia and was keen to introduce his Belgian wife to his old
stomping grounds and to family friends still living in Zambia. One
of those friends spends half of the year in Monze and the other half
in her native America. Elizabeth Colson knew Duncan’s parents and
is an internationally acclaimed anthropologist with many
publications to her name. During the 1950s she was charged with the
delicate task of producing a detailed study of what had happened to
the peoples displaced when the Kariba Dam was constructed and their
land flooded with water from the Zambezi. Elizabeth is an
octogenarian. She is very keen to pass on her knowledge and for
someone to take up the mantle and add to the genealogies of the
families she was privileged to start all those years ago. Hopefully
her wish will soon be granted. Mal and I mentioned this to good
friend, Nick Chizyuka. Nick is a prominent Lusaka businessman with
a genuine interest in the history and development of his countrymen
and women in the Southern Province. He and his wife, Charity, have
said that they are interested to meet with Elizabeth and share the
knowledge she has of this part of Zambia’s history.
There are many
reasons why we keep coming back to Zambia - we have great family
and friends and the Mosi and Castle beers are damn fine! But these
examples of human compassion, understanding and warmth are the stuff
of riches – truly priceless! Thank you for restoring our faith in
human nature. See you next year. |
October
2005