They got married soon after the peace amongst much muttering from the Irish relatives, but love has it's own way. Very shortly after this they moved to Rhodesia where my Dad's brother had a tobacco farm and they lived the rest of their lives there. Eventually my Dad bought the farm after his brother passed away.
They had many trials and tribulations, what with international sanctions and a terrorist war and many other things, rift valley fever, drought, hail and all the complexities that life throws at you. However my mother never lost her Irishness and the greatest crime any of her children or her husband could commit was to forget, or not wish her, a Happy Saint Patrick's day.
My Dad lost the family farm in Mugabe's infamous land grab which is well documented and a Historical fact. More importantly, having served in a corvette in the second World War, mainly in the Atlantic and doing the dreaded Icelandic, Russian run, you could hardly call him a weak man. However losing his farm, broke his heart and shortly thereafter he died.
They had a little flat in a lovely little complex in Harare. On Tuesday March the 16Th. my Mum suffered a stroke there, at what time no one is sure. Eventually that night the security guards noticed that all the doors were open and alerted the groundsman who found her and alerted my brother. He arrived at 12.30 in the night with his wife and they did as much as they could. The ambulance arrived at 6.30 in the morning and my brother instructed the driver to take her to Saint Anne's, which is a Catholic hospital and where she would be happy. The ambulance driver took her to another hospital.
Trying to get hold of us here in Ireland became a major task as the country ( Zimbabwe ) is so well run that you can toss a coin as to when anything may be working, the electricity, the traffic lights, the telephones, the water supplies, no fuel are just a few amongst all else. Somehow my sister, trying to wish my Mum a Happy Saint Patrick's day, got through and a neighbour answered and filled her in whereupon she text messaged me.
Eventually I managed to get hold of my brother through e-mail and got all the sorry details. More importantly, after a lifetime of pinching and scraping to make sure she kept up to date with all her Medical Aid contributions ( for just such an eventuality ) I am informed by my brother that the Medical Aid company no longer exists and he is left to foot the bill.
This is not a post about feeling sorry for myself or wearing my heart on my sleeve, it has nothing to do with any of that. It is a post about sitting here being so helpless, angry and more importantly that this breakdown in humanity and common decency was all avoidable. A great American once said;
" With reasonable men, I will reason,
With humane men, I will be humane,
But to tyrant's, I will give no quarter."
Whatever happened to men like that?
I mentioned that all this was avoidable and anybody interested can view my perspective at Ian Douglas Smith
Not only am I so angry at my Mum's circumstances, but the breakdown of what was once known as ' The Jewel of Africa.' So hang in there Mum and hopefully you can see Ireland win the six Nations rugby tomorrow and with a grand slam which will be the first in sixty one years. It will happen.
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