YOU know, those of YOU dear Readers who are up to date on MY Blog, that SHE reads books voraciously. HER favourite subjects are political and social History and one thing that has always interested HER are the Greeks - Turks.. what caused the start of their problems?
There are NO Reddies being offered to anyone who guesses where SHE went to find answers.. off SHE went down the Kings' Road to HER favourite place.. aka the Library. SHE took old Wicker as SHE had thoughts of jumping a bus to Streatham.. hahaha.. fat chance!
Old Wicker creaked and groaned all the way home as he was full to his brim with tombs of history.. not a paperback in sight!
One of the books, whose title is also the title of this post, has been a revelation.. spelling out, quite simply, the situations as they occurred, the wars, the injustices, the treachery, the enforced mass expulsion of thousands upon thousands of people, the ramifications of these movements on both the Grecian and the Turkish populations, the cruelty inflicted upon innocent people, of children being kidnapped, murder, rape, heart breaking stories.
Equally, the extreme bravery and kindness from
people who had absolutely NO connection to
either of these countries but who knew that they
had to go and help these poor, unfortunate people who were dying of Typhoid, Cholera and starving to death.. whilst the politicians talked about the situation and who was supposed to be doing what.
SHE recently received an email from a lovely friend, in it was the story of how in 1945 her husband, at a very young age, was put into a pram, with a collapsible bath, a typewriter and with his
mother and father fled their home in the town of
Marienburg, in advance of the Red Army.
Constance (pregnant) left India holding a suitcase in one hand and her first born son's hand in the
other. She left on a troop ship with Hugo bound
for England. Two months later after landing, Constance joined Hugo in Hamburg with two sons!
SHE was born in Malaya (as it was then), SHE left when SHE was nearly three and a half, Constance had one suitcase with the thickest clothes that she had been able to find for two children and herself.
They docked in Liverpool in December.. both times Constance and her child / children were not
refugees.. they were just another British Army family returning 'home'.. but because Constance had no home in England.. they had absolutely nothing.
For England had never been her home.. home was, or rather had always been, Madras.
Recently SHE has met an extremely nice woman called Kay. SHE had been told that Kay was Malaysian, so SHE was delighted to be able to greet her in Malay.. only to be met with a very confused face! Not Malaysian.. Cambodian!
They had coffee and talked.. ooooh, what a story. Of being well educated, of the Krymer Rouge and Pol Pot taking power, of losing all her family to the regime, of being smuggled out to the coast by people who had adored her father and mother, of being a boat person, of being in a refugee transit camp for over two years.. madre mia.
How do you keep your sanity and faith? Here,
Dear Readers, is a story of such generosity of spirit, honour and courage that, although I know the story well, it makes US both very wet-eyed.
Kay, having been properly educated, spoke English and French as well as her own language, after a 'difficult' boat trip, she arrived in the camp with nothing apart from what she had on her back.
Date of leaving refugee camp for anywhere else ?Completely unknown.. what to do? Make other peoples lives better, decided this extraordinary woman.. so she badgered and badgered the authorities for a blackboard and for chalk.
And every day.. for over two years.. this simply wonderful woman taught English, French and Mathematics.. because she knew that being able to read and write these two languages and being numeric would help these people and it would give her 'something to do'.. read that again.. give her something to do....
The Greeks and Turks, the lovely friend's husband, Constance, HER and Kay have all been 'twice a stranger'.. YOU never know what people have had to do or have gone through..
GeeGee Parrot.
November 9th, 2013.
There are NO Reddies being offered to anyone who guesses where SHE went to find answers.. off SHE went down the Kings' Road to HER favourite place.. aka the Library. SHE took old Wicker as SHE had thoughts of jumping a bus to Streatham.. hahaha.. fat chance!
Old Wicker creaked and groaned all the way home as he was full to his brim with tombs of history.. not a paperback in sight!
One of the books, whose title is also the title of this post, has been a revelation.. spelling out, quite simply, the situations as they occurred, the wars, the injustices, the treachery, the enforced mass expulsion of thousands upon thousands of people, the ramifications of these movements on both the Grecian and the Turkish populations, the cruelty inflicted upon innocent people, of children being kidnapped, murder, rape, heart breaking stories.
Equally, the extreme bravery and kindness from
people who had absolutely NO connection to
either of these countries but who knew that they
had to go and help these poor, unfortunate people who were dying of Typhoid, Cholera and starving to death.. whilst the politicians talked about the situation and who was supposed to be doing what.
SHE recently received an email from a lovely friend, in it was the story of how in 1945 her husband, at a very young age, was put into a pram, with a collapsible bath, a typewriter and with his
mother and father fled their home in the town of
Marienburg, in advance of the Red Army.
Constance (pregnant) left India holding a suitcase in one hand and her first born son's hand in the
other. She left on a troop ship with Hugo bound
for England. Two months later after landing, Constance joined Hugo in Hamburg with two sons!
SHE was born in Malaya (as it was then), SHE left when SHE was nearly three and a half, Constance had one suitcase with the thickest clothes that she had been able to find for two children and herself.
They docked in Liverpool in December.. both times Constance and her child / children were not
refugees.. they were just another British Army family returning 'home'.. but because Constance had no home in England.. they had absolutely nothing.
For England had never been her home.. home was, or rather had always been, Madras.
Recently SHE has met an extremely nice woman called Kay. SHE had been told that Kay was Malaysian, so SHE was delighted to be able to greet her in Malay.. only to be met with a very confused face! Not Malaysian.. Cambodian!
They had coffee and talked.. ooooh, what a story. Of being well educated, of the Krymer Rouge and Pol Pot taking power, of losing all her family to the regime, of being smuggled out to the coast by people who had adored her father and mother, of being a boat person, of being in a refugee transit camp for over two years.. madre mia.
How do you keep your sanity and faith? Here,
Dear Readers, is a story of such generosity of spirit, honour and courage that, although I know the story well, it makes US both very wet-eyed.
Kay, having been properly educated, spoke English and French as well as her own language, after a 'difficult' boat trip, she arrived in the camp with nothing apart from what she had on her back.
Date of leaving refugee camp for anywhere else ?Completely unknown.. what to do? Make other peoples lives better, decided this extraordinary woman.. so she badgered and badgered the authorities for a blackboard and for chalk.
And every day.. for over two years.. this simply wonderful woman taught English, French and Mathematics.. because she knew that being able to read and write these two languages and being numeric would help these people and it would give her 'something to do'.. read that again.. give her something to do....
The Greeks and Turks, the lovely friend's husband, Constance, HER and Kay have all been 'twice a stranger'.. YOU never know what people have had to do or have gone through..
GeeGee Parrot.
November 9th, 2013.
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