My family lived in Mufulira, in Northern Rhodesia, a small mining town on the Copperbelt situated a mere ten miles from the Belgian Congo border. It was the ‘Rhodes and Founders’ weekend and my ninth birthday, Sunday 11July 1960. We spent the day motor boating and water-skiing on the Mindola Dam near Kitwe, 31 miles away. It was a warm but windy day and we had to climb the vertical steps into the yachtsmen’s lookout tower to light the nine candles on my iced chocolate birthday cake. A small crocodile with its armoured pre-historic body had come up the stream that fed into the dam and was basking in the sun on the opposite bank.
In the late afternoon on our way back home a flood of on-coming cars with foreign blue-number-plates were travelling in the opposite direction. This warned us that something was amiss. The Mufulira community had sprung into action and high school kids were on the roads directing the traffic.
Friendly and empathetic mining families temporarily accommodated many of the refugees. Others were given petrol if needed and sent on to surrounding Copperbelt towns. They formed an endless convoy on the broad roads, making their sad and painful way down through Northern Rhodesia and into Southern Rhodesia. ..........
On hearing these abominable tales, some miners from Kitwe and Mufulira, immediately entered this war-torn territory and braved the flying bullets to rescue those terrified and destitute souls who had no other means of escape. These atrocities, and the goodness of the people that selflessly rendered assistance, left an indelible impression on me. Empathy is an inspiring motivator and many great and heroic deeds are committed in its name. In a world of falsehood, hypocrisy and corruption, the truth is that we are each prompted to help those who are in trouble, for we each have an amazing potential for goodness.
Many lives were destroyed in those few days, but when the evening came, unperturbed by man’s plight, the stars lit up the night sky and in the morning, the sun rose in the east, the birds sang and life went on. Many hearts bled for the sorrow of such a massive tragedy, but the blundering and butchering has continued for many decades.
The two Rhodesias, rich in warmth and generosity, rose to the occasion and assisted those flocking into these countries. Emergency committees were set up to provide accommodation, food and medical assistance. Hercules aircraft flew refugees into Southern Rhodesian towns and cities. All their worldly possessions were contained in a small packet. These people were housed wherever possible until further arrangements could be made. The Belgian authorities in the Congo had simply abandoned all their commitments and taken the first planes out. Planes arrived to collect the citizens of Belgian descent who were willing to say farewell to Africa.
'And ever has it been that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation.'
The Prophet. Kahlil Gibran