5000 Miles - Carrying A Dream

By Mark Mukuru

The saying that, ‘life is what you make of it’, echoes hope for those with high expectations, as they expect better things to come. Sadly, this is not always matched by reality. One can be complacent, with familiar surroundings and lifestyles that they are accustomed to. If goalposts are moved, lifelong dreams may not be realised. Bl

• Language: English
• Publisher: Book Printing UK
• Release date: Mar 27, 2018
• ISBN: 9781911596738

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5000

MILES

CARRYING A DREAM

5000 Miles - Carrying a Dream

Copyright © Mark Mukuru 2018 All Rights Reserved

The rights of Mark Mukuru to be identified as the author of this work have been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

All rights reserved. No part may be reproduced, adapted, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or otherwise without the prior written permission of the author or publisher.

Spiderwize

Remus House

Coltsfoot Drive

Woodston

Peterborough

PE2 9BF

www.spiderwize.com

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

All characters in this publication are fictitious and any resemblances to real people either living or dead are purely coincidental.

ISBN: 978-1-911596-73-8

5000 MILES

CARRYING A DREAM

MARK MUKURU

SPIDERWIZE

Peterborough UK

2018

Introduction

At the age of 32, Thomas was the oldest surviving child of Johannis, a former part-time lay-preacher-turned farmer. From an early age, after completing primary school, he had worked on his father’s land, with little hope of any career prospects. This was common for many of his compatriots.

Thomas’ son Blessing was the firstborn of a second marriage of Thomas, to Chido. He was born and raised in a poor African small-scale farm in a rural setting in colonial Rhodesia. His primary and secondary school experiences were, like most of his compatriots’, uneventful and mundane. This was until life became increasingly challenging as the political climate gradually worsened. Like his peers, he knew nothing but a life of survival and hand to mouth, and it was a day-to-day challenge just to survive. For indigenous children, only a few more privileged families could afford secondary school at boarding schools, mostly mission schools. On completing his Year Four, Blessing gained sufficient grades from Waddilove Mission Secondary School. The teachers and missionaries had instilled in him self-discipline and a work ethic.

Soon, he faced reality, as life was even harder for him and for most of his generation, who have limited options. Like most of his peers, he felt like part of a lost generation, disempowered and denied of opportunities in an unfair and disadvantageous system. Blessing’s impression was one of a society that appeared to favour a few, while being dominated by a minority from a colonial privileged ruling class. He was used to what was a mundane and relatively frugal environment that was based on ethnicity and colour. Blessing was determined to overcome all these hurdles one day, and he hoped to chase his dream and come back to help his less well-off family.

Completion of his secondary education was the key that hopefully opened a door to the future. He completed secondary school and passed with good grades in the key areas of English, Maths and Science. He then faced the harsh reality and grim prospect of unemployment in a difficult environment where he was not accepted. Not only by the political system, but by some of Thomas’ extended family members, who disliked his family for successful small-scale farming.

The Unilateral Declaration of Independence by the minority government followed in 1965 and exacerbated historical problems, bearing down on an increasingly divisive society and civil war in the country. Blessing had at times dreamed of following the career path of his favourite uncle, Firipi, his role model, a respected male orderly. With his encouragement, Blessing knew that a chance for nurse training abroad did not arise every day. For a young African man, there were no prospects in Rhodesia unless you had the right connections.

Blessing felt that in his country, the bar was set high for most people. Only a few civil servants, such as teachers, nurses, the police and army had relatively decent careers opportunities, but they were fighting on the wrong side of a bitter war. These opportunities were few and far between. The country was becoming increasingly dangerous as the civil war of liberation intensified. Blessing had no choice but to venture abroad before being caught up in a civil war of attrition for independence. At the age of 22, Blessing faced the stark reality of being co-opted to join the police, army or liberation fighters. Several of his classmates had disappeared ahead of the looming intensifying civil war, amid promises of an equitable future by politicians. Rumours of the government’s plan for conscription of post-secondary school students to fight a war on the wrong side were awash. He stood between the devil and the deep blue sea. He was motivated by his grandfather’s dreams and to follow his own dream, like Uncle Firipi.

He seized the opportunity to fulfil his dream of a lifetime: to travel to the UK to train as a male nurse, a profession he thought would be his best bet and an opportunity he would have never had in Rhodesia. He had dreamt of a long journey of a lifetime, as a young refugee with his battered brown suitcase, in which he now proud to own and to carry his meagre worldly goods. A journey that would take him 5000 miles away and closer to his dream.

Chapter 1

An Extraordinary Day

As the dawn broke, Thomas could have been forgiven for hoping that this would be just like any other morning that he was accustomed to. At the height of summer, the sub-Saharan sun was usually hot, and the atmospheric humidity was intense from weeks of punishing scorching heat of up to 90 degrees Fahrenheit. This was the norm for rainy seasons in Rhodesia. Most people found it difficult to sleep at night. This year the rain was promising an early start in late November, which would have been a good time for planting seeds. This was a welcome relief for Thomas, like many of his peers whose livelihood depends on farming, as they hoped for reliable and consistent rain for the year. They were keeping their fingers crossed for just the right levels; not too much and not too little.

Thomas had one brother, Joseph, and two sisters; the older, Beya, passed away unexpectedly, prior to the birth of Blessing, at the age of 40, following a mysterious illness. Beya had left no surviving children, having experienced ten years of an unhappy marriage to an unfaithful husband; he wanted to have children with other women. These multiple girlfriends were in fact also other people’s girlfriends. It was said by some that Beya had died heartbroken and that it was associated with depression due to her husband’s unfaithfulness. For some traditionalists in the Shona culture, for Thomas’ generation, some marriages like his were arranged. Having children was highly valued and seen as key to a happy marriage. The opposite would be the case for husbands who would have paid a lobola, a bride-price, only for a wife to turn out to be childless. It could be accepted as customary and the norm for a husband to then