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A True Friend
Harry is from Liberia, his friend Olive from Manchester, they met in Wales ...
Henry Lassie is Liberian. In 1989, he won a place to study for a masters and later a doctorate in anthropology at the University of Cardiff. When civil war broke out in his home country. Henry found himself stranded in Wales, unable to return to Liberia because of his political connections, his children and family still in Liberia in terrible danger. At this time he was trying to fund his studies by working as a security guard, but it was whilst he was working in the Tourist Information Office in Cardiff he met someone who offered a helping hand, Olive Bowers from Manchester.
Olive, fascinated by a beautful sunset, called over the only person around, the security guard, Harry, to share the sight with her. Although they'd led very different lives, a sympathy sprang up between them and they became friends. Harry told her about his brother who was beaten to death, leaving his mother in Sierra Leone to fend for herself, how his sister was killed, and the problems he was having supporting his family and his studies on the low pay of a security guard.
A couple of years after they'd met, Harry found that without funding for the fieldwork research for his PhD, he would not be awarded his doctorate and his studies would have been in vain. "One morning to my to great surprise Olive called me and said, "How much do you think you need to do your field work?" I told her 拢1500. She said, "Don't worry, I'm going to give you the money." It was like a dream to me. I have lived a miserable life at times, and for someone to sacrifice that amount of money for my studies is something I'd never expect to happen!"
It isn't as if Olive is well-off, but she is warm and empathetic and obviously believes in backing up her beliefs with action, "I believe that life is serendipitous - people cross your path and you have something to learn from them, and I feel I have learned a lot from Henry - his stoicism, his dignity and loyalty to his family. When I got a windfall from Northern Rock, I felt that I'd done nothing to earn it, so I just told Henry he could have it! I sort of blurted it out in the office that this is what I was going to do and everyone thought I was mad!
Henry's situation is still far from easy. He keeps in contact by phone with his family, but hasn't seen them since 1989. He needs a better job to fund their removal from Liberia. Meantime, he and Olive continue as good friends - Henry hoping that his mother will live long enough for Olive to visit her, "I'd love to go. I'm caring for my elderly mother at the moment. But I know Henry's heart aches because he can't see or be with his mother."
If you have a friendship which crosses, continents, age-boundaries or political divides, tell us about it ...
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