jean pierre elonga mboyo - the unexpected homecoming a diasporan journey of hope against all odds
TRANSCRIPT
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ean Pierre Elonga Mboyo
T
HE
U
NEXPECTED
H
OMECOM ING
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Copyright © Jean Pierre Elonga Mboyo (2015)
The right of Jean Pierre Elonga Mboyo to be identified as author
of this wor has been asserted by hi! in a""ordan"e with se"tion
## and #$ of the Copyright% &esigns and Patents '"t 1$$
'll rights reser*ed +o part of this publi"ation !ay be
reprodu"ed% stored in a retrie*al syste!% or trans!itted in any
for! or by any !eans% ele"troni"% !e"hani"al% photo"opying%
re"ording% or otherwise% without the prior per!ission of the
publishers
'ny person who "o!!its any unauthori,ed a"t in relation to this
publi"ation !ay be liable to "ri!inal prose"ution and "i*il "lai!s
for da!ages
' C-P "atalogue re"ord for this title is a*ailable fro! the .ritish
/ibrary
-.+ #$1#$551#1 (Paperba")
-.+ #$1#$551$$ (ardba")
wwwaustin!a"auley"o!
3irst Published (2015)
'ustin Ma"auley Publishers /td25 Canada 4uare
Canary harf
/ondon
E1 5/6
Printed and bound in 7reat .ritain
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'"nowledg!ents
My thans go to 8in"ent 'sa!bo! and +i"holas 9yugi for proof:reading and other useful suggestions
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Contents
The author;s personal state!ent< hy write a boo on !y
e=perien"es>1
Prologue
Chapter 1< 3ro! the &?C to the @A *ia @ganda
Chapter 2< 3ro! the @A ba" to the &?CB0
Chapter B< &ealing with the une=pe"ted in the &?C
Chapter < /ea*ing the &?C ba" to the @A10$
Epilogue11
Preparing for &?C12B
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The author’s personal statement:
Why write a book on my
experiences?
D'lthough !igration flows fro! poor to ri"h "ountries
gain the !ost attention% return flows of !igrants to
their "ountries of origin are substantial; (&ean ang1
200 p#15)hile the stories and the!es dis"ussed here will tou"h
on the 4uestion Dwhy return ho!e>;% this boo is !ore
about what happens on"e the de"ision to return ho!e
has been !ade% e*erything Ddee!ed; ne"essary has
been asse!bled and the sho" ordeal that awaited !e
a few days after - set foot on !y ho!eland (the
&e!o"rati" ?epubli" of Congo F &?C) .ut inretra"ing the Gourney% it dis"usses a *ariety of other
topi"s ranging fro! polyga!y% lea*ing Dho!e;%
studies% priesthood% !ulti"ulturalis!% war% po*erty%
i!!igration% "ulture sho"% fa!ily% tea"hing%
edu"ation% resignation% taing riss% hope% despair%
help% "ri!e% law to Gusti"e syste!
1 Dean Yang (2006). Why do Migrants return to poor countries?
Evidence fro !hi"ippine igrants# responses to e$change rates shoc%s&
in The Review of Economics and Statistics, ''& & 1*+,*.
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ere% - a! not "on"erned about basi" general fa"ts
about either the @nited Aingdo! as "o!pared to the
&?C There are so!e generally a""epted realities
about the different weather patterns% geographi"al and"ultural differen"es about these "ountries% for
e=a!ple% that !ay not need another boo -nstead% the
urge to share !y story and thoughts springs fro! the
"onte=tual uni4ueness of the e=perien"es that - hope
will shed so!e light into the state of !ind of
indi*iduals% "ertain se"tions of so"iety and *arious
stru"tures in AinshasaH&?C% @ganda and the @nited
Aingdo! E="ept for the 1I fi"tion part whi"h -
would let the reader deter!ine% the rest (I) is a real
story that is set in a parti"ular ti!e and spa"e and told%
ad!ittedly% fro! the author;s perspe"ti*e reser*ing the
right to all those who !ight feel !isrepresented to
gi*e their a""ounts as the e=perien"es re"ounted herewould ha*e affe"ted the! .ut% to respond to the great
tradition of storytelling% we owe it to all readers and
future generations to pro*ide a tra"e of reality in !y
ti!e and how reper"ussions to so!e of life;s diffi"ult
de"isions and "hoi"es were handled
'ny wor that is !eant to hopefully "ontribute to
the de*elop!ent of hu!anity !ust ai! to eradi"ate
suffering rather than add to what is already out there
This is why - intend to use pseudo na!es su"h as
Ca!ille 3abien .ayu (C3.)% .ill% .o% &an% 3elly%
3iston% onorable Patala (P)% Maboo Milai (MM)%
Paul% ?ingo% a!uel% tan% Ta% Tina or general ter!s
su"h as wife% "hildren% lawyers% to refer to people thatthe !ain "hara"ters here would ha*e hired or sought
ad*i"e fro! @nless they "hoose not to% - !ention real
na!es when paying tribute to friends su"h as 8in"ent
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'sa!bo!% Charles and 'ngela 9ula% Jeanette de
u,a% Maria il*a ?osa% 'ntoinette% +i"holas and
Charity 9yugi% 3ran"is% enry% 'nguo and Chia .ass
- will also use real na!es to refer to geographi"al pla"es and institutions Pseudo na!ing does not apply
to !ain "hara"ters su"h as !eH- (Jean Pierre Elonga
Mboyo)% 9s"ar Aapongo Aabata (9AA)% Jean Claude
Aabata (JCA)% 9s"ar Aabata .alodGi (9A.)% .ibi
Aabata% Mado Aabata% ThrKse Aabata% Teddy% Aoo%
an,aL
hat you and the ne=t generation will do ne=t as a
result of learning about these "hara"ters and what they
did is a !atter of personal "hoi"e owe*er% the
detailed des"riptions% situations% twists and turns%
refle"tions and responses to dile!!as e!bedded in
this parti"ular story "ould be the taling point of
diasporan "o!!unities% business !en and wo!en%lawyers and ser*e as a "ase study for students at law
uni*ersities and to anyone new to the Congolese way
of doing business and handling of the une=pe"ted
e*ents that - witnessed The intention to share !y
e=perien"es !ay be "onstrued as !y atte!pt to
*indi"ate !y a"tions but - bet there will be !o!ents
when as a reader you !ight thin D- "ould ha*e done
things differently here; -t is that sort of engage!ent
that this publi"ation hopes to a"hie*e and in the
pro"ess !ae us streetwise% so to spea
B
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Prologue
D'lthough !igration flows fro! poor to ri"h "ountries
gain the !ost attention% return flows of !igrants to
their "ountries of origin are substantial; (&ean ang
200 p#15)
Elonga and Theo (South African) discuss the
quoteTheo< if% that;s the "ase then it;s great news
Elonga< why>
Theo< our 'fri"an leaders repeatedly "all on the
diapora to return
Elonga< but why>
Theo< to "ontribute to the de*elop!ent as it noto""urred to you that 'fri"a is the future not Europe>
-;! sure on"e they are in their !otherlands% they
wouldn;t want to lea*e again
Elonga< Eh, except that some do actually leave,
find out why!
Elonga and Mark (British) discuss the quote Mark < is that true>
Elonga< it see!s to be% a""ording to &ean
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Mark < that;s brilliant then%
Elonga< - wonder what happens to the! on"e they
return ho!e
Mark < -t wouldn;t bother !e !ateN !any of us
would be grateful to swap a boat ride a"ross the
Mediterranean and a dar "onfined spa"e at the ba"
of a lorry into here for a hero;s wel"o!e aboard
.oeing ##Lwhate*er /oo% they are out and that;s
what !atters
Elonga< Eh, except that some do actually comeback, find out why!
3ast:forward &ean;s assertion to the su!!er of
201 and there - was set to return to the &e!o"rati"
?epubli" of Congo (&?C) F rounding off a three year
stay in @ganda and a subse4uent 15 e*entful years inthe @nited Aingdo! - was going ba" to where it all
began
My DR oots" 3orget the Heart of Darkness of
Joseph Conrad (1$) where the title of the no*el
portrays a generation that is *ery !u"h "on"ernedabout the dual distin"tion between the !ore *ersus the
less "i*ilised or hu!an -n a world now threatened by
e="essi*e greenhouse e!issions and global war!ing%
this real life story begins rather fro! an oasis of *ast
forest reser*es whi"h are ho!e to so!e rare spe"ies
su"h as .onobos% ri*ers with huge *arieties of a4uati"
"reatures% and people straddling between the urge to preser*e their "ultural heritage and a burning desire
for !odernisation and better li*ing "onditions e are
in no other pla"e than the territory of &Golu% within the
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distri"t of Tshuapa in the +orth estern pro*in"e of
E4uateur in the &e!o"rati" ?epubli" of Congo (&?C)
where - was born and raised
&Golu stands at about 1000 ! away fro! the&?C;s "apital Ainshasa and there are no dire"t roads
lining the! .oats% transporting people and their
goods fro! Ainshasa to the nearest ports (.efori%
.oende% Mo!pono% or /isala)% tae at least a !onth to
get there -f you didn;t want that% the only way in and
out was by plane to Mbandaa% .asanusu or .oendewhi"h respe"ti*ely stand at about 00% 50 and 20
! away fro! &Golu &Golu itself has an airstrip that
would only tae so!e "hattered s!all planes
#amily< My !other is a trained !idwife and one
of the wi*es to !y polyga!ous dad who after
spending se*eral years as a pri!ary s"hool head
!o*ed on to an ad!inistrati*e role still in edu"ation but outside a s"hool setting - a! one of the $ "hildren
fro! !y !u! and !ore than a do,en fro! !y dad
.oth% and so!eti!es three of !y (step) !others
li*ed under the sa!e roof This !ay ha*e had
so!ething to do with affordability proble!s as -
wouldn;t i!agine the lies of President Ja"ob Ou!a of outh 'fri"a eeping his four wi*es under the sa!e
roof My !others had their rows but "ould ha*e so!e
inti!ate "on*ersations and laughs that "an only be
liened to the fa!ous phrase in '!eri"an politi"s< Da
tea! of ri*als;
Polyga!y is not pre*alent here but it does happen
-t has been said that the wealthy and powerful !en
that gi*e up polyga!ous pra"ti"es% do so in e="hange
for *otes fro! the poorer !en 9thers re"on a
wo!an a"tually "hooses to enter into a polyga!ous
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arrange!ent if she thins the !an has enough dosh to
loo after her ere% the idea of ha*ing !ore than one
wife (polyga!y) !ay ha*e so!ething to do with !ale
an=iety !anage!enthen growing up% we used to repeat a refrain of a
song lost in !y !e!ory ang in /ongando% whi"h is
!y !other tongue% it used to go lie this< Dboli omoko
nsole’onjemba, bali basaso nsole’alikambo’ !eaning
Dyou !arry one wife and you s!ell ba"helorhood but
!arry three and you s!ell trouble; 9n a personalle*el% of the !ore per!anent of !y !others% !y
biologi"al !u! re!ains "uddly and soft spoen My
step !other was !ore of a dis"iplinarian .oth
4ualities were needed in our household Though !y
!u! and dad wored% we didn;t depend on their
salaries for food 9ur far!s; produ"e% fishing and
hunting e=ploits pro*ided us with our daily bread ewould sit around the fire% listening to traditional
stories while waiting for our e*ening !eal
There were good pri!ary and se"ondary s"hools to
go to but beyond that the nearest uni*ersity was about
B00 ! away Things are slightly different now with
the "reation in &Golu in 200B% of a higher edu"ationinstitute for rural de*elop!ent (-&? &Golu in short)
by a lo"al intelle"tual turned politian 'lbert /oasola
/otana - "o!pleted !y pri!ary and se"ondary s"hool
studies within &Golu before !o*ing outside the area in
.aringa for a two year "ourse in English and
pirituality as part of the progra!!e set up by the
Mill ill Missionaries for their "andidates to the!issionary priesthood
Mill ill Missionaries are a Catholi" organisation
!ade up of priests% brothers and lay !e!bers set up in
#
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1$ by Cardinal erbert 8aughan who also built
est!inster Cathedral in "entral /ondon They wor
all o*er the world in"luding the &?C in the &io"ese of
.asanusu whi"h has &Golu as one of its deaneriesith dwindling nu!bers of re"ruits in the west% Mill
ill so"iety turned to young 'fri"ans to eep its wor
ali*e and this is how !y teenage interest with their
!issionary way of life shaped what - would do ne=t -
spent two years fro! 1 to 1 in the "entre
(CE3'H.aringa) that they set up within the &io"ese
(.asanusu) before !o*ing on to the ne=t stage
outside the &?C
$
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Chapter 1:
From the DRC to the UK via
Uganda
$iesthood< My !issionary drea! too !e to
JinGaH@ganda where - spent a full three years ('ugust
1 till May 1) without a holiday ho!e in
between - was still in !y early twenties then and theCongo war (that is still "lai!ing its *i"ti!s up to now)
had Gust broen out soon after !y departure The war
began as a Goint @gandan and ?wandan ba"ed
rebellion led by /aurent Aabila to oust an ailing
di"tator (Mobutu) who;d been in power for B2 years
9n"e in power (in 2001)% the self:de"lared president /aurent Aabila fell out with his ba"ers who
in turn sponsored other ar!ed groups to allegedly rid
Eastern Congo of renegade 1 ?wandan geno"ide
fighters To the Congolese% this se"ond in*asion and
"ontinued support to different ar!ed groups were Gust
a prete=t for ?wanda and @ganda to sli"e off or
balanise Congo and lay their hands on its !inerals-n that !le that drew up to 10 'fri"an "ountries
('ngola% Chad% /ibya% +a!ibia% oudan and
Oi!babwe for the &?C go*ern!ent side and ?wanda%
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@ganda and .urundi for the rebel sides) !y fa!ily
!e!bers% in &Golu% had to so!eti!es tae to the forest
for days and wees to flee fro! the different
ad*an"ing andHor retreating (rebel or go*ern!ent)troops pending that length of ti!e away fro! !y
fa!ily was understandably agonising
/u"ily for !e% the intelle"tual sti!ulation deri*ed
fro! studying philosophy was as therapeuti" as the
war!th of li*ing in a wel"o!ing en*iron!ent that
@ganda was in those days - a! grateful to the lies of 'ssou!pta and se*eral fa!ilies in Mbio% AoonGeru
and others a"ross @ganda - a! parti"ularly indebted
to the hospitality of the 9ulas who turned their ho!e
into !yHour ho!e away fro! ho!e Charles and
'ngela 9ula who we si!ply "alled daddy and
!u!!y li*ed with their "hildren at about B !iles
away fro! the se!inary house in JinGaH@ganda Chia.ass and 'nguo Justin both fro! Ca!eroon were two
and a year respe"ti*ely ahead of us and both *isited
the 9ulas as their fa!ily friends in"e - was "lose to
!y Ca!eroonian friends in our year% we got
introdu"ed to the! and this is how a Congolese
!anaged to snea into this "ir"le of pure hu!anity%
friendship and lo*e
-n those days% !ost people in @gandan towns used
bi"y"les to get around There were people who would
pro*ide a bi"y"le ride for !oney and it was "alled
D.odaboda; !eaning Dboarder to boarder; (a pra"ti"e
that originated fro! taing people fro! the Aenyan
border to the @gandan border) e were gi*en one bi"y"le ea"h to get us around espe"ially during
weeends when we had to *isit the "o!!unity as part
of our !issionary wor hen that wor was o*er we
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would turn up at the 9ulas% usually unannoun"ed%
and e=pe"t to be fed and watered 's well as the !ain
house% they had built a boys; 4uarter whi"h be"a!e
our dor!itory at Christ!as% Easter and other holidayse would e*en organise e="ursions to his ho!e
*illage whi"h !eant organising transport to and
through for 10Q of us o!e would argue that hu!an
relations are defined by personal interests but - fail to
see what the 9ulas would ha*e gained fro! us
There are drea!s whi"h are only hopes within arealisti" world that we li*e in .ut there are drea!s
that are uni!aginable be"ause one;s surrounding does
not lend itself to the realisation of su"h drea!s and yet
they still happen to you /i*ing and growing up in
&Golu it was beyond !y drea!s% as it were% to study
with a !i= of 'fri"ans fro! different "ountries in the
sa!e institution .ut that;s Gust what happened There- was% in @ganda% intera"ting with the people that
would later be"o!e !y best friends fro! Ca!eroun%
Aenya% @ganda% Oa!bia% and Tan,ania et"
- !ay not ha*e enGoyed "onsulting !y English:
3ren"h di"tionary !ore than 100 ti!es a day to eep
up with le"tures and so"ial life% but in hindsight% this!onotonous pra"ti"e in the "onte=t of learning a
language has its benefits that - now all too well
.esides !astering /ongando and /ingala whi"h are
both !y !other tongues and 3ren"h whi"h is the
&?C;s s"hool and offi"ial language% - now had to
learn B additional languages -t was so tough that e*en
an old friend - re"onne"t with through so"ial networ had to re!ind !e about asing our D'fri"an
Philosophy; le"turer a daft 4uestion su"h as Dwhat
does a deity !ean>; - was paranoid that - e*en fell out
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with !y Aenyan friend who happened to s!ile while -
was speaing and - thought D!y English !ust be so
poor to !ae this guy laugh at !e; -n spite of those
!o!ents and !any !ore% with hard wor - ha*e had!ore doors open than shut to !e with !y broen
/uganda% not so perfe"t wahili and now fluent
English
%ondon< 9ne window of opportunity that opened up
to !e was "o!ing to England in 'ugust 1 to studyTheology in the "onte=t of fulfilling !y !issionary
drea! The "ultural sho" though when landing at
eathrow airport had the uni!aginable effe"t of
shutting this opportunity down and boarding the ne=t
plane ba" to Ainshasa% where full:on isses were the
e="lusi*e business of the bedroo! .ut - was where -
was and /ondon was going to be !y new ho!e 'sti!e !o*ed on% England offered !e !ore than a
repulsi*e hany:pany that one !ight en"ounter at the
beginning of the autu!n season at one of the world;s
busiest airports (eathrow) The sense of duty% the
generosity of friends% and the understandable logi" in
the syste! that lay down the rules of the ga!e for all%that "an be asso"iated with life in the @A% were
en*iable and attra"ti*e
The @gandan e=perien"e had been beyond !y
drea!s but li*ing in +orth est /ondon was surreal
ere - was studying not only with fellow 'fri"ans but
with "andidates fro! *arious "ontinents - had
graduated fro! using bi"y"les in @ganda to ha*ing 1or 2 students; "ars They "ared so !u"h for you that
they would e*en show you how to use a hoo*er The
winged Mill ill Missionaries head4uarter at a ti!e
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was a listed building and it was so huge that it% at
ti!es% felt lonely /onely but safe% shielding you fro!
the hustle and bustle and "o!ple= transport syste! out
there that !ade !e not *enture out on !y own for atleast 2 !onths Two years down the line and !y shot
at !issionary life didn;t wor out - de"ided for
legiti!ate reasons that - was going to do so!ething
else instead - "o!pleted the Theology "y"le
ne*ertheless and wondered what to do thereafter
- opted for a "areer in edu"ation after being presented with so!e ideas su"h as !arriage andHor
applying for asylu! status This was 2002 and the war
that has dire"tly and indire"tly "lai!ed the li*es of
!ore than !illion people was still raging in &?C
Just on death toll alone and !illion is a "onser*ati*e
figure% the &?C "ould be said to ha*e endured at least
#0 de*astating Ebola outbreas si!ilar to the201H15 est 'fri"an one in the last 1$ years
- "ould go on a rant about the !oral s"ar it has left
on the leadership at all le*els (national and
international) but besides the li*es that ha*e already
been lost a"ross the "ountry% we "an !ention the !any
wo!en and underage girls that "ontinue to fall *i"ti!sof se=ual atta"s in Eastern Congo The rape of an 1$
!onth old girl and fa!ily !e!bers being for"ed to
sleep with their relati*es before they are gang raped by
ar!ed !en are dreadful stories and do"tors su"h as
&enis Muwege who re"ently was awarded the
European parlia!ent top hu!an rights pri,e for
treating raped wo!en "annot be thaned enough Theinternal as well as e=ternal hu!an displa"e!ent
resulting fro! su"h instability "annot be
underesti!ated -t was a no brainer then that !y friend
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would ad*ise !e to lodge in an asylu! appli"ation
with the ho!e offi"e
Te!pting though it was% it wouldn;t only ha*e
been an insult to genuine people who% in fear of perse"ution in their "ountries of origin see refuge in
their host "ountries% but - also had trouble lying
despite possible "oa"hing sessions 'nd - a! not
taling about little white lies Possible years of
un"ertainty were not things - felt "o!fortable with -
wanted to wor hard e*en though tea"hing was theonly *iable "ard on the table This is not to suggest
that all asylu! seeers lie and that they don;t wor
hard
#om piesthood to teaching< The fa"t that - ended
up in edu"ation !ight ha*e so!ething to do with the
fa!ily genes -t is a fa!ily lo*e affair sin"e !y father
and other fa!ily !e!bers% in &?C% are tea"hers .ut
in !y new English "onte=t% it was the !ost pra"ti"al
thing to do - was a foreign student paying fees at an
international rate and - needed a less "ostly strategy
that would get !e into the world of e!ploy!ent in the
shortest ti!e possible Though a few sponsorshipappli"ations were refused on the grounds that - didn;t
!eet the residen"y "riteria% the R$%$5 one year fee
worth of tea"her training at heffield alla!
@ni*ersity (@) and the liely prospe"t of obtaining
a wor per!it and gradually getting into a situation
where - didn;t need one were !ore attra"ti*e than a
!ore "ostly (e"ono!i"s or other purely a"ade!i")!aster;s degree progra!!e
?aising the R$%$5 still wasn;t easy /et;s peddle
ba" a little before starting with @ - had spent two
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8/20/2019 Jean Pierre Elonga Mboyo - The Unexpected Homecoming a Diasporan Journey of Hope Against All Odds
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years studying fullti!e with Mill ill Missionaries
'nd whene*er - wasn;t studying% - was *isiting an
-8H'-& "entre around Ca!den Town and youth
"entre in t 'lbans as part of the !issionary wor that had brought !e to /ondon -n the third year% -
de"ided to part "o!pany with Mill ill and dit"hed
the idea of priesthood all together ith that "a!e the
"onse4uen"e of finding !y own a""o!!odation and
taing "are of !yself - had to "o!plete the Theology
degree as well as find so!e wor that would enable
!e to sa*e enough !oney for !y tea"her training
progra!!e at @ in the following year upport
wor was what did it for !e There was the "onstraint
of not e="eeding 20 hours of wor a wee as per !y
student *isa rules but in support wor% there are flat
rate sleepo*ers at the "lient;s house whi"h ept your
hours low but in"reased your in"o!e so!ehow - hada 4uiet and war! pla"e where - "ould get !y
assign!ents done on"e the "lient was in bed
The "hange of "areer fro! priesthood to edu"ation
re4uired !aing a geographi"al !o*e fro! /ondon to
outh orshire to reside in &on"aster and study with
@ My Ca!eroonian friend 8in"ent 'sa!bo! had
been li*ing there and the reputable hospitality of
+orthen England were enough to "on*in"e !e to
bra*e the hostile +orthen winters that are asso"iated
with this part of the "ountry - still re!e!ber !y
friend Maria il*a ?o,a dri*ing !e fro! /ondon up
to &on"aster on 22nd 'ugust 2002
ow this parti"ular stage in !y life unfolded% andthe for!idable so"ial and finan"ial help of friends lie
Jeanette de ou,a% Maria il*a ?osa% 8in"ent
'sa!bo! and 'ntoinette% deser*e spe"ial !ention -
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8/20/2019 Jean Pierre Elonga Mboyo - The Unexpected Homecoming a Diasporan Journey of Hope Against All Odds
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re!e!ber spending two wees at !y friend;s
(8in"ent 'sa!bo! and his wife Mispa) house before
finding so!e below standard a""o!!odation for
!yself - had enough !oney for !y fees o% !yo*erdraft of R1500 and an additional R1500 that !y
friends Jeanette de ou,a and Maria il*a ?osa had
gi*en !e was the budget - had for rent% transport% bills
and food for the entire year The hardship of ha*ing to
wae up with the "oat - wore to go to wor the
pre*ious day to eep war!% !ay not be so!ething -
wish on !yself% !y "hildren or anybody for that
!atter but the sills and instin"t of sur*i*al is
so!ething - wanted to hang onto fore*er
&uring this ti!e and in the years that followed -
had to get used to the +orthern a""ent% the loneliness%
the friendship% and e*erything that a foreign born
trainee:tea"her had to deal with - also had to learn theropes of tea"hing and build !y tea"hing "areer in one
of the !ost depri*ed se"ondary s"hools in outh
orshire - re!e!ber !y friends would wait for a
funny story of what would ha*e gone on in !y
"lassroo! - also brought ho!e great !e!ories of the
!ost fantasti" students doing what they do best<
learning esitation and early "areer years; doubt ga*e
way to "onfiden"e and - soon began to feel
"o!fortable as a tea"her
-t is offi"ial that it wasn;t lo*e at first sight
between !e and tea"hing -t was a !atter of
"on*enien"e% "ir"u!stan"es and not a passion that -
ha*e "arried with !e sin"e being a "hild -t wasn;t in!y blood% so!eone !ight say -t was !arriage for the
wrong reasons a*e we not heard that before in our
politi"al tal about Dbogus !arriages;% D.ritish:ness;%