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I
was born in Zimbabwe, but it was Rhodesia back then, an unhappy
country. I went to school in Bulawayo, which is not far away from
the Zimbabwe/Botswana border. I had what must seem like a rather
unusual childhood, growing up in Africa in a troubled society
that has now been swept away by history. It obviously made an
impression on me, and I still have strong feelings for Africa
and for the beauty and excitement of the place. However, I left
to attend university in Scotland during the sixties, and it is
there that I built my life. But not so many years later, I started
to go back to Africa in various capacities. In the early eighties
I spent a year in Swaziland and Botswana, where I lectured in
law at the the university. I continued to visit Botswana each
year, where I had various academic projects. So I kept in touch
with southern Africa and always felt drawn to it emotionally.
I wrote about it from time to time in some of my short stories,
and indeed I wrote a number of children’s books set in various
parts of Africa.
Botswana
is a very special country. It has stood for something good, in
the middle of considerable darkness. It has consistently observed
the rule of law since independence and there has been very little
corruption. It is a remarkable place. And it is very beautiful,
with great dry plains and the Kalahari and skies that are high
and empty. I feel nostalgia for that, as I suppose many do for
such places. It makes me sad just to think about it, because to
be away from something that you love is always a sad experience.
As the English poet, Craig Raine, so aptly put it, “it is the
onion memory that makes me cry.” I have always thought this a
wonderful metaphor — the skins of memory being peeled off, producing
tears.
I
sat down one day with an urge to write about a woman in Botswana,
a woman who embodied many of the qualities that I had seen in
people there. The result was Mma Ramotswe. It was as if she had
walked up to me and said: “Hello, Rra, I’m Mma Ramotswe.” The
word Mma is pronounced as “Ma” in English (short vowel). It means
Mrs./Miss etc., but is also used as a term of address, as in the
French Madame. It’s the same for Rra, the masculine equivalent.
And
with Mma Ramotswe came Mr J.L.B. Matekoni, who represents all
that is good in mechanics, and Mma Makutsi who represents those
who try their best in adversity.
It
is difficult to know if I could write these books if I lived in
Botswana now. Possibly, but then again distance lends enchantment
. . .
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