1960’s Baby – Christina Haramis Charalambous – My autobiography -Chapter 3 - Trekking (Moving)

Playing on my dad's piano which was in my room

Playing with blocks on my "mummy's: balcony

Fun at school in Port-Said

Puzzle Pieces

1960’s Baby – Christina Haramis Charalambous  – My autobiography  -Chapter 3

Trekking (Moving)

In my heart Egypt holds great lovable memories. There were of course some that created fear and unsettled me. Yet because of my faith in God, the Spirit of Love, I trusted that it all would be ok.

I very fondly remember the piano that was in my room and which my dad used to play on occasionally.  I also remember his mouth organ which he used to play and my sister and I would sing along. I so enjoyed walking with my dad to school and back. It felt it was a time just for him and I to be together. Sundays were such big preparations, putting on my beautiful church clothes and then lunch at “mummy” my granny.

Then talk started that we needed to leave. Things in Egypt started to change. Gamal Abdel Nasser was now the president, Egypt lost the six-day war and there was a lot of uncertainty.

My dad originally wanted to immigrate to Australia where he had two brothers, and his second choice was Greece, and lastly South Africa.  To immigrate to Australia took a lot of red tape, and because this would have resulted in a lot of delays it was decided it would not be such a good idea.

Although Greece was his second choice, it was not a consideration. My dad studied medicine in Athens in the 40’s became a rebel and was labelled a communist. So South Africa was the final decision. On the positive side of this move, was that my mom’s family was in South Africa and we would have help and support in settling down.

That is when small fears started to creep up. That is when I started to pray very hard. I listened as the adults spoke of South Africa and the apartheid that ruled the land. This was something that my dad was completely against.  To this day I hear my dad’s voice saying, he rather go to prison than treat someone else as unequal to himself. This statement put such fear into my heart. I did not want my dad to go to prison. I would question him, and he would try to explain to me how all human kind is equal. Colour, religion, culture does not make anybody superior to anyone else. This stayed with me forever.

We started packing, we said our goodbyes to the school, and to the communities we were members of and to my Italian family on my mom’s side. The hardest and most heartbreaking goodbye was to my “mummy”.  I just could not let go. I held on to her and sobbed so much, that this memory triggers a pain in my chest.  My “mummy” was my very best friend; A place where I expressed myself and played and learned. Now I will be leaving her. Deep down, I knew I would never see her again. I clearly remember getting into the taxi sobbing. I sobbed so hard, I could not breathe, my chest was sore. My dad told me we would visit her in Greece because that is where she was immigrating with my uncle. I did not believe it, and rightly so.

The taxi took us to our bus station where we boarded the bus to our trip to Cairo, to catch a flight to Greece. One short stop over before we took our flight to South Africa; a new country, a new language, a new life and many, many challenges.