I now pick up my story once again and it was as if nothing had changed.
The routine was still the same, solitary confinement. I could really do with talking to someone. Anyone. Just the same old routine. Much like the state we are all in now. Believe me it will all change. We just need a little perseverance and one day things will get back to normal.
By now our trial had started. This meant that very two weeks we would be given clothes and be taken by a military truck to court for our remand hearings which by now had become pretty routine. As for myself, these journeys had a little sting in them. You see there was only one prisoner that I disliked, and to my disappointment every time we were transported from our prison to the court, I found myself handcuffed to him.
On one occasion I was handcuffed to Barney and thank god for that. You see it was the first time I had seen my wife. She has flown to the Seychelles for our trial. I had heard that she was coming but had no official notification. To my great surprise and joy, as we got out of our transporter on one of the visits, this lady walking towards us. At first I did not recognise her, however, as she made her way towards us, one of the soldiers grabbed her by the arm. I then lost my temper and exploded, lashing out at the man. Fortunately Barney grabbed my arm and pulled me back, shouting at me at the same time. A very explosive incident had been avoided.
During the court recess, my wife came into the room where we would have tea with our legal team. I cannot explain the feeling and emotion for all of us as I was reunited with her. You see, my wife, was seen as a beacon of hope for all of us. It was here that our legal team heard about my outburst. They were horrified and although they understood what had happened, they said that this incident would only show the rest of the world that I was in fact a heavy handed mercenary and this would help the prosecutions case. On the return to our barracks, I asked if I could meet with our Major and this gave me an opportunity to explain my actions and to apologise for the incident. If was a very difficult meeting, however the Major said he did understand my point and he accepted my apology.
This turned out to be a turning point in the relationship between my wife, the Major and myself. Shortly after that meeting I was called to another meeting and he set out the way forward for the next time I would meet her. My wife would be brought to our prison barracks by the police where we would have a ten minute meeting in his office with him present. On the first visit, my wife was brought to the barracks by the Deputy Police Commissioner. The police were really helpful, however, one of the Tanzanian guards manhandled my wife and she was shoved into the Majors office with an AK47 in her face.
Happily as time progressed the following meetings got better and longer. I think that by including the Major in our meetings on each occasion, we became quite good friends and my wife helped him choose some furnishings for him home. On her first visit to the island, my wife would stay for six weeks. Enough cannot be said for her bravery and commitment to us as a group. She was a beacon of hope for us and a belief that one day we would return to our families.
As it was for us then, it is not too dissimilar for us all in the current lock down position. Now more than ever we need to keep the faith and to adhere to all the lock down rules. A little pain, perseverance and discomfort now will be rewarded with us all being able to be reunited with our family, friends and loved ones. Keep your eyes on that as we go through this difficult time in our lives.
Until the next time, keep happy, stay safe and my God bless you and our family.
Comments are closed