An orthotist has used poetry to reflect the emotions of a broken Zimbabwe father left to nurse his innocent son's wounds following an attack in the terror-striken nation.
Jonathan Wright, of Orchard Way, Barnham, chose to recount the man's horrific experience in Where Are You Now after a telephone conversation with him from the country where innocent people are forced to live in fear for their lives.
Mr Wright, w
ho grew up in South Africa, said: "My friend who wrote the poem dictated it over the phone as it is difficult to communicate by hand these days and was relating his personal grief about the incident concerning his son and naturally about the country as a whole.
"I felt very moved by the poetry of his words."
The moving poem begins: 'I gather my child from mother earth, not taken today, but stained with his blood innocently given' and ends 'My son is still bleeding – where are you now?'
The author asked to remain anonymous.
Mr Wright (51) moved to the UK in 1977 because of the worsening situation in Africa and later qualified as a medical practitioner.
In the early 1980s the father-of-one began specialising in prosthetics and orthotics and now works as a freelance orthotist at clinics across the county.
But despite moving away from the region Mr Wright has not forgotten his roots and knows only too well the suffering of victims in war-torn countries like Zimbabwe, having used his specialist skills to help victims in war-torn countries including Afghanistan, Bosnia and Mozambique.
"It was in Mozambique that I befriended several people involved in the struggle in Zimbabwe and was also working with Gracia Machel, who later married Nelson Mandela, I believe," Mr Wright said.
"She was essentially involved with many children's charities, especially concerning land mine injuries, which was my speciality."
In 2000 his international mercy missions were recognised with an MBE.
Working as a freelance orthotist gives him the freedom to help out overseas from time to time and he feels strongly that 'The West' has repeatedly got things wrong when it comes to understanding how Africans live.
"Nelson Mandela is a great man and should be respected for what he achieved in South Africa, but the 'story' doesn't end there," he said.
"It is now extremely unstable and has just as many social problems as Zimbabwe.
"I am afraid the great man's birthday celebrations recently are, in my opinion, a smoke-screen for the real issues that are affecting the area.
"Burying heads in the sand and not acknowledging the situation only serves to make (us) feel satisfied about his victory but does nothing for the people there who continue to suffer."
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The full article contains 530 words and appears in OS-Chichester Observer newspaper.
