Jean's account (part 2) 'The need to leave'

In this blog I am continuing the account Jean wrote of her evacuation from Biafra.

'So the days passed until one day my husband casually remarked "Did you hear the news this morning?" "What news?" I exclaimed. He smiled and replied "An evacuation of expatriate woman and children had been ordered." We looked at one another and then smiled. He continued, "You must give up your part-time teaching; after all it's only a matter of weeks until baby is due." I knew that it would be unwise for me to attempt the journey so near the time of delivery, so I felt grateful to baby, as otherwise we would have had to face a difficult decision - Should I go or not?'

Our daughter was born on 5th July. She was a comparatively small baby only weighing five pounds, but was healthy and active, and we were delighted that we were both together at that time. I was excited and thrilled, yet apprehensive and exhausted. On the second evening after her birth, my husband came to visit me in the ward, and tried to arouse some enthusiasm in me by suggesting what names we should choose for our daughter. We found it difficult to find a name which we both liked, but the nurses had no difficulty, and while we were hesitating, they decided to name her Ngosi. We both liked this Igbo name, so we decided to call her Joy - the English equivalent of Ngosi. Having decided this we went on to discuss a second name, but soon we were silenced when we suddenly heard the news that Nigeria had declared war on Biafra, and that fighting had started on our northern frontier. The news created a great stir in the ward, and nurses had to try and calm the patients. The memory of the 1966 massacres had not been forgotten, and the people feared that if the Federal troops advanced it would result in genocide.

The following day, at my request Joy and I were permitted to leave the ward and go to our own home, but that evening I became ill with fever. The fever had just settled when the news reached us that a second evacuation had been ordered. I was feeling far from well, though I was up and about again. The doctor who was treating me felt that I should go home. Other friends also felt that I would make a more speedy recovery in a cooler climate and away from the tensions of war. Imported foods and medical supplies were becoming scarce, due to the blockade which had been imposed by the Federal Government when Biafra declared Independence. The federal troops were advancing into Biafra and the future was very uncertain. I knew that if the town was captured and the hospital had to be evacuated, the baby and I would be a hindrance to our colleagues. Shortly after the birth of our baby the fever kept recurring and I had to go back to the ward when it was discovered that I was suffering from a kidney infection, which had not cleared up at this time. I was too weak, and the baby too small and young, so the very thought of the journey made me feel weak and faint so in spite of the risks involved I decided to stay.

As the weeks went by the attacks of fever kept recurring, and the kidney did not respond to the

treatment, so I knew that it was important that I get home as soon as opportunity offered and be treated there, but this became increasingly more difficult as the Federal Government tried to cut off all communication between Biafra and the outside world, thus making it much harder to travel out of the country.

The war progressed and, as I listened to the bombers flying over, I often wondered if I had made the right decision. There were no air-raid shelters - I just stayed with the baby in the house and prayed no harm would come to her. Hospitals, market-places and even churches were being bombed and the people were living in a constant state of fear. By October the only route by which I could possibly leave Biafra was via Oron and the Cameroons. Oron is a small town about fifty miles from where we lived, and there I could get a small boat to take me through the creeks to Lobe. There was another missionary who needed to get home for health reasons, so we decided to attempt the journey together. I dreaded the parting from my husband. The future was so uncertain: I wondered if he would be safe, and yet I knew that if i stayed I would only add to his anxieties. It was right to go but not easy.