Bendy Elephant
by
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The clanging of the phone goads my fourteen year old body from the depths of sleep. The ringing and ringing in the lounge and its echo in the kitchen goes on and on. I squeeze one eye open. Left eye up against the pillow. Wrong eye. Open right eye. Squint at my digital bedside clock. 06.23! On a Saturday morning! A ball of flame starts an immediate burning in my guts. Who’s dead or injured? Where’s Ma and Papa?
“What? Never! Oh My God! Oh My God!
My mother’s shouting from the lounge makes my heart thump right up to my throat. Keeps on thumping there. I sprint to the lounge, grabbing a T shirt as I go and beating my father by a whisker. Ma has switched on the television. BBC News 24.
“.......President Jameson Welter’s death at 10pm last night. Whilst most Juxonese are still in shock, there are reports of early signs of unrest here in Queenville, the capital of Juxon, a previous colony of the
The Frees have consistently accused the Cartons of rigging the election that brought President Welter to power. Since their independence from the
The Cartons are mistrustful of the Frees’ continuing connections with the British. This is aggravated by the chronic tension between the two sides regarding land ownership. Put simply, the Cartons are demanding that the land ‘stolen’ from them last century during British rule be returned to them as the rightful owners. The Frees deny the Carton’s right of ownership and argue that they have papers to prove legal ownership.
Speaking to people on the street this morning, the angry Cartons vow to take every inch of land back and avenge their president’s death. They say they have militarily support from neighbouring Shenroth in the north where many Carton supporters have lived in exile for decades.....”
Behind the reporter the camera is showing hordes of shouting people; men, women and children, smashing car windows, smashing shop windows and looting from the sports shop. Others are laughingly running from the few on duty police with their stolen electrical fans, microwave ovens, raincoats, anything and everything. My mouth dries; I can feel my rough pre-breakfast tongue sticking to my palate. I struggle to swallow. Phew! My heart is thumping and booming under my T shirt like when Mark next door plays his heavy metal music ultra loud. I’ve seen scenes like these before, but this is Queenville, my capital, not some far away place! I know that street! We had lunch at The Gravy Boat! This is near! This is here! Oh My God!
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About the Book
The president of Juxon is killed and his supporters are on a murderous rampage, plunging the small country into instant civil war.
As the headmaster of a prestigious school and a high profile target for the insurgents, Frederick Wiggins and his family are forced to flee their comfortable lifestyle. Fourteen year old Luther’s highest value, his family, is immediately challenged when they have to leave without his eight year old sister Ellie, who is sleeping over at her grandmother’s in the next town.
As the conflict escalates, the family has to adapt constantly to deal with petty hostilities as well as the lack of humanitarian assistance. After a humbling experience with some soldiers, Luther is determined to become street wise. During a major clash between the rebels and the army, they have to flee yet again, this time into neighbouring Belling. All they have is the clothes they are wearing. Now they too must live in a refugee camp. Here they live for nearly a year, surviving and dealing with crisis after crisis. A final catastrophe splits the family. Again, it is Luther’s focus on his highest value that keeps him going when wandering in the forest, searching for his errant older sister.
Finally, recovering from his ordeal in the forest, he is helped to come to terms with his new life.
About the Author
Born in Cape Town, South Africa, Steph Daniels came to London to study paediatric nursing, followed by lecturing in biological sciences. During this time she flitted between lecturing, working in areas of conflict and studying medical anthropology. She spent more than ten years working and doing research, mainly with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC} in Sudan, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Somalia, Rwanda and other areas in conflict. In many of her assignments she performed the initial assessment of health and medical needs of people in dire need of basic essentials. Whilst walking through the camps she observed how some refugees or displaced people continuing to maintain a sense of normality, despite unimagined disorder in their lives. During interviews and discussions with them, she discovered that, when their focus was glued to their highest value, it gave them the strength to endure. This principle was applied by numerous humanitarian workers as well. Many of the incidences retold in this book are experiences she faced or witnessed.
At present she is a keen student and practitioner of personal development and healing.