I've just returned to England from Shetland, the most northerly part of the UK, where my grandfather was born and brought up. It was great to be back to visit friends and family and see the beauty of the place once again. After disembarking from the over night ferry from Aberdeen my eyes were immediately drawn to Karibuni the Swahili named coffee shop meaning 'Welcome'. I found out later that this cafe is run by a social enterpise centre supporting adults with disabilities to find training and employment. Its well worth a visit if you find yourself in Lerwick! Apart from this linguistic anomaly there would appear at first glance little more in common between Shetland and Congo. In many ways the 2 places are hugely contrasting. The furthest you can get from the sea on Shetland is just 5 miles, in Lubumbashi it is 750 miles to the sea, a 3 day journey by road. The population of Lubumbashi is estimated between 2 and 3 million people, the population of the whole of Shetland is around 22 thousand people. Then theres the difference in the weather, well that goes without saying! With the huge distance and differences between the two places I hadn't expected to find many Congo connections in Shetland. However, I spoke at St Columba's Church, Lerwick last Sunday morning about the Kimbilio project in Lubumbashi and was amazed to talk to 2 people at the end of the service one who had previously worked in the north of DRC and another whose son had been working in Congo a few years ago and had sailed up the Congo river! Many Shetlanders have found themselves in far flung parts of the world, possibly due to the fact that Shetland is made up of many small islands and many inhabitants have had to rely on the sea and travel in order to make a living. Professions of many male Shetlanders in the past included fishing, whaling, crewing ships as well as employment in the Merchant Navy. Between the 1870's and 1890's the population declined to around 17,000 with 1 in 4 of Shetland's population leaving the islands in search of opportunties of work and possibly a better climate(!) in places like New Zealand, Australia, America and Canada. The discovery in the 1970's of one of Europes largest oil fields just off Shetland has been a boost to Shetland's employment, economy and population. My great grandmother Mary Williamson (1880) was infact the only one of her family who didn't emigrate to New Zealand at the turn of the last century. Despite her parents and 8 siblings leaving Shetland she stayed and married Henry Ratter. I am thankful to Mary Williamson for her decision to remain in Shetland as it is likely I would not exist if it were not for her stubborn determination to remain 'at home'! Henry and Mary's eldest son Christie was my grandfather, who was in the Merchant Navy. On one of his voyages, his ship berthed at Blyth, Northumberland where he met my grandmother and the rest is history! I was intrigued to see his sailors uniform being worn by a 'Roman soldier' in the nativity play last Christmas in the Church at Katoka,D.R.Congo where my Aunt (and Christie Ratter's daughter) has been running a hospital and maternity since 1945, another positive Shetland/Congo connection. Anyone else out there with a Shetland/Congo link?!
