"The only way to have a friend is to be one."
[Ralph Waldo Emerson]
For me, friendships have always been important and a crucial part of my life.
The older I get, the more I realise, year after year, just how precious friendships are, and that they should never be taken for granted.
I have made many friends and lost them again – that’s just the way life goes. Many get on board and then get off again – only very few remain by your side until the end of your journey.
Some losses have been painful and accompanied by disappointment. Nevertheless, I have never stopped believing in people and friendships. I still believe that people are more decent and better than they are made out to be.
At this point, I’d like to single out a few friends in particular, because they’re still there for me today, because they’ve brought out something very special in me, or because I’m especially grateful to them. This in no way means that other companions along the way weren’t or aren’t important to me. Everyone has their own special place in my heart.
Mohamed Ali Kathyr
Mohamed Ali Kathyr lived in Kiponda, right next to Malindi. He was many years older than me – when we first met, he was perhaps about my mother’s age. Mohamed’s nickname was Gidemy.
During my childhood and teenage years, Gidemy was not in Zanzibar. He served on a British Navy ship in Asia and worked as a seaman. His greatest wish was to see as much of the world as possible and to enjoy life.
After he retired, he returned to his homeisland Zanzibar.
We often bumped into each other in the narrow streets of Stone Town and exchanged greetings,
as was the custom amongst neighbours in those days. We soon became close friends.
Gidemy was a fatherly friend who told me a great deal about life, about other countries, about adventures, but above all about the meaning of life.
He was very intelligent and had a wide knowledge - much more than a lot of people in my surrounding in Zanzibar. I admired him greatly for that.
Those conversations with Gidemy still resonate with me today, and I remain grateful to my friend to this day for the trust and appreciation he showed me as a young man back then.
I will never forget his advise:
"My young friend, dont waist your time with talking gossips at the barazza. Talk to people, they will bring you forward or read a good book."
Sometimes we spent time together with an other good friend of mine, Captain Figg and his wife in Mazizini (...I will come to him later).
Gidemy and Captain Figg were the same age and shared a lot of ideas and memoriers about World War II. I heard about Chrurchil and Hitler and the battles in the Normandy in France.