Description
When Zambia became independent in 1964, the white colonial population did not suddenly evaporate. Some had supported independence, others had virulently opposed it, but all had to reappraise their nationality, residence and careers. A few became Zambian citizens and many more chose to stay a while without committing themselves. But most of the colonial population eventually trickled out of the country to start again elsewhere.
Pamela Shurmer-Smith has traced survivors of this population, globally and through cyber-space, to discover how new lives were constructed and new perspectives generated. Her account draws on the power of postcolonial memory to understand the many ways that copper miners, district officers, school-children and housewives became the empire’s relic. Her work is not that of a dispassionate outsider but of one who grew up in Northern Rhodesia, knew its colonial population and has considerable affection for Zambia. It is her commemoration of 50 years of Independence.
REVIEWS
“A stunning piece of ethnographic research that engages with the surviving numbers of a colonial diaspora resident in many countries. It successfully uncovers the traces of an Africa colonial past in the global present…”
(Carol Ekinsmyth, University of Portsmouth)
“This book is about people, for people. Through the warm glow and haunting figure of memory, Pamela Shurmer- Smith offers a wide –ranging survey of the experiences of former Northern Rhodesians. Her narrative reveals remarkable insights into a previously researched community and is poignantly inflected with stories of those returning to contemporary Zambia.”
(Hilary Geoghegan, University of Reading)
