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It is a heart-rending narration about the flight of war victims to seek refuge in a neighbouring country through a long journey all along the Kruger Park. The story is set in war-torn Mozambique. It is as told by a nine year old who loses both her parents during the war. She has an older brother and a younger brother with whom she shifts to her grandparents house.
The extraordinary courage of the grandmother comes to light when she decides to journey by foot through the dangerous Kruger Park to seek refuge in a neighbouring country. Big and strong, she is a symbol of courage and sacrifice. She exchanges her church clothes to get mealies (mealie-corn) and sells her shoes to buy a plastic container for water. The grandparents and the three children join others in the journey and behave like hunted animals. Avoiding the electrified fences, wild animals and the white men, they eat mealies,
wild fruits and flesh of dead animals. Tired beyond endurance, they sleep
the nights huddled together, afraid to be dragged away by the lions. The
grandmother moves on unflinchingly, her feet bleeding, without brushing off
flies from her face and holding the narrator's younger brother in her arms.
On the way, the grandfather is lost when he goes into the grass to ease
himself. They wait and search for a day. Then grandmother stoically makes
the decision to give up the search and move on with the group.
They
reach the refugee camp. Here they are well taken care of. They have a small
place for themselves in a huge tent. They are given free food and medicine.
Soon the grandmother is able to find a job. She sends her grand children to
school.
Grandmother dauntlessly strives to secure the futures of her grandchildren. Her needs come last, and though not able to buy herself a pair of shoes, she sends the older two children to a nearby school, buys them school shoes, and ensures that they do their homework. However, her bitter feelings surface when a journalist asks her if she would ever go back to Mozambique. Her answer is a categorical 'no', because everything is dead. This leaves the young narrator perplexed as she still hopes to return to her homeland and find her parents and grand parents there.
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