Essays and Journalism, Volume 4

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The British know nothing about Botswana because it seldom gets a mention in the press; and because it's 'simply not interesting'. So says Alfred Dube, Botswana's High Commissioner in London. As a generalisation, he may be right. But turn the coin and realise that many thousands of people in Britain, with no direct contact with this country, owe their knowledge of it to a single person, Naomi Mitchison, its one time, self appointed, prolific publicist and unofficial ambassador.

Articles rarely appear in the British press today for the simple reason that Naomi is in her mid 90s and no longer provides them. Unsurprisingly, no one of equivalent abilities and interests has stepped forward to fill her shoes. Perhaps they realised what little value the government placed on Naomi's earlier efforts. She may have been an irritant to many. But how many of the newly independent states of Africa had a friend like her? Someone who had the contacts, the ability and the motivation to argue a point, paint an image or present a human need. -- Sandy Grant, 1995