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On this Mother’s Day, I thought I would undertake a “dissertation” dedicated to the memory of my mother, Eulalee Gilfillian-Anderson, who, besides being my mother, was the most unique and beautiful person in every sense that I have ever known. Her classical style and her elegance were unsurpassed. Her beauty was not only physical, but also served as an expression of her inner self, and generated itself in compassionate ways, in giving totally of herself to her family and to all those around her who knew her, loved her and highly regarded her, which was everyone. People inevitably wanted to be close to her, to know her, to be a part of her personality, always smiling, always gracious, always positive. Because of all these attributes and her generous nature she was often referred to as a “saint.” After she died, I visited Majorca, and the cathedral there, and marveled at an alcove I discovered dedicated to the memory of Santa Eulalia, a saint and a martyr. I have always considered that a good omen. Mummy was well traveled, by Jamaican standards, visiting New York in the summers via the Queen Mary, where she met my father, and England, which was the choice country of third world colonialists during her time. I regret that I did not have the opportunity to introduce her to the other European countries I so love and that I, and my brother, favorite son Neville, have so enjoyed. She was the first woman in Jamaica to own a “roadster” and drove all over the island like a competitor in the Indy 500. Mummy was privileged, being part of a household with an emphasis not only on higher education but classical music; she studied piano, but her first love was tennis at which she excelled. She gave the best parties at “Sunnyside” of which there were many, and of which I was a part since I was three years old. Further, she was knowledgeable and smart with an insatiable appetite for politics. Which brings me to the point. Apart from my father, Mummy was totally in love with Dag Hammarskjold, Swedish diplomat, author and second Secretary-General of the United Nations. She made no secret of it. To the best of my knowledge, she had never met him but she admired his politics and would have been aghast today at the decision of the Swedish Government to close the Swedish Consulates in the United States, where Hammarskjold had made such an indelible mark. I remember her joy when she last visited me in here. I had a small studio apartment then on 45th Street, between First and Second Avenues. Hammarskjold Plaza had opened a block over from the UN on 47th Street. Her first words when she visited were “How appropriate!” U.S. President John F. Kennedy called Hammarskjold “the greatest statesman of our century.” How ironic is it then, Hammarskjold, the only person to have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize posthumously, former secretary of a governmental committee on unemployment and adviser to a cabinet on financial and economic problems, for his memory to be now so desecrated. What can the Swedish Government be thinking? Sweden is economically viable compared to most other countries in the EU. The Swedish Consulates not only process visa applications but, more importantly, promote Swedish culture through its representatives in the United States and particularly in New York, “the capital of the world.” They serve an important role in representing one of the most important and culturally recognized countries in the world. Sweden is the home of the coveted Nobel Prize; a country known for its economic stability and its achievements in the arts; it is well known for its green and innovative technology and the sustainable development programs it implements. There is no question that it is environmentally conscious: over 57% of its total area is covered by forest; the Stockholm archipelago on the east side is made up of over 25,000 islands covered in forests and meadows; the coastline is the longest in Europe and it has over 100,000 lakes. Water covers one third of the city’s area and is so clean that you can catch salmon right in the city center. And, yes, in the first three years, the Swedish pop group “Abba” sold more records than the Beatles. There is also no question we and the EU are in the throes of a recession, but there appears to be a light at the end of the tunnel and the Swedish Government would be well served to reverse its idiotic decision to close its consulates in the United States and put the $5 million it thinks it is saving to maintain those embassies in a stimulus package. $5 million dollars in today’s world is a mere drop in the bucket and not worth the sacrifice of Sweden’s well established role in the world and its cultural presence here in the United States in tribute to its homeland and the services it offers to its people. As Dag Hammarskjold so aptly stated:
As my mother would say: “Right on!”
Valerie Stephanie Anderson Mother’s Day, May 10, 2009
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