Published: Wednesday, 2nd July, 2008 12:00
Heartbreaking search for mum
By News Desk
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Margaret Rae is reunited with her aunt Fransisca Ortega and uncle Hector Benjerano during her emotional return to Belize.
A TULLIBODY woman who embarked on an emotional journey to the other side of the world in search of her mother discovered instead a sister she never knew existed.
Margaret Rae (45) was just four years old when she left Central America where she was being raised by her mother and other relatives.
Her dad, Fred Vasse, had separated from her mother and believed Margaret, her brother and her sister would have a better life if they returned to Britain with him.
Fred got a job and home in Clackmannanshire where he lovingly raised his family.
But the three young children never saw their mother again, never heard from her and did not even know if she was alive or dead.
Now, 40 years after leaving the tiny peninsula of her birth, Margaret has made an emotional trip back to Punta Gorda, in Belize.
Heartbreakingly, she found no trace of her mother – Graciela Ortega – who she now believes is dead.
But her grief was eased after relatives told her she had a younger sister who was born just months after Margaret left the island.
Margaret is now on a mission to be reunited with her sister.
Margaret said, “When our father took us from Belize we were so young, and we thought nothing of when or if we would return.
“We never realised what the consequence of leaving Punta Gorda would be. We never saw our mother again and she never saw us.
“But at least now I know she had another baby – my little sister – and I hope that helped.”
Margaret’s dad eventually met someone else, and decided he wanted to return to the United Kingdom with her and his children.
As Margaret grew up she thought often of her mum, but she was too young and scared to do anything about trying to contact her.
She went on, “I was young, and I was happy. I took the easy option and just buried my head in the sand.”
But Margaret’s feelings began to change after she became a mother herself.
With the support of her family, she tentatively attempted to contact relatives she believed may have knowledge of her mum.
The turning point in Margaret’s life came when, after her father’s death, her sister was forced to contact Belize to track down a copy of her birth certificate.
Knowing her family tree was being traced in a bid to help find the document made Margaret yearn to return to her mother’s home.
Accompanied by a friend, Janice Nutt, she travelled to her home village of Punta Gorda in Belize.
While they found no trace of her mother, she was reunited with relatives who told her about her little sister.
Margaret, who works as a care assistant, said, “The whole trip was so emotional. I was welcomed back into the heart of my family as if I had never been away.
“I met cousins, aunts and uncles – and all their families.
“But sadly I didn’t find my mum. No one knows what happened to her.
“What they did know is that she was pregnant when my dad left, and that she had a daughter after we moved to the UK.
“It is some comfort to know that she had another baby, but when she disappeared her family struggled to bring the child up without her.
“Finally my mum’s father arranged for the baby – a little girl – to be adopted by a couple from Guattamalo.
“My mother did return to her family, but not for very long. She disappeared and never returned. No one knows if she is alive or dead, but they all presume she died.
“There was a rumour her body had been found in a river, and another rumour that she had been killed in a road accident, but her family never found out for sure what happened to her.
“However, having met my mum’s family I know they loved her, and they did what they could for her.
“They too are heartbroken that they don’t know what happened to her.”
Margaret says she found a sense of inner peace in Punta Gorda and although she did not find any trace of her mum, she says she felt a real sense of comfort in Belize that her mum’s spirit was with her.
She said, “I couldn’t find out any information about what happened to my mother, or the baby she and my father had.
“There was a fire at the office in Punta Gorda where all the birth, marriage and death certificates were held, so there was no physical records for me to look through to search for information.
“But I was deeply moved by the people there. The people I met were so warm and friendly.
“Punta Gorda is such a poor village, but the people are rich in kindness. They made me feel so welcome.”
Margaret now wants to return the hospitality of the villagers by helping raise funds for its local school.
She added, “I want to help them buy much needed basics which are very expensive despite the income of the local people being very low.
“Simple things like sending them money for more paper and pencils and books will make such a difference.”
Margaret is holding a fundraising night at the Oakwood Lounge in Sauchie on Friday 22 August.
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