Love letter helps Austrian man trace parents in Uganda
Apr 12, 2010
A 30-year-old love letter left by a dead Austrian woman, who succumbed to cancer in 2002, has helped her children trace their father’s village and relatives in Uganda.
By Arthur Baguma
A 30-year-old love letter left by a dead Austrian woman, who succumbed to cancer in 2002, has helped her children trace their father’s village and relatives in Uganda.
Simon Kiteko, 26, and his girlfriend jetted into the country last week thanks to the old love letter.
Desperate to unravel the mystery of his father’s roots, Simon dug up his mother’s secrets including sifting through over 50 love letters, which she exchanged with his father 30 years ago.
“We wanted anything which would lead us to our father’s family. Our mother did not know much about our father by the time he died. She also died without ever establishing contact with her husband’s family,†Kiteko said.
Dressed in a T-shirt and tight fitting khaki pants, Simon looked calm and reserved. Behind the muscular body and tough face, you could see a small boy trying to establish his identity. Establishing his ancestral home has haunted him since childhood.
“It always bothered me. I said to myself that one day, when I start working and get money, I will look for my relatives,†Kiteko explained.
“My brother could not make it but he promised to come next year. This was the opportunity I had waited for all my life,†Kiteko added.
He works with the Special Operations Police Unit of Austria.
Where it all started
In 1980, Christine a young girl from Waxenburg in Austria, met Ambrose Kiteko Tokwaro, a Ugandan migrant refugee in Amsterdam. They fell in love and got married. Kiteko hails from Pece in Gulu district.
Christine was on holiday in Amsterdam when she met Tokwaro. From then the two love birds embarked on a long distance relationship with regular exchange of visits.
Their love blossomed and in 1981 Christine gave birth to their first child, Benjamin.
Tokwaro tried to relocate to Austria but the laws barred him. He did not have a resident permit. Christine was an English teacher, while Ambrose was a refugee with no formal job. In 1983, Simon their second child was born.
Around this time communication between Christine and the father of her children broke down. Because of unavoidable conditions they could no longer communicate or visit one another.
In the lull of not hearing from eachother, Tokwaro died in an accident. He was run over by a car while cycling around Amsterdam in 1983.
Tokwaro died before he had given details about his origin to the wife. The only thing the wife knew was that he was an African from Uganda.
Christine also passed away in 2002 after succumbing to cancer before she could find the ancestral roots of her husband.
Desperate, Benjamin and Simon, dug up their mother’s personal effects, and landed on a love letter with some clues. In one of the letters, Ambrose wrote: “Honey, in case of anything and you cannot get to me, I have written a name of my cousin Gaetano whom I stay with at the bottom of the letter. Gaetano always knows where I am.â€
Armed with this letter Simon and Benjamin headed to Amsterdam, where they found Gaetano still living in the same flat their father lived.
It was a heart melting moment. Gaetano cried. In his house he had kept their father’s adored possessions intact including a pair of sun glasses, a chair, pictures of their father and a radio which he had just bought days before he died.
Gaetano Ayiga gave them a list of the likely names of relatives in Uganda. Simon sent a list of all the names to a friend on facebook. He also wrote a letter to the New Vision. An announcement was aired on Mega Fm for three weeks.
Caroline Achayo, a sister to Tokwaro living in Juba, heard the announcement and called her brother Bennet Obwoya, ending the long search of relatives.
Simon will be officially re-united with his relatives in Gulu this week, including his grandmother and head back to Austria next week, a happy man.
A 30-year-old love letter left by a dead Austrian woman, who succumbed to cancer in 2002, has helped her children trace their father’s village and relatives in Uganda.
Simon Kiteko, 26, and his girlfriend jetted into the country last week thanks to the old love letter.
Desperate to unravel the mystery of his father’s roots, Simon dug up his mother’s secrets including sifting through over 50 love letters, which she exchanged with his father 30 years ago.
“We wanted anything which would lead us to our father’s family. Our mother did not know much about our father by the time he died. She also died without ever establishing contact with her husband’s family,†Kiteko said.
Dressed in a T-shirt and tight fitting khaki pants, Simon looked calm and reserved. Behind the muscular body and tough face, you could see a small boy trying to establish his identity. Establishing his ancestral home has haunted him since childhood.
“It always bothered me. I said to myself that one day, when I start working and get money, I will look for my relatives,†Kiteko explained.
“My brother could not make it but he promised to come next year. This was the opportunity I had waited for all my life,†Kiteko added.
He works with the Special Operations Police Unit of Austria.
Where it all started
In 1980, Christine a young girl from Waxenburg in Austria, met Ambrose Kiteko Tokwaro, a Ugandan migrant refugee in Amsterdam. They fell in love and got married. Kiteko hails from Pece in Gulu district.
Christine was on holiday in Amsterdam when she met Tokwaro. From then the two love birds embarked on a long distance relationship with regular exchange of visits.
Their love blossomed and in 1981 Christine gave birth to their first child, Benjamin.
Tokwaro tried to relocate to Austria but the laws barred him. He did not have a resident permit. Christine was an English teacher, while Ambrose was a refugee with no formal job. In 1983, Simon their second child was born.
Around this time communication between Christine and the father of her children broke down. Because of unavoidable conditions they could no longer communicate or visit one another.
In the lull of not hearing from eachother, Tokwaro died in an accident. He was run over by a car while cycling around Amsterdam in 1983.
Tokwaro died before he had given details about his origin to the wife. The only thing the wife knew was that he was an African from Uganda.
Christine also passed away in 2002 after succumbing to cancer before she could find the ancestral roots of her husband.
Desperate, Benjamin and Simon, dug up their mother’s personal effects, and landed on a love letter with some clues. In one of the letters, Ambrose wrote: “Honey, in case of anything and you cannot get to me, I have written a name of my cousin Gaetano whom I stay with at the bottom of the letter. Gaetano always knows where I am.â€
Armed with this letter Simon and Benjamin headed to Amsterdam, where they found Gaetano still living in the same flat their father lived.
It was a heart melting moment. Gaetano cried. In his house he had kept their father’s adored possessions intact including a pair of sun glasses, a chair, pictures of their father and a radio which he had just bought days before he died.
Gaetano Ayiga gave them a list of the likely names of relatives in Uganda. Simon sent a list of all the names to a friend on facebook. He also wrote a letter to the New Vision. An announcement was aired on Mega Fm for three weeks.
Caroline Achayo, a sister to Tokwaro living in Juba, heard the announcement and called her brother Bennet Obwoya, ending the long search of relatives.
Simon will be officially re-united with his relatives in Gulu this week, including his grandmother and head back to Austria next week, a happy man.