CREDO Credo...
I came to Scotland 14 years ago to train as a teacher. I had moved to London in 2000 when I was 23 and I met my husband there. He is Glaswegian so we came to Scotland about a year later. I now work as a careers advisor.
I grew up in Western Mongolia looking after sheep and goats. I lived in a yurt. It was a socialist country at the time. In the 1980s, democracy came to Mongolia, so I witnessed the changes in my country throughout my childhood. Before the switch, we had to queue for a kilo of meat or a litre of milk.
My schooling was very structured. The Russian education system made sure that we were well looked after. Academically, we were expected to do well and encouraged to do our best for our country. We were always told that a bright future was waiting for us. We had weekly check-ups, starting with our toenails and fi ngernails, handkerchiefs, etc. And if you were not clean enough you would have a pig’s picture put around your neck. We would clean the classroom fl oor every day and paint the classroom every summer. For fun we played skipping, basketball and volleyball, and swam in rivers and lakes. In winter we had skiing and skating lessons for PE. I went to Ulan Bator, the capital, when I was 17 and became a teacher of English and Russian.
There are many similarities between Scotland and Mongolia. I love Scotland so much, especially the mountains and the sea. The massive open spaces remind me of Mongolia. I just love the Scottish people. This country is my home now. It’s just great to live here. The Ayrshire coast and Troon, where we live, is my favourite part. I go to the beach almost every day with the kids.
Latin. (n) ‘I believe’. A set of beliefs which infl uences the way you live.
Uuganaa Ramsay
The author of Mongol – a memoir on her Mongolian upbringing and the short life of her son, Billy, who had Down’s Syndrome – talks about her life, book and upcoming appearance at Boswell Book Festival
I decided to write my book, Mongol, in memory of my son, Billy. He was born in 2009 and passed away when he was just three months old. Very soon after he was born he was diagnosed with Down’s Syndrome, and he had a hole in his heart. He ended up with a chest infection before he had a chance to have heart surgery, so we had to let him go. When he passed away, I promised myself and him that he would live on in people’s minds. I found out that if I wrote a book and it was published, a copy of it would be kept in the British and Scottish Library. I wanted people to know that my boy existed, that my son was here. So that’s why I started writing the book.
I write a blog to Billy as a way of coping with my grief. I started writing it because I couldn’t let him go and through that I came across all of these comments using the word ‘mongol’ or ‘mong’. This made me think of how some people were confused about the difference between my ethnicity and this historical term describing people with Down’s Syndrome. In the 1860s, John Langdon Down, a British doctor, observed people with lung diffi culties and disabilities; in his opinion, people with Down’s Syndrome looked like Mongols. There’s no scientifi c reason for this term, it’s just based completely on his opinion. So I felt I had to do something to raise awareness so that people know who is Mongol and who isn’t. There is a Mongolian saying that goes: people will forget what you said, they will forget what you did, but they won’t forget how you made them feel. So I wanted to take people on a journey through my life story.
My book and campaign are my greatest achievement. Scotland gave me a voice because people here are accepting of my campaign. That was a huge lift.
I am inspired by great speakers. My heroes are Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King.
I couldn’t live without my family. I only have my husband and kids here. Everyone else is still in Mongolia, and my in-laws have passed away. I travel back to Mongolia every three or four years.
I don’t like people who moan. I like the Scottish word ‘ach’. I use it a lot. ‘Ach, just get on with it.’
Uuganaa Ramsay is appearing at Boswell Book Festival, 9-11 May
boswellbookfestival.co.uk. Y
, www. ou can read her blog at
www.mongolmemoir .com
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