Author Andrew Goss explains the story behind his powerful new novel
THE STORY BEHIND Cold Coffee in Asmara was initially suggested by my wife. Claire had worked in Eritrea for four years as a nurse, overseeing health programming in remote areas to the west of the capital Asmara, where the mountains sweep to arid plains all the way to the Sudanese border.
The country lies just above the Horn of Africa, sandwiched between Sudan, Ethiopia and Djibouti. Its location so close to Arabia, just across the Red Sea, makes it a fascinating region where Arab, African and European influences collide. It was a former Italian colony, until 1943, when dictator Benito Mussolini was overthrown. The territory then came into the hands of the British. But independence remained elusive, resulting in a 30-year war with Ethiopia, its neighbour to the south.
The post-war scenario, chronic food insecurity and a people craving peace following the prolonged conflict and eventual independence seemed an interesting setting for the novel – and would allow me to spotlight a range of issues common across the developing world. They include poverty, disease, food insecurity and access to education. Sometimes poor national governance too. Conflict or natural disaster are all too often common bedfellows too. And now we have the worry of the increasing impact of climate change across the globe and on some of the poorest, most vulnerable communities in the world.
But it was the stories Claire told of real-life situations she had encountered during her time in Eritrea that fired my imagination. So I began my own research. It was a country which remains relatively inaccessible today, with a Government suspicious of outside agencies since the end of its protracted war for independence, which left the country’s infrastructure on the brink of collapse.
I knew too of the flow of migrants that cross the border into the Sudan to embark upon the migrant trail to Europe to reach safety, a dangerous 5,000-mile journey. It includes those who set out on foot across the desert with little more than a bag of cash and the hope of somehow finding a better life, away from conflict, or persecution, turning their back on everything they have known.
Usual suspects
In the case of Eritrea, in addition to the usual suspects that stand alongside poverty and disease, a primary reason for taking that desperate step of leaving the country in the hope of finding a better, safer life was – and still remains - an escape from enforced military conscription for indefinite periods. Sometimes young people are taken by the military for periods exceeding ten, or even 15 years. And some never return to their families.
I have met and been inspired by some who have made that long migrant trek over many months by any means possible here in my home city of Leicester, in the heart of the UK. Some came via Calais, which I had also experienced as a volunteer in the ‘Jungle’ encampment, home to 10,000 men, women and children seeking a new life in Britain, until it was destroyed by fire, then bulldozed unto the mud in 2016. Juba and Daniel are fictional characters, but stand for countless thousands of migrants who continue to risk all in the hope of a better life.
As for John Cousins, he seeks his own peace as an aid worker in Eritrea following a traumatic conclusion to his previous mission in Pakistan among a people hoping to rebuild their country. It is here that seeks respite from his own trauma and begins to put some of his own ghosts to rest. I’ll let the reader decide how much of that story is drawn from my own experience.
Strong themes
The book tackles some strong themes. They include child poverty, health and educational challenges in poorer countries. The trauma Cousins experienced in Pakistan is explained. But does he find the redemption he craves for in Hannah Johnson, who has her own secrets? I will allow the reader to discover as the story unfolds.
However, in closing, I will add that among the darker issues the novel includes I believe Cold Coffee in Asmara is essentially love story. It tells of loss and redemption and ultimately of hope. I hope too it allows the reader to travel to north-east Africa and imagine a life far removed for their own. And that they too can feel something of the challenges that many people less fortunate in the world are forced to endure.
One may argue it need not still be so in this day and age. Again, it is for the reader to draw his, or her own conclusions. But I hope they enjoy the journey!
Finally, people often ask how much of what I write is true. My first novel, The Humanitarian, contained many experiences I myself had endured, or witnessed in Pakistan, following its devastating 2005 earthquake, though the characters were entirely fictional.
The same might be said for Cold Coffee. Both novels are a blend of fact and fiction. That is, they are based on factual events and lives that are lived today. It is the characters that are often a mix of different people I have encountered on my own travels as a humanitarian aid worker.
James Miller McKenzie never existed. Nor did Sir Charles. Or even Hannah Johnson. But they are based on people I have known and the experiences I have witnessed.
Just like Lula, the camp vagabond ‘adopted’ by Cousins and Johnson. Yet she holds a special place in my heart, because I have known hundreds of children just like her, who are hungry to learn, if only they were given the opportunity. I hope therefore the novel provides an insight into a world that exists, but few of us are able to experience firsthand. Happy reading.
Andrew Goss, March, 2024