By Denise Paro – H2FOZ
Video and photos: Marcos Labanca
Contributed by: Ricardo Zaslavsky
Translation: Juan Jose Dichio
In the mid-20th century, it was common for the English to hear bombs exploding across the country. It was World War II (2–1939) that arrived bringing insecurity, uncertainty and fear. At that time, a 1945-year-old boy witnessed it all. He lived in a village on the outskirts of London, Harold Wood. As soon as he heard the attack warnings, he would go to shelters, basements or hide under tables. It was routine.
Today, at 87 years old, English biologist Robert Stephenson recalls details of his childhood during the war. In an interview with the portal H2FOZ, he tells a little about himself and talks about the still-living memories of that somewhat dark time for humanity.
When did you arrive in Foz do Iguaçu and why did you come to the city?
Well, we were living in Argentina, and Puerto Iguazú is a nice little town, but it's very small. I lived in New York for many years, and Foz was a little more like living in New York than Puerto Iguazu Holiday Rentals. My wife makes veggie burgers and she used to sell them in Puerto Iguazú, but she didn’t sell very much. And I said to her, “Look, Betty, Foz is a much bigger city, and chances are you’ll sell more there.” So that was another factor. We arrived in Foz in 2003.
VIDEO INTERVIEW – Robert Stephenson
So Foz do Iguaçu was a better option than Puerto Iguazú?
Yeah, I mean, I got involved early on doing busts for the conscientiology, and that kept me busy. You know, I could do about one bust a month. So that's basically the reason we moved, it seemed like a better option than Iguazú.
Do you have any memories of World War II? Where were you at that time?
I was four years old when World War II started, and my father was not fit to serve, he only had one eye. And he was in the War Office in London. And we were living as a family, my sister, myself and another brother who was a little bit older than both of us. The three of us were with my mother.
Do you report seeing landmines during World War II? Was it near your home?
It would probably have been early '40s, '42, '43. And yes, it was from here to the road. Which for a big, big gun, was pretty close.
Did you feel scared?
Was I afraid? No, because I think we had faith in our parents, you know? We were protected – maybe some of the older kids were more nervous, but you know, around 5 or 6 years old, we really did what our parents asked, what the teacher asked.
You said you had a German neighbor and there was an episode involving a horse. What was that like?
We lived in a house that was across the road from a farm, where actually the farmer was a German, a German, yes. And what, tonight my sister and I were standing at the window, looking at the lights, you know, because the searchlights were going back and forth. And then they started falling and exploding, you know, all around us, all around us, and a horse, a cart horse, one of those big, big ones, came galloping into the flower garden and jumped right over him, I've never forgotten that.
Considering that the war was between England and Germany, what was your relationship with this family like?
He had a bad reputation for being unfriendly, and I don't think I saw him more than twice in all that time. His wife was very nice, and I imagine she was British. But you know, I loved the animals, the farm. We had what we called earth girls (land girls), they had a uniform, like a military uniform, but their job was to help farmers in times of war.
And every day they were in the back of our house. They had to go through this road, and on the other side, and on his land. So every day I was helping them bring the cattle, and so, and I think it was not tense, it was quite peaceful. Because they couldn't go anywhere, and we had nothing of interest, you know, to talk to them about.
When the war ended, what was the general feeling of society in the country?
Well, I think they were happy that the war was over, which was the most important thing, and it depended on their education and how much they had suffered. If you had lost someone in the war, then maybe you would have a less friendly thought about it.
But in general, my family, anyway, as I told you, we played with the Italians and we didn't see many Germans in England. My parents were kind of liberal politically, so they weren't anti-German or anything. I think it was easy for the British to forget what happened, I mean, what you can't forgive was the way they treated the Jews.
Did your family lose someone in the war?
No, just the father of a friend of my sister, he was a pilot. He went off to combat and didn't come back. That was the closest thing. We were hurt at the time.
Churchill was a leader, right? How do you talk about Churchill?
I mean, it's hard to criticize Churchill, because he was a clear-thinking individual. And he conducted the war, you know, in the right way [laughs at dogs barking]. And recently, I was on television these days, in 1946, I think, it was just after the war, there was a huge smog, air pollution, and it was from the burning of coal.
We all burned coal, you know, coal was everything. In the morning, it was my job to light the coal fire, it was just ignorance, really. He said well, this fog will go away, you know? And that people should have coal, because that's what they cook with and what keeps them warm in the winter. But it was interesting, about three days after he made that statement on the radio, the fog disappeared. The wind came and blew it away.
