How far would you say your novel is based on reality? Are any of the characters portrayed or situations that occur drawn directly from your own experience?
Davies: Good question. I suppose Scatterlings could be described as "faction". Although none of the characters are real, some of them are loosely based on people I knew. But I also built the characters from a composite of my knowledge of several people, and of the people of Africa in general.

And yes, many of the situations were based on my own experiences, although some were drawn from other people’s experiences during the war.

How difficult was it for you to write ‘Scatterlings of Africa’ based on your clearly harrowing experiences in Rhodesia?
Davies: I was a young man during Rhodesia’s Bush War, and young men are not usually so painfully affected by fighting. Although there are times when you are very afraid, you soon forget the fear and the discomfort - and remember the adventure. Although my brother did suffer from shellshock after some pretty frightening experiences, I was very lucky and did not actually lose any family members during the war. So, many years afterwards, I found writing Scatterlings most satisfying.

The tough part was learning the art - skill - of writing itself; I found that I couldn’t express what I wanted in crisp, readable form. Luckily I had plenty of helpful criticism and, after rewriting the manuscript no less than four times, it was finally ready to go for publication. I also worked with an excellent appraiser, who made sure I got things right. Finally, my copy editor and I had fun discussing literal spelling and grammar, but he found the manuscript needed little work by the time he saw it.

Is it fair to say that your novel poses questions about whether war is a simple case of right and wrong?
Davies: Gosh, that’s a tough one… I suppose you’re right – Scatterlings of Africa does pose the question. I believe that war should never be fought for so-called "moral" reasons. In my view, war is justified if your country is invaded and/or if your way of life is threatened. In Rhodesia’s case both justifications were there on the side of Rhodesia and its people. It was Mugabe’s terrorists who invaded Rhodesia and threatened the lives of Rhodesians - both black and white. There were many more black soldiers fighting against Mugabe’s terrorists that there ever were white soldiers. We were all, black and white Rhodesians, fighting for our country. Mugabe was fighting for a "freedom" that everyone in Rhodesia already had - he wanted to impose his own form of "freedom". We can all see now where that led to…

I don’t know enough about the case for war in Afghanistan, or Iraq to comment on them, but it is certainly not clear to me.

You seem particularly critical of missionaries going into Rhodesia in the novel. What is your view of their role in the conflict?
Davies: I think that’s a wrong interpretation. I am not critical of missionaries. I included one mission that was subversive in the story and my antagonist, Comrade Gadziwa had no respect for them. Because that is how most Africans view people who betray their own kind… with puzzlement or downright suspicion. No decent African would betray his own people. Most African loyalty begins with family, extends to clan, followed by tribe and then race (not nation). That’s probably why Mugabe has taken such a dislike to white people - especially British, and in particular, Tony Blair.

In fact, most missionaries in Rhodesia were careful to remain neutral during the war. Some suffered terribly at the hands of terrorists - some were even killed by terrorists.

However, the World Council of Churches openly supported Mugabe’s terrorists. I found it very strange that a so-called Christian organisation should support a Marxist one. Of course, Mugabe was brought up as a Catholic - he was taught by Jesuits and his early years were heavily influenced by them. (Castro was also schooled by Jesuits!) But the Church organisations that supported Mugabe knew that Mugabe converted to Marxism while he attended University in South Africa. (By the way, the missionaries who I know supported terrorism were NOT Catholic, and I made sure there is no mission anywhere near the place I wrote about in Scatterlings of Africa.)

The World Council of Churches seems remarkably silent on Zimbabwe now.

Do you think that, given the current political instability in Zimbabwe, similar conflict is a possibility for the future?
Davies: I doubt it. Mugabe and his thugs have a monopoly on violence and weapons of war in Zimbabwe. And anyway, the vast majority of Zimbabweans are decent, peace-loving people. I know, because I played with black children when I was a child; later, I worked with black people, and I served alongside black soldiers - all in Rhodesia.

There are two main African tribes in Zimbabwe: The only warlike tribe - the Ndebele people - have been the target of Mugabe’s genocide since the early 1980s, and have been all but wiped out as a nation. They now represent only 20 percent of the total population and the survivors have been beaten into submission by starvation and brutality. The majority tribe - Shona - have never been a warlike people, and I do not believe they have the will to fight.

The people of Zimbabwe are thoroughly cowed and intimidated by Mugabe’s terror machine.

Is Zimbabwe a country that continues to rest heavily in your heart?
Davies: There is a saying: "You can take the man out of Africa, but you can’t take Africa out of the man…" That’s very true. But Zimbabwe does not rest heavily in my heart, because I left Rhodesia before it became Zimbabwe. I do feel very sorry for the people of Zimbabwe, especially old people, and black people. Black people are less able to flee from Mugabe’s terror than white people are. The fate of the people of Zimbabwe is cause for concern to me. I blame Western liberals for their suffering.

Are there any more novels, of a similar vein, on the way?
Davies: Yes, I am writing a new novel at the moment and it will be partially set in what is now called Zimbabwe, but it won’t be about the war.