
A Lemon for Safiya
A Lemon for Safiya
Jemima Shafei-Ongu
Nisaluk Chantanakom
Lothian, 2025
32pp., hbk., RRP $A24.99
9780734422224
“It was Safiya who first spotted the woman sitting on the edge of the footpath, sock-sandalled feet in the gutter, busy cars speeding past.”
And so begins a compassionate and compelling story of Safiya and her parents taking their time to find where the old woman has come from, because clearly the gutter is not her home. Yet no one else has bothered to stop to help this elderly lady who has become invisible to society because of her ethnicity, race, religion, language, age and now dementia – a story that is sadly echoed as so many develop tunnel vision as they race about their daily lives.
But to Safiya’s family, particularly her mother who speaks Arabic and can communicate with the woman, she is neither invisible or ignored and not only do they manage to find her family but learn a little about the life she has lead, including the significance of the lemon she is clutching. “Every line on her face seemed to hold a story.” The final image is touching and suggests that not only has Maryam lived many stories but a new one has begun.
As the Baby Boomer generation ages and dementia and other age-related illnesses take their toll, sadly there are many who seem to be forgotten and unseen by society generally and the isolation is compounded when communications break down through either a lack of English or the loss or memory. Luckily, Maryam’s family had ensured she had an identity bracelet to help with just this situation but the fear of a loved one wandering off is ever-present.
While this story puts a face and personal context to this growing issue it is nevertheless a universal story – one playing out in so many families regardless of their heritage, language and beliefs. We can only hope that if Maryam were our elderly relative, it would be a Safiya who noticed her.