At first Mathy and her mother moved to Enfield, north London and then to south London. She was impressed with the multi-racial backgrounds of the boys in London but experienced more racism than she had in France. Because of the bullying and violence at that time she had to move from Lilian Baylis School in Lambeth to Pimlico School in Victoria.
At the age of 14 Mathy and her mother, who thought her daughter needed a firmer hand, moved back to the Congo. Mathy father’s, who showered fourteen-year old Mathy with expensive gifts and even her a car was delighted to be near his daughter. For Mathy the most important thing was to spend more quality time with her father.
Mathy went to an American school with expats' children and the country’s elite. When Mathy was 16 rebels, opposed to Mobutu’s government, marched on the capital. Mathy, siblings from her father’s other marriages and cousins left in a speedboat for Brazzaville, Congo, within earshot of the guns in Kinshasa. After a few days the children went to Johannesburg, South Africa to stay with Mathy’s uncle, the Congo Ambassador and his wife. Mathy did not know what had happened to her mother. Six months later she found out that she had gone into hiding in the Congo.
At the age of 19, having passed 12 A Levels within the South African education system Mathy went to France and then to England to stay with an uncle on her mother’s side. She did not want to live in the USA with her father, new wife and children. The overthrowing of Mobutu’s rule affected Mathy deeply. It was two and a half years after leaving for South Africa before she saw her father and 10 years before she saw her mother who eventually came to see Mathy in London. In England Mathy found she had a skill working as a coach and mentor. She helped people with disabilities and unemployed youth to find work. Mathy moved back to France but some day would like to go back to the Congo to open up opportunities for young people.
Watch Mathy speaking in the film Voices Past and Present (8.30 to 8.50):
