by Dr. Iain
Corness
Talking with Laurence Fatus, the president of the PILC,
it came as no surprise that her glasses had a reddish tint. Laurence Fatus
is a person who makes sure that the world around her can be viewed through
rose coloured glasses. A “passionate” extrovert, she has spent her
entire life in some kind of community service - making the community
better for everyone.
She
was born in a devout Catholic family in Mauritius, that island off the
East Coast of Africa near Madagascar and the Seychelles. An island used to
community upheavals as successive colonizing countries left their marks
and cultures. Consequently, the young Laurence grew up speaking French and
English - an ability that would stand her in good stead later.
When she finished her high school training she had
ideas of being a politician with no real chance of it at that stage, but
she managed, by dint of door knocking, to secure the minister of health as
a guarantor to allow her to study nursing in the UK.
Three years later saw her graduate as an SRN, only to
have to go and work in Selfridges in the UK to earn enough money, while
she went to night classes to study sociology and human relations.
Being bilingual it was easy for her to spot in Le
Figaro newspaper a temporary job as a tutor in St. Tropez. She was picked
up in Paris by the uncle of the children to be looked after. He drove a
Ferrari and was married to Brigit Bardot. He was Roger Vadim, a movie
figure that the young and somewhat cloistered Laurence had not really
heard of! However, it was an enjoyable two months on the St. Tropez beach.
(I wouldn’t have minded two months on St. Tropez beach with BB either!)
Returning to the UK she worked briefly for the British
Broadcasting Corporation, but then met and married her first husband, an
Englishman who worked for British Rail, who was promptly transferred to
Paris.
Laurence, never being one to sit still, soon landed a
position as a food, music and theatre critic for a PR company, but at her
husband’s insistence, they returned to the UK so that their first child
could be born on English soil. And her second one as well!
Now with two sons they moved to London (by rail
naturally), where she lived next door to another lady with political
aspirations. That was Maggie Thatcher, the Iron Maiden herself.
In 1970 Laurence returned to Mauritius, having not seen
her homeland for 12 years. She became involved in politics and worked for
Mauritius tourism. However, there were two events which were to result in
her leaving her home after only two years. She and her husband parted and
divorced and secondly she met and fell in love with an Air France
crewmember. They went to Paris (by plane naturally) where she landed a job
at the airport Hilton as the assistant manager.
It was in Paris that she became pregnant for the third
time, this child being born on French soil, as befits any young French
girl!
After a few years of child raising, Laurence needed to
get back into the “people industry” and she became a society volunteer
for the next 15 years. Here she was charged with introducing foreign
ambassador’s wives to the rich cultural heritage of France. From there
it was a small step to working with the American Women’s Group, the
Japanese and the British. With all this multiculturalism, it comes as no
shock to see that Laurence, though coloured herself, has never felt she
belonged to a “minority” group, or had any psychological problems of
feeling inferior - or superior. Almost as an aside she said, “It is a
pity, coloured people underestimate themselves.”
With inexpensive air travel being available to them
Laurence and her husband became frequent jet-setters, visiting all the
exotic spots on the globe, including a stop-over in Bangkok. This led to
longer stopovers and overnight stays in Pattaya.
The Thai graciousness and smiles soon won Laurence and
her husband over. The stopovers became stay overs and they came here
permanently two years ago.
Again with her multicultural background “No one can
guess my nationality from my face,” it was not difficult to predict that
she would join the Pattaya International Ladies Club. “I wanted to join.
I have received so much in my life, I need to give something back to life.
I need to serve the community. People made me what I am today. It
(community service) is very rewarding. I have been so welcomed by
Thailand, so the least I can do is to serve this country.”
For Laurence, success is “When you can give to
others, being generous to fulfil their needs.” Her advice to the youth
of the world is a mirror of her own life. “They should all look for the
opportunity to help others. Go to them and help. And smile.” All this
was being said, while her hands fluttered around her face in that charming
Gallic manner, but with an unbridled and infectious excitement going with
it.
Despite being very busy with the PILC projects,
Laurence still has time for her hobbies which include the study of
different cultures, opera, theatre, music and cooking. I cannot imagine a
day where this energetic woman, who incidentally is older than you would
imagine, could just sit around the house and watch soaps on TV.
Even with all her PILC and community projects, she does
have one, as yet, which has to come to fruition. She wants to start an
organization that would allow children to realize their dreams. “We have
to reach out to those children who are left behind (by society) and show
them that there is something good. We have to give them a chance.”
Laurence Fatus is certainly a remarkable woman who has
shown there are no real boundaries in life if you have the right attitude.
