Tribute to Michael (Mickey) René (1927 - 2014) |19 February 2014

It was with great sadness that we learnt the death of Michael René which occurred in the evening of Friday January 17 at the Seychelles Hospital. Surely for all of us who knew him in Seychelles and overseas alike, the passing away of Mickey as he was known has not left us indifferent.

Although the ex-elected member for the Bel Air district in the People’s Assembly of the Second Republic and the National  Assembly of the Third Republic had left politics as far back as 1998, he had remained a modest citizen, and for many of us an approachable and reachable friend whom everybody called Mickey.

And to meet such a strong and smiling fellow, few would have thought that he was 86 years old and that he had for the last seventeen years been struggling against prostate cancer, which had in the latter stages even developed into a double cancer in his bladder. It was however not his age, nor sympathy for his illness which earned him the respect he received from everyone who came his way. Mickey has always been a smiling fellow and was never too busy to stop and offer a handshake which would always be followed by a short conversation.

Born in Nairobi on 1927, he grew up in the East African capital and as a young man joined the British Army. He also at one point worked for the Nairobi City Council. It was around this time that he met and married his beloved wife Martha and together they had three children -- Elizabeth better known as Christine, Michelle and Jonathan.

When Kenya gained its independence, Mickey had the choice of moving to a country of the British Empire or stay in Kenya. Had he opted for the second choice, he would have been obliged to relinquish his British passport. He decided to move with his family to Southampton where they arrived on a cold and foggy night.

Mickey’s daughter Christine recalls how life was hard at that time. If as an insurance specialist her mother quickly got a job in an insurance firm, it was not the case for his father who remained unemployed for some years. But she proudly relates that the family survived because one of her father’s qualities was to never give up.

Mickey would thus wake up at six every morning and go out to knock on doors from dawn to evening every day in order to find a job. He was eventually employed at the London Hospital as a medical records clerk.The job permitted the family to save and buy a bigger house in Kent.

It would not be long before the René family immigrate again, this time definitely to the Seychelles. Upon the creation of the Second Republic in 1977, Mrs René was called to help set up the State Assurance Corporation of Seychelles (Sacos). Mickey stayed back in England, but as he absolutely wanted to join his wife, he made contacts in order to find work in Seychelles. After one year, he flew in to take a job as a medical records officer at the Victoria Hospital.

Christine comments that joining politics was his way of formalising what her father was already good at doing and what he had been doing for a long time; showing love for his country and taking care of others.

“As he had a heart for other people, politics became for him a more formal vehicle to show compassion and generosity. Needless to say, he was a dedicated member of his political party, the then Seychelles People’s Progressive Front (SPPF), now Parti Lepep. He loved his country and although he was born in Kenya and lived in England, he considered himself as first and foremost Seychellois.”

As the oldest member of the newly elected National Assembly in 1993, the Bel Air MNA even served as Speaker for some minutes, before the election of Francis MacGregor.

Christine proudly states Mickey’s other qualities such as his meticulousness where he had an eye for detail, and his perseverance.

But the greatest of all was his unconditional love for his family. His happiest moments were the ones spent with them.

However, in spite of his gentlemanly demeanour and serious approach to life, he never lost his boyish side and sense of humour, which showed his great love for God’s greatest gift.

“He was a brave and courageous man. Even in pain he always smiled, shared a joke and had something nice to say to others,” conclude Christine’s reflections on her father’s life.

Christine, Michelle and Jonathan are thankful to all of Mickey’s friends who loved him, cared for him and who visited him during his illness. They are also thankful to God for his happy life.

M.S.