48-yr search ends
Published:Wednesday | July 7, 2010 | 12:00 AM
Nadisha Hunter, Gleaner Writer
Nearly half a century of separation and searching ended in jubilation four days ago when 48-year-old Pamella Morgan heard the booming voice of her father Horace Morgan for the first time.
Pamella's heart leaped with joy when she was awakened early Sunday morning to a phone call from her father, who she has never met.
"I have been trying to find my father from I was small. I pressed my mother, but she was afraid I would get hurt, so she didn't help," an excited Pamella said.
"I have gone through several channels just hoping that one day I would be successful in getting my lifelong dream. I was not contented and I was hurt because I wanted to know my identity," she told The Gleaner.
Pamella left Jamaica for Miami, Florida, at age three with her mother, having no clue who her father was.
She has never visited Jamaica since then, as she feared her visit would be fruitless.
"I told myself that I wouldn't visit Jamaica unless I would be with my father, and after so many years, my first visit to Jamaica is to be with my dad. I am so elated," Pamella disclosed.
The once-distressed daughter said she finally found success through a network of friends who assisted in the hunt for her dad.
"I have to thank my friends. They have done a good job. Because of them, I am able to link up with my father and relatives," added Pamella, who is planning to come face to face with Dad on July 29.
Her 75-year-old father, who resides in Christiana, Manchester, was no less excited about the moment.
"I am glad. I am glad now that I've found her. I have been searching for her for years," he said.
Horace said he kept thinking about his first child and praying for the day when he would be able to finally meet his daughter.
"I was searching for her over the years and once I wrote her a letter and it came back to me because she wasn't at the address where I thought she was," he told The Gleaner.
"I am feeling good and I have to give thanks to the Lord because I am really happy that I lived to hear her voice."
Horace said he hoped the vacuum in his life would be filled when he lays eyes on his daughter and pledged to maintain the relationship.
And to top it off, since reconnecting with her dad, Pamella also discovered her sister, Vera Morgan-Burke, who also resides in the States. Serendipitously, both sisters lived four miles apart in Florida without knowing each other existed.