Month: October 2022

Abbas Diary entry Part 2

It felt like an eternity to arrive at our destination. I see two other buses with people gathering, near the edge of the cliff, staring down. My mum and dad lead the way. Soon, we reached the crowd, I started to hear people arguing and complaining over something. I look down to see a big wooden boat parked near the beach. People left their belongings behind on the beach. There just wasn’t enough room.. 

(Indian Ocean, August 2001.) The boat left the shore, people became sea sick. The real trouble started when the engine broke down. We were drifting in the ocean with a storm forging.  The storm was rough. Inside the boat people were sick and scared. I see pitch black darkness, I hear my mum praying for forgiveness and safety. The boat was shifting from left to right. Morning came by and with the light came blue calm seas. People made weird shapes on the deck. It had two white snakes on the sides and a white circle in the middle. They said it would tell people we were in trouble and needed help. Eventually we were rescued by a big ship. We boarded the big ship and stayed there for ten days. I saw a person speaking to a staff member. He walked back and explained to us the whole situation. He said Australia wouldn’t take us. No one did. No one wanted us. Then some of us were lucky. New Zealand would take 150 refugees.

Abbas Diary entry Part 1

 Dark, cold night in Jakarta, Indonesia 2001. I wake up to a quavering voice from my mum. “Wake up! Abbas. Wake up, We have to get on the bus.” I quickly got out of my bed, took my bag, packed my clothes and went outside. I see a bus on the dirt road. I hear people whispering to each other. My dad took my hand and led me to the bus. His hand felt like a heater, left on for ages. We walked towards the bus. People waiting in a line to board the bus. I hear a gust of wind sweeping the dirt off the road. We enter the bus and we sit at the back exhausted.