it was hard being on a boat. The boat was being thrust from wave to wave like we were on an endless roller-coaster. We were holding on to what we could and at the same time, I was trying to comfort Jacob that was crying and thinking his life was over. I told him that we did not come this far just to drown in the water. It was hard convincing him. Some people fell in the water and no one could save them. This was a lot to see for my little eyes and I did my best to be selfish and think that I needed to survive. Still, I cried for the people that fell over.
Another problem was the boat was half full of water. Everyone tried scooping water out, but as soon as we scooped water out, more came in. The worse was when some of the older men started talking that some should be thrown overboard, so they would survive. I could see the way they were looking at Jacob, who was crying and most likely annoying them. I held on to his hand and tried to calm him down.
I was amazingly calm for someone that was sure was going to die. The more the boat sank, the more that I thought I would finally be a victim of this war. I wanted to live and survive, but I was very afraid. I was far away from home and the only person I knew was Jacob. I said my final prayers and decided to let the sea decide if it would swallow me or not. I could feel my eyes close all the time.
I was exhausted and hungry and I knew that my body just wanted to collapse and sleep. I knew that if I slept, the men would consider throwing me overboard. Despite this, the more I tried to keep my eyes open, the more that I was losing the fight.
Everything went black.
I was woken by a lot of noise. A large boat had picked us up and I was on the ship's hospital bed. A nurse was telling me that everything was fine. She explained my body was tired and it needed a lot of water. I asked about Jacob. It seems like that she did not understand so I had a small panic, thinking the worse that he was thrown overboard. The nurse told me that I was safe and so was my brother.
As we came onshore, the only thing I noticed was all the cameras and police. I heard one reporter say that we came to the country to have a better standard of living. This made me mad. Did the reported not realize there was a war in Europe and everything that we went through? We all had blankets and did not look our best. We were taken to a big hall, where people from the Red Cross asked us our names and ages and how we got there. Jacob did not say a word. I could see that he was looking for his mom.
We took a bus where we were taken to an asylum center. It was some prefab buildings that were made to a temporary place to put refugees. As we walked in, we were given some things that we would need, like a toothbrush and toothpaste and soap. There were also some second-hand clothes and shoes we could ask for. The important thing was that we got something to eat. It was not Danish food, but it did taste good!
We were put in a room that was supposed to be for 4. We were 9 people. There was a family from Poland and a family from France as well as Jacob and me. This meant that the room was very crowded and we did not understand each other. This small room was a place where we slept and where we would call home.
Jacob did not like it. However, I told him to look at the positive side. There were no Russian soldiers and there were no bombs or shooting. This did not cheer up Jacob, that said that he lost everyone he loved. He was alone in the world. I said nothing to this, as I was in the same situation. I was only a child and knew I had a future. But what would this be? Would I ever have a family or would I ever see Denmark again? Even if I did see Denmark again, it would be a country that was destroyed.
We got used to life at the Asylum center. There was nothing Danish or European about it. It was a Muslim country so we lived in the middle of them. In a way, it was easier for Jacob and me. We were much better than adults at learning their language and customs. The food didn't bother me, or the fact that there was someone calling people to prayers on a high-speaker 5 times a day. I didn't think it was bad that the women there were dressed so their bodies and faces were covered. I figured it was their way of life.
New refugees came all the time and people complained about this. They complained that more and more were crammed into the prefab buildings. This also could be good. One good thing was that Jacobs's mother showed up at the camp one day. She kept her promise and somehow found her way across the sea. Jacob was now happy as he had his mother. We were moved to her room. Where there were 11 people!
I must admit that I was jealous of Jacob! He was not an orphan and did not lose everything. This made me often cry at night wondering if my parents were dead and wondering could I do anything to save them. I also thought about mom thinking that I was still in Denmark. If she was alive, she would not know that I was here. In fact, if she was alive, she would most likely think that I was dead.
I kept thinking that if mom or dad was alive. Were they searching for me?
Living at the asylum center was depressing. It was crowded and adults were often sad or worried. They had too much time and this led to lots of arguing and fighting. A lot of adults and children had mental problems as well. I suppose who could blame them. We have seen horrors that. In a way, children were lucky as we went to a local school during the day. I had to cover my head and wear a long dress. The school was not like the one I knew. We repeated a lot of things. The other children were nice and wanted to know what Denmark was like and how I liked their country. I was never invited home to their houses. I did not mind this, as school was when I could be a normal child,
As you can see, I felt overall safe in this new country, Yes, we lived in what many would call inhumane conditions and the adults were often mad at each other. This being said, I could sleep and not worry about war. This country was safe, However, I always knew it was not my country, I felt like an outsider, I was not born in this country. I had to learn their language and customs.
When we saw the news on TV, we could see politicians fighting about refugees. They thought we were costing too much money and we were not like them. Some said we just wanted to have a better living standard than what we had and some said we wanted to convert them to Christians. The common thing was they did not like us and wanted us out of the country.
Jacobs's mother told us not to pay attention to the news. The politicians were afraid of what influence we would have in their country. They did not know us. They did not realize that every refugee had talents that could help their country. She said fear was a bad thing.
One day while I was in the playground playing with some girls, I heard my name being called out. At first, I did not pay much attention to it. However, I kept hearing my name being called and it was becoming louder and louder. Before I knew it, this woman was giving me a hug. It was mum! I thought I must be dreaming. Out of all the countries, she could be and all the asylum camps... she was here!
Mom told me that she thought I was dead. She searched the tunnels for a long time and then the town. She was sure she saw me driving away in a bus in the camp outside town and tried calling my name. She was sure it was me. She traveled down through Europe and ended up here, She was sure I was dead and if I was alive, I could be anywhere.
So I moved into Mom's room. This was one of the happiest days of my life!
It was hard for mom. She was a nurse and a very intelligent woman. However, she found the customs and the language impossible. This made me an adult in many ways. When we spoke to someone from the government about asylum, I had to translate everything. When mom had to go to the doctor, I had to translate. This made mom feel helpless. She also was frustrated when someone told her that she needed a husband as she could not be alone.
Even when we went to the local town, people looked at us in a strange way. This made us feel like outsiders and not wanted in the country. Sometimes someone would call us names and tell us to go home. This was all confusing for me, as I could not understand how people could hate us and not know us.
The worse thing was our room. There were two families and this made mom think a lot about Dad, She did not like that we had no privacy. We often had to listen to the others fighting over something. It was like we were intruders and had to listen to all their problems.
Despite this all, mom tried to smile as much as she could. She told us we can be private in other places and the important thing is that we were together.
The government refused our asylum, saying that there was no reason why we should stay in the country. They said there was no proof I was mom's daughter. This made mom mad. She said that if Dad was here, we would be allowed to stay. They did not like the fact that no man was there to take care of us.
We were moved to another center that was an old prison. It was for people that could not stay in the country and had to go sometime. It was a dirty place. It was more crowded and there was absolutely nothing to do. It was not that bad for me, I was allowed to go to school still. But it was bad for mom. She said it was like living in a prison. She could not decide anything anymore. We were told what to do and what to eat. The place smelled and the air was funny like it was 100 years old. This meant a lot of people were often sick.
It seemed popular for the government to make living conditions for refugees harder. One thing was that mom had to wear the clothes that the Muslims wore all the time. She had to keep her face covered. This annoyed her as she would have liked to have a choice. She said it was discriminating. The answer she got that if we were guests in their country, we would have to follow their customs.
The best news we heard was that the war in Europe was over. I did not understand the details, the US was about to enter the war, and the Russians did not want this. So a deal was made that the Russians withdrew. It was good news that the war was over, but Europe was in ruins. The Denmark we knew was gone. There was a new Danish government but that was all. The country was bombed to bits and thousands had no homes and even food was scarce. Mom said we would starve to death if we returned.
So we stayed at the Asylum center as more and more laws were passed that made our lives worse. The worse thing was when I was told that I would no longer be allowed to go to school. So I was stuck at the center all day. This made me think at times that starving in Denmark could have been a good alternative.
I soon became sick, but the doctor only came by once a month. At first, it is like I had a cold and then it developed to the flu. I had to lay in a room with everyone else. There was no peace, Mom said it was the center that made me sick. The other children in our room also became sick. So we laid down all day as our mothers tried to take care of is as much as possible. Slowly my condition worsened and this worried mom. I did not want to eat or drink. After a week or so, I was sleeping most of the time and could not even move,
When the doctor came, he told mom I had to go to the hospital. They told me that I did not wake up for a week. When I did, I got the second happy shock of my life. The doctor in the hospital taking care of me was Dad!
When I was feeling better, Dad had a talk with mom and me. He told us that we can stay in the country. However, he wanted to go home. Denmark was in ruins, and he thought we had a duty to rebuild the country. He told us it would not be easy. In fact, we would have a very hard life. This being said, we were Danes and our country needed us.
I did not care where we were, we were a family again!
The end.
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