Junior School Magazine - Edition 6 (NOV 2018)

Y ear 5 - N arrative - continued

As we scurried along the winding roads, we got drowsier and drowsier until Abood shouted, “WATCH OUT!” Abood’s parents froze in their tracks, then there was a monstrous KABOOM, several yells and dust everywhere. Then there was silence. “No, no no no, please no, not today,” Abood whispered through salty tears. Abood’s parents were dead, and yet their lifeless bodies appeared to be begging for help. From then on things dragged. Over the course of a few weeks, our stomachs got thinner and thinner until you could see our rib cages. We simply didn’t have the energy to go on. We were too weak and too young. Have you ever gone with just one slice of bread a day? It feels like a bunch of knives are stabbing you in the chest all at once. We became too weak to walk and soon we were crawling in the filth, searching greedily for scraps as the days went on. But one day I saw something glinting in the dim sunlight. Something that looked a lot like water. “WATER!” I screamed. We scurried as fast as cheetahs, lapping up the salt water like dogs. Although it was salt water, it felt wonderful to finally have another liquid to drink other than the filthy old water that we had been forced to drink during our life-threatening journey to escape. Just then I realized something, since the water was salt water, it must mean that the water was from the sea. That means we could escape by boat! Coincidently, there were already refugee boats leaving, so Baba, Mama, Abood and I rushed to the boats. The only problem was that my parents and I went to one boat and Abood was forced to go onto another. And that was the last time I saw Abood. CHAPTER 3 - ABOOD People say before children had rights, we had to work in dangerous places because we were considered to be ‘little adults’. However, little by little children were given rights. The French thought that the children needed breaks, so they gave them breaks. Then, they gave children an education in the 19th century. After the 20th century children were given medical, social and legal rights. 1924 was when the first documents of the child rights were established. Then this thing called UNICEF (United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund) was made. Apparently, they help children who are in need and I hope they will help me because it feels like all my rights are being denied. My parents have died, my loved ones have been torn away from me and the way that I, and many other like me, have been treated has been horrific. Food is scarce, and sanitation is a big problem in a cramped boat that’s over crowded. Days and nights went by as our throats got drier and our energy was progressively lost. Dirty, sweating bodies were pressed against my skin as the days became longer and the nights became shorter. I missed Mama and Baba, but most of all, I missed Hayyan. We had been best friends since we were babies and we had been separated just like that. It wasn’t fair how I’d been treated, I deserved more opportunities and rights. I was dying slowly, I could feel it. I didn’t know how much more I could take. Then, everything went black.

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JSM Edition 6