An Uncertain Journey

Part 2

Amal leaned her head against the cool wall listening to the sound of children chattering and the fountain bubbling merrily. She had finally found a safe place for her and Juwariyah to stay the night, before carrying on her journey to England. At least they would have a bed and a roof over their heads for the first time since she had left Aleppo.

She was interrupted from her thoughts by Maryam who said, "You're probably wondering how I can speak Arabic and why I approached you in the streets, right?

"Mhmm," said Amal, eager to have some answers.

"Well," said Maryam, "I was a little girl like you when war broke out in my country, Palestine. I fled the country with my parents. We travelled for many weeks until we reached Syria. It was there that I lost my parents. We had just boarded the ship that would take us to Lebanon then later to Turkey. Upon boarding, a young boy of around 5 years fell into the water. The mother of the child started crying out, and not hesitating to protect herself, my mother jumped in after him. The boy grabbed onto my mother, and my mother started drowning. She managed to pull the boy on board, but as she did so, she slipped and lost her grip. She was pulled under the waves and my father plunged in and held onto my mother. Suddenly, a big wave hit the boat and they were dragged under. I cried out to them, but they didn't answer. That was the last I ever heard of them...

When we arrived in Lebanon, we were greeted by some rough-looking men who were to take us to Turkey in the back of a lorry. We were meant to stay quiet and not say a word...

After a few hours, I started feeling very sick and cried out for my mother. Realising she was not there, I began wailing in despair. A woman in her thirties came up to me and started singing to me. It was the same song you were singing to Juwariyah and that was one of the reasons why I felt so drawn to you. The woman told me not to worry and that she would look after me. I fell asleep lolling on her shoulder...

After a few days in the back of the lorry, we finally arrived in Turkey. Not knowing what to do, I asked the woman who had been so nice to me if I could come with her. She agreed and I went to stay with her and her relatives in Istanbul. As you have probably guessed, I stayed in Istanbul until I finished school and that was when I went to university. I studied languages and came back to Istanbul to work here.

And then today when I saw you and your sister, I could tell straight away you didn't know what you were going to do tonight, as you had the face of a young person who reminded me of myself as a young girl facing the trials and tribulations I faced to reach Turkey."

After some time, Maryam left, knowing she needed to leave the young girl to her thoughts.