Kabur

Chapter 4| Paco

"If you want to learn to swim you have to throw yourself in the water." - Bruce Lee

The Nile was a place of peace for the Egyptians. My experience with the Nile was not very peaceful. We were walking toward the water when the all too familiar sound of war vehicles and gunshots filled the air. I looked at Yana and then at the river. We ran. I had learned about people who could swim, but I can not swim to save my life. I was going to need to swim to save my life. Bullets zipped past me and Yana. We ran past the clueless Jonathan. He was really stupid he had no idea we were being attacked by the army. He eventually caught up with us. He and Yana could swim and that made me feel bad.

When we got to the Nile I jumped in... Yana made an attempt to help me swim and I learned. I guess when you are in a struggle you are a better learner. Learning how to swim was the least of my worries. People say that the creatures you can't see are the ones you need to worry about. This was true in my river journey. As we swam I was falling behind Yana and Jonathan. Yana looked back at me as she said: "hurry up." I frantically swam to catch up I felt something in the water underneath me. I eventually caught up with my sister and Jonathan. As we were getting out of the river... the water exploded and I was under the water in no time at all. This was the work of a crocodile. I was surprised to feel it let go. When I resurfaced the crock was not done and got my arm again. This time I had been pulled under and I thought to let go of. When I was off the hook with the crock I ran for the land. When I got there I was only left with my right arm.

Blood loss can cause death and that is why we were all so scared. My new nickname was mkono mojo. In Sudanese, this means one hand man. I was scared for a long time after the incident, but to my surprise, Jonathan helped me through my struggle. It is hard to watch your family die. It is hard then to become a refugee fleeing from war, and it is hard to be a refugee with one arm. But this was my only choice. To flee my home with a helpful friend and my sister to a land that I did not even know. Kabur. I have to escape. Another man had cut his foot on a rock. Yana was running towards me and Jonathan screaming that she was scared and did not want me to die. When she got to me I was in Jonathan's arms. She said, "do not go". Then my world went black. It hit me like a heart attack, knocked me flat on my back, then I was gone.