As I worked at the rope gate, handing out little slips of paper that are refugee’s bus tickets, thoughts assailed my mind. These little slips of paper are these refugees ticket out of a horrible situation, fleeing from something so horrible I can’t imagine. I see people walking barefoot on gravel, people with shoes too small that only half their foot fits, no socks, damp clothes, clothes visibly dripping from the boat ride, people with literally nothing but the soaking wet clothes on their backs. These people, not just refugees, but individuals are running into the unknown. I couldn’t understand.
My dad painted a picture for me that began as black and white and now is bleeding with color. These people risk their life getting into a raft, not a sturdy boat, a blow up raft that can be popped with the smallest of pokes. 50+ people huddled together, hoping that the winds are in their favor, water is calm, for 2 hours or more, hoping they can make the journey from Turkey to Greece.
This is after they paid 1,000 euro per person to land their seat on a boat. After walking, traveling for several weeks, getting shot at trying to get into the Turkey border. After their home has been demolished by the wars tearing across their homes. After they saw everything they worked so hard for being ruined.
The journey is hard. That’s the reality of it. I, as an American, safe in my home, cannot simply understand. The reality is, as horrible and scary the boat ride, and the whole journey is, these people are running into the unknown. Running into the unknown because it looks a whole lot better than what they are running from. People constantly ask what’s next. They get off a boat ride, wet, terrified, and have no clue of what’s happening. Some ask where they are, as in what country. Some ask where they go after they get on the bus. Literally running into places they don’t know.
People from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Yemen, Pakistan, and several more countries are fleeing. So this measly bus ticket I am passing out to each person is a ticket to their new life. Not some flimsy piece of paper. A ticket to a hard journey, but a ticket to something more. A ticket to a new life.
