I had a dream.
We were carrying children and the elderly through lapping waves to the tenders bobbing in deeper water.
Out there in the bay off Kolatoi Beach three great ocean liners were waiting to greet them. One of these huge ships was the "MS Harmony of the Seas" - the biggest ocean liner in the world. Requisitioned by The United Nations, it had sped from The Bahamas to The Bay of Bengal in record fast time.
On Kolatoi Beach, the people waited patiently. They had little energy and many were traumatised. They had seen so much. So much horror. The rapes. The slicing of machetes. The cruel swinging of babies. Their heads smashed into trees or concrete.
Those who survived had to leave. They had no option. They took whatever they could carry and fled.
In my dream, we gathered them all from the beach and followed them to the ocean liners where other volunteers awaited them. Teams of medics, psychiatrists, counsellors, cooks and waiters. There was clean water, proper bathroom facilities and clean clothes. We guided the survivors to their cabins and witnessed some of them cry tears of joy. An old woman with thin, bony fingers clutched my hand and held it tight.
They were safe.
Where the displaced Rohingya would go after this humanitarian operation we did not know. Surely they could never go back to Burma (Myanmar) could they? Not after what had happened.
Later, standing on the beach, we watched the liners steam away over the horizon to a new future...We had done our bit.
And then I woke up...
You have a good heart, YP, and I appreciate your dedication toward offering comfort and care where it's needed. Where the Rohingya could go next is a good question. Unfortunately there are always people (a la Trump and Brexit) who grumble about offering space and safety to people from other less fortunate countries.
ReplyDeleteIf the world represented by our United Nations organisation cannot find a solution then there is little point in the existence of that organisation... in my humble opinion.
DeleteI used to visit some Rohingya men in immigration detention, they seem to be making good lives in Australia now but they lost years of their lives in transit and more years locked up here. Unfortunately, they are the lucky ones.
ReplyDeleteIf only your dream could come true
I fear that that is all it is... just a dream. We can land spacecraft on Mars but really helping the Rohingya people to a safe and better life appears nigh on impossible.
DeleteOh dear, even more houses that we might have to build. Presumably you have offered space in your house for some of those people.
ReplyDeleteI would happily accommodate a Rohingya family in our house but I am afraid a much bigger solution is needed.
DeleteThose who oppose immigrants need to stop and think how it would feel to leave their homeland forever after surviving such atrocities. Why can they not understand? No imagination? Your dream is haunting.
ReplyDeleteI am so pleased that you felt the undercurrents in this blogpost Jenny.
DeleteYou do have a soft heart YP
ReplyDeleteYes... but so do you!
DeleteWas it a dream or a fantasy? We would like to have dreams like this but the reality is much different. The human race has far to go.
ReplyDeleteYes a fantasy Red - like a fairytale.
DeleteDitto, Red...
ReplyDeleteYes.
DeleteIf only.....
ReplyDeleteHumanity has sighed so many if only's...
DeleteWhen I was little I had no idear that when I grew up that the real MONSTERS would be human beings.
ReplyDeleteYour dream was very moving and made me cry; I fear that the only way to right this world now and end all the animal and human suffering would be one might explosion.
ReplyDelete