A LONG AND DUSTY ROAD
Here is the work of a man who was incarcerated on Manus for 2 years. He returned under pressure to his country of origin only to have to flee again. We have kept in contact and he remains part of Writing Through Fences. Here is some of his story.
image from hemantsoreng.com
Confusing life
I and a dusty road and a cloudy sky.
I and a long dusty road and a dark cloudy sky.
I and a dusty road, nobody knows where is it’s end.
I and a cloudy sky, nobody knows whether it will get rainy or not.
I and a dusty road, nobody knows how long it takes to get to the end of it.
I and a cloudy sky, nobody knows when it will be stormy or what will happen
to me and dusty road.
Maybe we will get green, maybe we will get puddle.
I and a dusty road, nobody knows whether I can get to the end of it or not.
Maybe we will become friends,
maybe we will finally part.
– M.
I am not a poet but these poems sometimes come to my mind and I can write them. Not really my mind, they come from my heart.
Thinking about my destination… I came from other side of the world and I came through many countries to get to your country and I couldn’t. They banished me to PNG, to that prison camp – worse than prison camp. I went back to my country and had to run away again, to cross many countries again. I climbed mountains, walked so far, was packed like sheep in a container for 12 hours, took taxi’s, walked so far, slept on streets in freezing rain, boats, camps, sleeping on the wet ground, sometimes in tents, much – too much walking, travelled on buses, walked so far, waited for long times stuck on bridges.
Some days we just had 2 pieces of bread. I lost too much weight.
When I ran away I was not thinking where I would go. I just had to run away. Now. Run. During 3 years, since I first ran away, and then this second time, I crossed more than 15 countries.
Somedays, yes I get depressed because when I think about future, what will happen… I am not young and I don’t have time for another journey – and I am a little bit tired now!
I know this country can accept me but do they want to or not? They can, but will they?
Sometimes I think my life has been wasted. On the other side I say to myself: Hey boy, you are trying to help yourself and many people don’t have the opportunity you have.
I have faced many kinds of people in my life. Here, I find that people are kind. They look at you with open face. Maybe they will accept me. Maybe this big sky will make a storm again and I will have to stay friends with long dusty road. Nobody knows if I can get to a destination or not. I don’t know the answer. I hope that someone will help me solve these problems, that they will accept me and I can stay here in a peaceful place and let go of that dusty road.
– M.
MESSAGE TO THE AUSTRALIAN PUBLIC
FROM RECENTLY ‘RETURNED’ ASYLUM SEEKER INCARCERATED ON MANUS ISLAND RPC aka ‘TORTURING CENTER’:
4th of September 2014
Seventy One per cent of australian people disagree with boat trip because their media told them they are not immigrants. Abbott said: ‘I want and I can stop the boat’ and those people became happy and gave him their votes. After a few months, high court said offshore processing center is legal.
People of australia be aware during that time – I mean after 2013 July 19 till now 2014 September 5 – many innocent people on offshore processing center getting mental illnesses, a variety of funguses and other skin problems. Even in one conflict – which G4S and your immigration department organised before-hand – they killed one young asylum seeker, Reza Barati. About two hundred people were injured – their damage serious, some people are missing parts of their bodies and some people dissappeared but and no one ever took responsibility about that.
NOW AN OTHER YOUNG ASYLUM SEEKER [ HAMID KHAZI ] IS DEAD BECAUSE OF INFECTION IN HIS BLOOD and it’s reason is lack of health on the torturing center that you and your high court gave vote to. How many people must lose their life till you change your idea and allow them to come to Australia?
People of australia be knows and be aware that your government abuse those people and they don’t care whether those asylum seekers are alive or not.
At least you australian people care about those innocent asylum seeker. THEY ARE HUMAN’ LIKE YOU.
WE ARE HUMAN LIKE YOU. WE NEED FRESH AIR LIKE YOU. WE NEED BREATH LIKE YOU. WE NEED LIFE LIKE YOU. WE NEED FREEDOM LIKE YOU.