Day: October 21, 2022

The Tampa Affair: Abbas Nazari – Entry 2 2022

My mama had hugged me tightly, like this was my last goodbye. The last sum of gas disappeared thinly and everyone stayed close, they shivered and they prayed. Next morning, the boat began to break, everyone’s last sliver of hope was vanishing. The last gasp of survival was making a distress signal which hopefully is visible and understood by others. It  read “SOS.” Many planes had fled by and they all ignored our signal, many worries were continuing. Days later, I was woken by a container ship that had stopped in front of our puny boat. It looked like it was here to save us all, and one by one, we walked up the gangway leading to the top. The vomit and salty smell of the ocean couldn’t reach the summit up here. 

It stopped the boats': John Howard on Tampa, Siev X and the Pacific solution | Cabinet papers | The Guardian

The Tampa Affair: Abbas Nazari – Entry 1 2022

Located in the midst of the dark, in the dead of the night. Trembling voices and the creaking sounds of a wooden floor had woken me. My mama and papa with a distraught look, hurriedly told me to pack everything that could fit into my ruptured bag. I had finished packing and had to drag it all the way to the door. Opening it, the night was empty other than a crippled and eerie bus waiting and lurking on the road. As dreaded and unfulfilled I was, I had no thought of going on the bus. It was packed and barely any seats were vacant. People murmured and whispered as I walked down the tight aisle. The seats were filthy, with orange stains on the side and banana peels at the bottom. My papa had prayed, hoping that God would have heard.

Jungle at night, the moon above the palm trees, a panorama of the jungle under the moon Stock Illustration | Adobe Stock