It’s winter, but you wouldn’t have noticed. The summer’s air still lingers, hot, dry and unforgiving banished only by the occasional sea breeze wandering away from the bay. The sun a blemish in the sky peers shamefully through a thin film of cloud. An orange glow borders the sky where it meets the sea encompassing their world, where they have come from, where they are going. A gentle undertow guides them out to sea, their eyes gazing ahead, not looking back.The water embraces the rocks where they lay scattered across the horizon, interruptions to the otherwise endless blue. They drift away never returning, they drift away in search of a home. 

Look a them. A huddle of frightened people clinging tightly to each other, uncertain of their future . Their vehicle to salvation a small boat bobbing sheepishly over the waves . Its thick blue paint cracking and peeling exposing a weathered timber frame beneath. The journey is long, food is precious. Bundles of stale bread, cheese and biscuits are stashed in their pockets and in their coats wrapped in various grubby rags. Children clutch dolls and religious trinkets . 

Boredom is the midwife of thought. A feeling where there is nothing to do but to plague the mind with ideas and internal discussions. The future is all they can think of. The desire for peace and tranquility dances around to the music of their suffering. 

It is silent as the night succeeds day, the only sound to be heard is the water lapping against the hull of the boat and throthing away into the blue expanse. The silence is broken with a loud creak. The boat lurks forward as people begin stand up. Land is in sight. Cries of joy and relief fill the air. 

You are filled with warm, comforting disbelief as you advance toward the moonlit beach.  You hear the boat scrape the ground beneath and footsteps crunch through the brittle sand. You have arrived. The euphoria is short- lived. You can see a gentle glow of lights in the distance. People in the distance. They stroll down the beach with authority shouting in some foreign language. Their faces filled with hatred. You are pushed and shoved, forced back into the boat. They push you away as you drift into chaos once again.