Branch of Inferno
The Incredible and Dramatic Journey of Sofia –
A Refugee from Lebanon
…. While David walked around, he saw mothers, who begged for bread and
water. They were holding their children,
only skin and bones, passed out, or deceased. It was cruel and terrifying to
look at these people dying slowly, crying out for mercy.
David continued to walk, he found himself in a desolated place, with dry
ground, rocks and withered vegetation typical of a savanna.
At this place, a little further away and somewhat off, David saw a young
lady that caught his eyes. She was so undernourished it was impossible to
figure out her age. She did not fit into any young women’s category.
She was leaning on a rock, without the strength to stand up, and could
barely raise her hand to catch David’s attention. She whispered to him a few
words, mere grunts. The sound was weak, she seemed to have no more energy to
talk.
David facing this grotesque scene cried.
Young woman:
“I’m hungry and thirsty!”
David:
“I
have no water or food, I don't know what to do to help you.”
“My
dear, how can I do something for you? I’m powerless...
I
need a miracle. We need a huge miracle!”
“Oh
Heavens, the hearts of these corrupt and insensitive politicians must be
opened! Stop robbing the nations and
their people! Help and care for the
unassisted ones!”
“Dear
one, I’ll take you away from here!”
“Where
is your mother? Your father?”
Her
mouth opened, with struggle, she seemed to say:
“All
my family members died.”
Her
face showed she had cried, but drops no longer felled. There was not one more drop of water in her
body that could be wasted on tears.
Carrying
the young woman in his arms David began walking fast. Then started to run
passing endless terrain with the same characteristics; a deadly dryness caused
by a shortage of water.
Sofia
overwhelmed with desperation started to cry.
David:
“Be
calm Dear, don’t panic. Please tell me your story.”
Young woman -
Sofia:
“I used to live in Lebanon, on the board of Syria and
Turkey, right in the Middle East, in a tribe of an ethnic minority, Lebanese
Christians. My mother was Christian and my father Muslim.”
“My family always lived happily, in a harmonious
house.”
“It was like that until a year ago. Starting in Africa and the Middle East an
inhuman and merciless persecution began.
The scope never seen before, one affecting all of us, Christians,
Muslims, and Jewish people.”
“My father gathered our family and we ran away to the
furthest mountains in Africa.”
“We didn't get too far. The militiamen chased us. Found our trace and hunted my family until
they caught us.”
“My dad and mom were tortured barbarously to death in
front of me.”
“The militiamen’ leaderdecided to enslave me. Saying he would give me as a present to the
rebels leader. I was pretty and would make him very happy. Until then, however,
I would be his private slave.”
“Days passed when the militiamen attacked a village
that had not paid the ‘protection fee’ they killed everyone. The leader
kidnapped a poor girl. I think she was not even eleven years old.”
“He exchanged me for her and and put me to serve his
group, a set of ten mem. It was not even
possible to count.”
“They used me in all the ways possible and beat me
aggressively.”
“I begged the heavens to die all the time.”
“It was unimaginable what I needed to do to get a few
pitiful sips of water and a piece of bread. It was merciless what they used to
do with me.”
Sofia broke down into a compulsive, violent cry and suddenly was in
shock, unresponsive.
David:
“I have to run away from here. I have to be extremely
fast and find help. Or I’ll lose you, my
dear!”
“Lord, why this?”
“There is only dead scrub, sizzling rocks and sand.”
“This looks like a brazier cooking our
mind and bodies!”
“Vultures patrol the sky, I hear the hyenas grunt,
this is a bad omen, they think we are already carcasses. They are wrong! We will survive!”
“This smell of death is horrible. It makes me sick. There must be so many
remains around here. In this darkness,
nothing can be seen!”
“If there is an inferno, definitely this is one of its
many branches!”……
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