The Day I Escaped
The first time I tried to escape from my homeland was on Good Friday in April of 2005. I was with two friends at that time. It was a tough and very dangerous journey. We set off from the capital city of Eritrea, Asmara. We had decided to travel separately on different buses because we didn’t want suspicious eyes on us.
We finally reached the checkpoint station at the border. We had to face the military police. Our hearts started pounding when the military police came onto the bus and asked us to show them our IDs or government papers which would allow us to travel legally from place to place within the country. Everyone on the bus started showing their papers.
Then, it was our turn. We showed our papers to the officer, but he wasn’t satisfied.
“Get off the bus!” he ordered. We did as he said, but we were shaking. They could easily order us to go to jail. Fortunately, they gave us a stern warning and let us return to Asmara. It was a good thing that they released us without giving us any form of punishment.
A month later, we planned our escape again. We used another trick. We would travel on a truck which would set off in a different direction, but it would end up at the same destination. It turned out to be a surprisingly smooth trip. Nothing terrible happened. We crossed the border disguised as old women. I wore my mom’s long traditional dress and a big scarf (netsela). We acted like the people in that area and luckily nobody recognized us.
Finally, we crossed the border of Eritrea and Sudan and reached safety. Now we could look forward to a brighter future.
SN is a student in Sheila Morris’
Grade 11 English Class.
