The long road to freedom – Part 2

Salaam aleikum va rahmatu Llahi (n.n. May the Peace and Mercy of Allah be with you), dear sisters. Let’s return to the story about the liberation from captivity. To the story that resembles a tautology, and yet, it is still possible to go from one state of captivity to another.
When we were brought to the gates of the new refugee camp, a feeling of fear and uncertainty broke into our soles. The fear that all of our trials won’t get to an end and we won’t be able to reach our long awaited freedom. Our minds started to panic, but our souls were struggling to calm down, being confident in Allah’s mercy. The feeling of panic was growing inside us, being aware that over time countries had been hardly able to liberate their citizens from this camp and there was only one road to freedom, only that it was an impossible trial.
Inside the camp all the rules were very strict. Its territory was divided into two parts: the old and the new one. As for the new one, it was split into 3 or 4 parts, separated by a fence. Virtually, one would live in their own sector and nothing more. And the movement restrictions were far greater than before. Also, mobile phones were not allowed. There was, indeed, a great advantage – having access to electricity around the clock. Some of the people living into that camp even had a TV. The first few days were extremely difficult. We weren’t able to come to our senses, being aware that we could remain again stuck in there for another still unknown how long period of time. Our minds were not able to process that, as, theoretically, we had to start accommodating ourselves again, but we had no strength nor wish for that. Back then we were equally morally and physically exhausted after the short road to this camp. But it was nice to see that the sisters didn’t abandon each other, and keeping to stay together, when we were placed into the tents, one of us brought food, another brought other various useful things. We didn’t know about the time we were supposed to stay there, as the soldiers never mentioned when they registered us into this camp.
In this camp the conditions were way more difficult than in the one we used to live before. While into that one the territory was larger, where we could visit 2 market places, into this one there was only one market opened, and one could go and buy something only between a certain period of time, for instance, on Wednesdays, between one and two during the daytime, being virtually impossible to visit it whenever one finds it more convenient. Of course, on the territory there was still a small “shop”, which was literally a small tent, where one couldn’t find a variety of products, but at least, it was there. And thus, a week has passed, then the second one, and when we already couldn’t stand the feeling of uncertainty, towards the end of the third week, one night, some chief soldiers arrived and told us that the next day 3 families were going to go home. Among those was my family, as well. Into the camp had remained another 8 families that had not been handed over, but, by the mercy of Allah, only for a while, as eventually they were later liberated.
We woke up early in the morning, preparing our belongings the night before. We went out, presented ourselves to the gates, from where we were taken into a small building that served as a local administrative center. Afterwards some big pick-up cars arrived, similar to the ones before.
We were loaded into those cars and headed on to the meeting point, where our country’s representatives were waiting for us. After a while, the car approached the destination, where the ambassador and his team were waiting for us. We were transferred into some other more comfortable cars and were told to calm down, as everything was over and we were about to reach our freedom and nobody would take us back into the camp. But to reach our freedom we had to travel a 24 hours exhausting road, full of fear, as we were still on the territory of those who hated us and wished to kill us at any moment. We arrived at the airport, where new adventures were waiting for us, as we had to undergo the interrogations. Having arrived at the destination, we entered a room. Each family had to undergo separately the interrogations. The evening was almost there and we were extremely exhausted from the road, the fear and the tension inside our bodies.
When I was called for interrogations, I felt anxious, as in front of me there was a soldier whose face revealed his hatred, as if he was one of those prepared to kill people like myself without blinking. I felt his aggression sparks inside my whole body, the fear inside me increased and all I could do was to invoke a Dua to Allah, to ask for His protection. Allah’s mercy helped me, as next to me there were two representatives of the team that came to take us back home, being in charge to take care of us. With their help, the questioning went smoothly. When we all finished with this trial, it was already past midnight. We hadn’t been able to sleep for more than 24 hours and our bodies were physically and morally exhausted. Moreover, we had not eaten anything for the last 24 hours, as our appetite faded away as well. By 3 o’clock in the night we arrived in the waiting area of the airport, and on the runway there was the plane that came especially for us from our country. But the adventures continued, as for another 3 hours we weren’t allowed to leave for unknown reasons, and the plane won’t receive the takeoff authorization. Alhamdulillah, by the mercy of Allah, by 7 o’clock we managed to take off after long discussions and arguments. That was the time we breathed a sigh of relief, as that part of our lives had come to an end.
There have been 1.5 moths full of tension in our lives. The thing that saved us was the strong belief that Allah won’t let us down and would help us. There is one conclusion I drew from this story: one has to go through trials with dignity, with complete belief in the mercy of Allah.
Asira