The sea was pecking at the flotsam and jetsam along a rill on the beach.Old plastic bottles , drifting wood and the small body of a sleeping little boy. He slept so peacefully and quietly as though he might be dead. What did that image remind me of ? Yes …now I recall. There was that elephant fleeing from drought….a mother tugging lightly at her small calf with the delicate tip of her trunk; turning the small body over …this way and that to awaken her offspring.She would never be able to awaken her tiny calf ,of course. The little one had expired in the heat of the sun, dehydrated and too tired to live any longer.The remainder of the herd were forced to move on and the mother would have to follow or suffer a similar fate or be taken by lions .
The little boy was not sleeping and it was a surfeit of water that had done for him. The sea had scooped him up, filled his lungs with her cool salted refreshment and killed him as quietly as she was able . That small rubber dingy wasn’t much use to her , but the child’s mother and little brother might do just fine .What had conspired to gift her with these new offerings she soughed benignly , a tuneless banshee , as she left the boy back to the land as tenderly as she could …pushing him gently back onto the land.He’d be safer there.
He was dressed much as your own child or grandchild might be, as he or she cavorted in the garden with a bucket and spade or while she helped you water the flowers endlessly…..innocently chattering and singing to the world. Dressed just as any unblemished child might be dressed in little shorts, red T-shirt and trainers. This small boy was called Aylan Kurdi. He died between Syria and the Greek island of Kos, washing up at a Turkish beach resort.The sea had become the final sanctuary for many. . What horror was he and his parents attempting to flee from that was even worse than consigning themselves to the sea’s hungry maw in a small inflatable boat?
They were running away…refugees.The Irish know about refugees.Those refugees helped build America.
While some of us in Norneverland would prefer to play at the political game for short -term gain and for base entertainment and finances while talking in an endless moebius loop of semantic riddles , some others are being pushed to the edge of their lands for safety ,into the wash of the sea.Some are left bereft like the surviving father of this small family while others squabble about the cost of saving their lives..
if i took my wife and kids down to the docks in belfast and put them in a dingy and set sail for scotland,[me wearing the only life jacket]of course ide be nicked,theres plenty of homeless lying about belfast the night in doorways wonder how many would give them a bed,
So very sad, so sad. The Sea is bereft of memory it is held. How true that it should take this little life without regret, rolling in on tumblers from the careless fret, a human foam.
Only when a certain picture holds a mirror up to a celebrity culture of vanity and says, hush, hear now this little life that fled a different rush. Hear now this little heart that sought not vote nor scorn, upon a frenzied storm from love was born, and now so still, so still. And when all breath had rushed away, and cold at night with Mamma, Daddy unfled but gone…what stricken thoughts this little kite that smelt the Cerosene, the painted bow, and Grown-ups hushing as they crowded knelt, all will be well, all will be well.
But all would not be well upon the growing swell, and waves not meant as parting calls drowned out the yells, and upside down the World turned, and now a cold hug from the Sea embraced the Women, men and Mamma too. Her clasp unfurled, and father roaring through the swell of tears that filled his little lungs,- “give back my son”, a wave paused, then feigned regret, but further far it took each to wherever where, then softly, kindly, in a fleeting remembrance, brought the child back ashore, safely, a spray of foam it’s parting gift, before it ebbed retreat, and forgot once more…
Shall we? When profit and War possess our governments. Arms fairs in London gaily lit, remote from Human grief, and full of shit.
May their souls rest easy now,whilst the politicians whine endlessly, arguing whether they are migrants or refugees…..these are human beings not statistics .Britain and America once again caused this tragedy in their pursuit of imperialism and dominance….I don’t want to hear another heartless ,unloving, syllable from any of their robotic mouths. In the name of humanity act NOW ,,,,end this catastrophic mess now !
I feel your compassion Harry and am reminded of the absurdity of life: ” the absurd is born out this confrontation between the human need and the unreasonable silence of the world”. I think God is watching.
I have seen many photographs of dead children and babies over the years, through war, famine, disease and neglect. I have seen photographs of dead babies lying discarded and unloved on streets in China, people walking by not appearing to notice. For weeks we have heard stories of boats sinking and the bodies of babies and children being fished out of the sea, yet this one child out of the thousands that die every year seems to have affected people in a way I don’t understand.
This child’s family where already in a place of safety, yet the father decided he would take his wife and children to sea in an inflatable without life jackets or any safety equipment just because he wanted to gain economically by moving to a western country.
Western Europe cannot take every migrant who wishes to come. These people are not in any danger apart from that that they place themselves in. They have travelled from Turkey through Eastern and central Europe yet they do not wish to stay in any one of these countries, they want the West because that is where the money is. Therefore as they are not under physical threat they have become economic migrants.
Even Mr McGuinness has jumped on the bandwagon asking that thousands be sent here for what?
Has he failed to notice the social housing shortage in West and North Belfast, the pressure on GPs and the waiting times for hospital appointments! People will be sympathetic now but how will they field when migrants jump to the head of the queue for housing and school places? I do not think so.
Would he be so welcoming if all these people started voting unionist and tipped the balance in constituencies such as North Belfast towards the unionists?
I’ll be blunt when I say I do not want an influx of Muslims into the North. The truth of the matter is that they do not integrate well into the host community. One has only to look at Sweden, Belgium, France and England to see that this is the case. Look at the situation in Birmingham where they have tried to take over schools, dictate the curriculum or in Polloksheilds in Glasgow where they objected to a Mass being held in St Albert’s, a Catholic school just because many of the pupils were from a Muslim background. Look again to Italy where they object to the crucifix being in hospitals or Sweden whose open emigration policy has led to Stockholm becoming the rape capitol of Europe; not forgetting of course Rotherham and other parts of England where widespread abuse was perpetrated against underage non Muslim girls. Of course it is not so long ago when it was all “Je suis Charlie”!
How many Muslims would allow their daughters to marry outside their faith or allow their children to leave their faith without reprisal or threat of death? All those liberals who want to allow uncontrolled immigration are the very same who support gay rights yet at the same time want to allow into the country people whose reaction to homosexuality is to put that person to death!
Finally how many do we allow into Europe? Do we take the displaced population of Yemen, the Rohinga who have fled Burma, the Eritreans, all the Romani who are unwanted in Eastern Europe, all the people from the next impending crisis? Can anyone answer this?, I don’t think so.
There is an old saying “the road to hell is paved with good intentions” I fear for all our futures.
have to agree dan,see the usual suspects jumping on the bandwagon starting up comities looking donations some saying they prefer cash,the only way to stop it is stop the attraction,
Two questions, firstly, what are the oil rich fat cats of Saudi and Kuwait doing to help their fellow MuslIms and two, why are Obama and Cameron and Sarkozy being given such easy rides by their collective medias, considering they helped mess* the hell hole that is the middle east, up even more than normal?
*I had to subsitute the word `mess` for another rather more explicit four letter word.
Would he be so welcoming if all these people started voting unionist and tipped the balance in constituencies such as North Belfast towards the unionists?
We are facing a refugee tsunami and you bring it back to the old argument marvellous indeed