LAST BOAT TO FREEDOM
A TRUE STORY BY SUDHIR SUCHAK
LAST BOAT TO FREEDOM
A TRUE STORY BY SUDHIR SUCHAK
"When will we meet again?"
“Soon my son,” he replied passionately.
“You will go to America, and we’ll meet there,” he added. “I am proud of you son, be successful in what you do and take good care of yourself.” My mother, on the other hand stood there sobbing. She then hugged me, tears in her eyes as I was leaving. “Children have nothing to do with the current state of the island,” she explained. “But it is no longer safe for you here. You must flee.”
“Remember what your father said, I want to see you alive again,” I recall her saying as she continued to cry. Then she suddenly screamed as she held me tight, “no, no, no, I cannot let you go! It’s too risky, you are too young to die!”
“Don’t cry,” my father said to my mother. “Let him go!” he exclaimed as he intervened and forcefully separated us saying we’ll soon see him again, while I attempted to console my mother. I apprehensively and sadly said goodbye to my parents and younger brother, my only other sibling remaining on the island, not knowing when, or if, I would ever see them again.
That was the last time I saw my father.
