The sun illuminated the empty, damaged building. The building was deafeningly quiet. The only sound heard was the sound of faraway bombs being dropped. I proceeded to walk into the trees, taking care where I stepped. I was only three days ago going through the same woods without hesitation or anxiety. The explosives appeared to …
Everything was normal and wonderful just 6 days ago. I was leading a normal but unremarkable existence. Sure, things may have been better, but I wasn’t prepared for what was about to happen… Just 5 days ago, everything was fine, a little frightening but fine; rumours about the prospect of world war three had been …
When the night shadows cast over the boat, it’s the edge of my thoughts that makes me uneasy. When a wave hits my side, I’m at the edge of my mind. It is the boundary of my thoughts that prevents me from progressing. It’s no longer Afghanistan’s border. And it will never be again… This …
The conflict in Ukraine is scary. For my own safety, I had to be airlifted to England. My mother and father raised me in Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital. I was in class one day when the war siren began to sound. We had to hide in the school’s basement, but everyone survived. However, my parents were …
Today is March 19, 1960, and I am finally ready to pass that dreadful wall; it will be the first time I leave my hometown of Helmstedt, where a Soviet border lay in ruins. On this day, I am the first of many to attempt to cross the border between Soviet-occupied eastern Germany and American-owned …
Gunshots. Screaming as it passes through Oradea, Romania. The 1944 countryside had vanished directly beneath my feet. I stood, motionless, taking in and examining the destruction around me. How can anyone, anyone survive in such agony and perpetual conflict Laurentius, my darling brother, was the only warm body I had; the rest of the family was cold. …
Sadness washes over me, as the sense of loss slowly crushed my insides. Overwhelmed and perplexed, I begin to stand, my legs practically collapsing beneath me; I feel claustrophobic in this tent where many others are injured and sobbing. There are moms hugging their babies in their arms as the infant screams because something is …
The time is 12:56 a.m. on August 25, 1939. When the record holder chose a house classic, ‘Fruit Bowl’ by Billie Holiday, the party was alive and dancing. Everything was fine until my aunty and uncle invited each other to dance. We were a huge family living in Harrow when I walked into the kitchen …
