Physical Journeys

“People create their own Questions because their too afraid to look straight. But all you have to do is look straight and see the road, and when you see it don’t sit looking at it walk”. (Ayn Reed)

Physical journeys can involve a range of experiences and emotions. They can be taken for a range of reasons, they also involve choices being made when individuals encounter obstacles or move to new places. This idea is conveyed through Peter skrzynchi’s poems “Crossing the Red Sea” and Migrant Hostel”. In addition to David Marr’s article “Life in Limbo” and Nooria Wazefadost life story article “A young refugees plea for a better future”. It is through these texts that the composers convey their experiences of the journey, using effective techniques, which helps the responder, understand that the choices being made by individuals have an overall affect on the journey they are undertaking.

As we venture out on our journeys, obstacles can often shape the motives for our journeys and the paths we may choose to travel on. This is clearly demonstrated in skrzenchis “Crossing the Red Sea” as he traces a physical as well as a shared emotional journey in which the migrants sail through the Red sea, as they escape from war torn Europe. The image “from behind sunken eyes” suggests the past sufferings and misery that the migrants have encountered during WWII. Also the exhaustion they feel after such a long and tiresome journey. The migrants are metaphorically described as “Neither masters nor slaves” emphasising that although they have escaped, their journey is full of uncertainty, and they do not have complete control of their destiny. Through describing the harshness and brutality of the physical journey, we also see the emotional impact and inner-journey of the immigrants. Some feel like they are been given a new chance at life, the metaphorical reference to “Lazarus”, in section three, suggesting their souls are ready to live again. Others, however, are still dealing with the past, the beautiful “red poppies” one migrant talks about, only reminds another of “blood discolouring stone” and “rusted iron”. This juxtaposition of imagery presents to the responder the different emotional journeys that still have to be travelled. This clearly demonstrates that people on the same physical journey react differently to it, depending on previous experience. In the last stanza of “Crossing the red sea” Skrzynechi uses the image of sunrise to symbolise that the new lives of the immigrants are only starting and that there is a new and better future ahead of them. The sunrise is also used to tell the responder that although it is the end of the poem, it is but only the beginning of the migrant’s journey to a better place both physically and emotionally. This helps the responder understand that in this particular journey, the migrants made a choice to move to a new country and overcome the obstacles that went in their way, as also to forget the past.

“Escape from life in limbo” is an article about Ahmed AL-Kateb’s life long journey to finally belong somewhere, and have a chance at a secure future .This story published on the 27/10/07 in Sydney Morning Herald by David Marr, is a heart wrenching story as it triggers the senses when one feels empathy for Ahmed- Al- Kateb .His journey began, when he was born in 1976, the son of Palestinian refugees, living in Kuwait. He was born stateless. After the gulf war, life became hard for Palestinians in Kuwait, so he pretended to be a pilgrim to Mecca, and “slipped” into Jordan. Marr uses the verb “slipped” emphasising how al-kateb lived his life in a constant state of unercertainty. From Jordan, he paid people, smugglers $4000 US to come to Australia, via Indonesia. Upon making it to Australia by boat; he was placed in various detention centres, midst a wider political debate about how to deal with the refugee “national emergency”. He was kept in Curtin refugee centre for two years, before being released on a series of bridging visas. Finally in October 2007 he was granted permanent residency, and “escape from a life in limbo”. During his journey he feels a “Numbing rhythm waiting to die”, through this the responder can see the extent to which he suffered and the hope he must of needed to develop and to continue on his journey. More over, when he came to Australia, he came for freedom and nearly was imprisoned indefinitely. His expectations of the journey in the beginning reflect the cruel irony as he was treated as a prisoner, “I am just waiting to die……. All sorts of people were trying to kill themselves”. “I wasn’t strong enough”. Just as in, “Crossing the red sea” attracts migrants too travelled