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ESCAPE
FROM VIETNAM Page 7 I didn't feel sleepy at all. Feeling extremely nervous and excited, I found a place in the cavity to lie down and listened attentively to all the noises inside and outside the boat. We were the first escapees to come on board. Beside I and my cousin, there were two other crewmen who were smoking on deck. Our guide had gone back to shore to take other escapees to the boat. Beside the whispered conversation of the two crewmen, the only other sounds I could hear was the sound of water crashing slightly against the hull of the boat. I kept asking myself how long it would take for the security agents to notice the unusual activities going on near this boat. How could these people take more escapees on board without arousing other people's suspicion? If the security agents get on the boat and make an inspection, we would be caught for sure. At about 10 o'clock, more people started to come on board. They quietly settled into the boat cavity, put their baggage away and found places to lie down. At first, it was rather quiet since most of the people who came on early were adults. However, from 11 to 12 o'clock, there were many children who came with their parents on board. The cavity became more and more crowded. The children couldn't keep as quiet as the adults. The strange and intense atmosphere inside the boat, the crowded condition, and the unpleasant smells of the river and human sweat make the kids very uncomfortable. Many kids started to cry. Even though the parents tried hard to calm their children down, the boat was becoming very noisy. I was more scared than ever. The kids' crying would attract security agents' attention for sure. It would be only a matter of time before they come on board and inspect it. The crewmen became very anxious at the noises inside the boat. As well as anyone, they realized that if the kids didn't calm down, the crying noises would attract unwanted attention and jeopardize the escape. They came inside and told the parents that if they couldn't keep their children quiet, they (the crewmen) would be forced to return their money and take them back to shore. Many arguments ensued after the crewmen made their announcements, making the situation even worse. Fortunately, after a while, the kids calmed down and the boat gradually became quiet again. My other cousin and her children didn't come on board until well past midnight. As she made her way in the dark from the engine room down to the cavity, she fell and sprained her ankle badly. We helped her lie down in an already very crowded place. For the rest of the escape, she could hardly move at all. My nephew and niece, who were 3 and 1 years old respectively, lie next to their mother. After about half an hour, my nephew couldn't stand the smells and the cramped, uncomfortable position any more and started to cry uncontrollably. His crying threw all of us in a state of panic again. No matter what his mother try to do, he couldn't calm down. One of the escapees became so nervous and frustrated that he threatened to throw my nephew overboard if he doesn't stop crying. Though she was badly injured, my cousin became so enraged at this threat that she dared the man to walk over her dead body before he can throw her son overboard. Eventually, other people stepped in to calm both of them down to stop the confrontation. Fortunately, after a while, my nephew became tired and felt asleep. As the crying stopped, we all breathed lightly again. Once again, I didn't believe that we were so lucky that the escape was not discovered. By 2:00 AM, everyone had come on board. By now, the cavity was filled with people. I didn't know exactly how many people were inside the boat, but I barely had room to lie down and I had to bend my legs because my legs would be on someone's face or body if I keep them straight. I thought there must be at least 70 people in the boat while its normal capacity should not be more than 10. Later, I found out that I was not too far off. There were 60 people altogether on the boat. The long, nervous and uncomfortable night slowly passed. As the first rays of sun light passed through, I got the first look at my new dwelling and fellow escapees. At least 50 people lay side by side, just like a sardine can. There were many children, approximately 15 of them. There was a 70 years old woman, who came on board with her nephew's family. She was very weak and could hardly moved at all. Her nephew was too busy taking care of his wife and kid that he hardly paid attention to his aunt at all. I wondered why this old lady bothered to risk her life to try to escape at all. As I look around, I could see the anxiety and nervousness on everyone's face. Until the crew start the engine and get the boat moving, the security agents can come on to inspect the boat at any time. It seemed like an eternity. By this time, my legs were so numb from the bending that I couldn't take it any longer. I stood up and climb to the engine room. A mechanics, two crewmen, the boat owner's son, and the captain (who would be our navigator for the escape) were in the engine room. They warned me to keep my head down and be quiet, but didn't force me to go back to the cramped cabin. About half an hour later, the mechanics started the engine and the boat started to move away from the river bank to the middle of the river. As soon as the boat started moving, there were sights of relief from everyone. The silence of the night was quickly replaced with the loud noise of the engine and the cacophonous conversations in the cabin. I decided to stay in the engine room, even though its floor was very greasy and dirty, rather than coming down to the cabin. At least, there were some room up here to stretch my legs and some fresh air to breath. When the boat got to the middle of the river, the captain idled the engine and the crew men started fetching water from the river. I was told that they are getting drinking water for everyone. Being very curious, I came up to the dock to see what they are doing. Two crew men were using big buckets to fetch water from the river and pouring it into two empty 200 liter gasoline barrels. I never forgot the sight. On both sides of the river, people were washing their clothes, and kids were urinating and shitting on the river bank. The river water itself was red with alluvial. That's not all, the crew men didn't bother (or didn't have the time) to even clean the barrels before they pour the water in. The barrels were dusty, and I could still detect the smell of gasoline when I put my nose next to them. I asked the crew men why they didn't clean the barrels, and was immediately told to shut up and get back inside. Sullenly, I retreated back to a comer in the engine room. The water in the gasoline barrels, with all its mixture of rust, gasoline, alluvial, dirt, soap, detergent, and human waste, was what we had to drink for the next 9 days of the perilous journey. Every time I drank this water, I took a deep breath, close my eyes and pinched my nose, then gulped it down quickly. Even so, the terrible taste of the water still lingered in my mouth for at least 10 minutes. Till this day, I still couldn't believe the sloppiness and thoughtlessness of the people who organized the escape. Home Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
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