What is a Vacation

The sun just peaks through the clouds.  It’s a Friday morning.  Kofi is excited.  His family is leaving for a vacation.  He and his younger sister Zola have never been on vacation.  Their parents were always too busy.  

Kofi and Zola had said goodbye to their Nini the day before, and she seemed really sad they were leaving.  Kofi figured that it was just something that grandmothers do.  

As they leave the house, Kofi’s mother is crying.  He does not notice.  Kofi’s father locks the door and makes sure all the bags they packed are outside.  He starts loading them one by one into Amari’s car.  Amari is a family friend.  He went to high school with Kofi’s father.  

“Are you ready?” asks Amari.

“I don’t really have a choice,” Kofi’s father responds.

“Stay safe brother.  May you and your family have a good life elsewhere.”

Kofi is playing with Zola.  He wins in a game of rock paper scissors.  Kofi’s mom calls them.  It’s time to go.  They get in Amari’s car and he begins driving.  Tall men in uniforms walk along the streets, large automatic rifles slung over their shoulders.  

“Keep your heads down kids," says Kofi’s mother.  

They drive until they reach the ocean.  The car stops and a man is waiting there to greet them.  

“How many?” he asks.

“Four. Two adults, two children,” Kofi’s father replies.

“Four hundred for the adults, two hundred for the children,” the man says.

Kofi’s father hands the man some money, and Amari helps the family unload their bags.  They wave goodbye to Amari as they walk towards the ship.  Once aboard, they head to the top deck.  Kofi loves feeling the wind on his face.  The ship starts moving.  There are many other families aboard.  Children are crying, fathers trying to hold themselves together.  Kofi does not notice any of this.  He’s going on his first vacation, and he can not contain his excitement.  Every piece of land that passes by is a new image for Kofi to look at.  

They sail for days, and sleep on mattresses along the floor of the boat.  Everyone is packed tightly together. Kofi is happy to be in such close proximity to his new friends.  They don’t get much in the way of food, just a few sardines for lunch, but get to play together on the top deck of the ship all day.  Suddenly, one day there is an announcement made through a speaker system:

“We have arrived in Chios.  Please wait with your families to disembark.”

As Kofi leaves the ship, he notices the way the sun reflects off of this one building.  It almost glows.  

“Greece is beautiful,” he thinks.

As he walks off the ship with his Mom and Dad he sees people watching them.  People that don’t look like anybody he’s ever seen.  There is one boy standing with what appears to be his father.  Kofi smiles at him and waves. After a second, the boy waves back.

“We have made it to Greece!” says Kofi’s father.

“Do you have everything?”

”Yes.  I can’t believe this is actually happening.”

”It’s now or never, you know that.”

"The boy looked at him, smiled and waved.  Tomasi was standing there frowning.  He froze for a moment before waving back."

Tomasi is sitting on a patio of a restaurant in Chios, Greece.  It overlooks the ocean. A vast ocean who’s dark blue color contrasts the light blue of the sky. A large ship sails in the distance. It is hot and sunny.  As Tomasi looks at the walkways below, he sees tourists from around the world. People with unique outfits speaking a variety of different languages.  It’s lunch time. He sits with his father.  His mother and sister went shopping.  They eat Italian sardines, a delicacy in Greece but rather unspectacular for someone who could purchase them from any number of local markets back home.  Tomasi is not in the best mood.  He wonders why it’s so busy. 

“It’s a Friday,” his father says, “the people of Chios don’t work on Fridays during the summer.”

Tomasi is relatively displeased.  He wanted to go on vacation to a new destination this year, but all his parents could offer was a trip to an island they had visited before.  

“Why couldn’t we go to Australia?”

Something he wondered but wouldn’t dare say out loud for the hundredth time.  Instead he found it best to pout about his misfortune and refuse to communicate with his parents.  

Tomasi’s father stood up from the table and wiped his face with his serviette.

“Come on.  Let’s visit the castle.”

The Castle of Chios was among the most famous buildings in the area.  Its bright white exterior glistened in the sunlight.  Tomasi remembered visiting the castle the last time he was there.  He thought about how much he had seen and done since his last time in Chios.  The first time he had seen it, the castle seemed to glow.  

The interior of the castle was closed to the public.  There was a sign that read:

“CLOSED for temporary refugee housing.”

Refugee. Tomasi had never heard this word.  

A ship horn blasted nearby, followed by a scurry of people moving towards the bottom of the road to see what had happened.  A large ship had just docked. One by one, people started to disembark, but no people that Tomasi had seen before.  They looked different.  They looked hungry.  Tomasi watched with a crowd of tourists and locals, but he did not notice these details.  He was too busy thinking about his friends who were on trips to America, and to Japan, and to South Africa.  He was too busy thinking about the fun he would have had in Australia if he had a better father. 

In the midst of his thoughts, he continued watching the people disembark from the boat.  None of them seemed too happy to be there either.  Suddenly, he noticed a boy who must have been roughly his age prancing around excitedly.  The boy looked at him, smiled and waved.  Tomasi was standing there frowning.  He froze for a moment before waving back.  

Refugee.

“Papa, what is a refugee?”

“A refugee is someone who has to flee their country because it is unsafe.”

Chios, Greece. An island city that is no stranger to tourists, but may be home for individuals with a wider variety of backgrounds.

A Different Perspective

“Don’t you see Francesco, there are people whose lives are much more difficult than ours.”

Birds chirp through Francesco’s window.  He can hear footsteps approaching his room.

“Buongioro Francesco!”

Francesco tries to hide under his covers but his father takes them right off the bed,

“It’s 11 in the morning, time to get up.”

Francesco reluctantly gets out of bed.  He has a breakfast waiting for him downstairs that his mother has prepared.  He takes a look outside at the southern Italian coastline upon which he gazes every morning.  It looks extra beautiful today.  The sun must be shining brighter than usual.

“Are you ready for our big trip?” his father asks.

“Yeah,” Francesco responds.

“You two are going to do great this year, I can feel it!” his mother adds.

“Your uncle Tony is waiting for us at his place so eat quickly,” his father exclaims.

Francesco lives in a town that is a five hour drive away.  Every summer they stay with him and go fishing.  Tony owns a boat and sells the fish he catches in a local market. He lets his brother keep the profits from anything that he catches.  

As they load their car with their bags, Francesco gazes down his street.  He sees Tomasi, a boy from his school.  It looks like Tomasi’s family is also packing their bags into their car for a trip.  After a long drive, Francesco’s family arrives.

They greet Tony and unload their car.  

“Hey Tony, how about an evening outing?” asks Francesco’s father.  

“You guys can take the boat, but I’ll join you tomorrow.”

Francesco and his father head out to sea. They drift calmly, carried by the waves that thump along the boat’s side.  

“Why can’t we take real vacations like Tomasi’s family.”

“We do take real vacations.”

“But we don’t get to go anywhere. We just work.”

A large ship sails mightily in the distance.  Its horn echoes along the coast.  Francesco’s father watches it disappear over the horizon.

“Another refugee boat. This is the third I’ve seen in the last week.”

Francesco ignores his father’s observations. He’s very unhappy to be forced to work with his Uncle every summer instead of traveling to new places like his classmates.  His father notices.

“Don’t you see Francesco, there are people whose lives are much more difficult than ours.”

Francesco once again dismisses his father’s comments.

The next morning, Francesco is helping his uncle sell sardines at the market.

“Hey Francesco, can you help these gentlemen load our sardines into their boat?  They’re taking them back to Greece.”

Francesco starts hauling sardines from the market to the marina.  He asked one of the men aboard what they needed the fish for.

“We sell them in Greece.  Fancy restaurants buy them to feed to the rich, but they are also fed to the poor.  Everyone can eat sardines.”  

Francesco lives in a town in the south of Italy. This is the view from his bedroom window.