Aesa

My grandfather grew up in a little town by the sea in 1922

he was 13 when he was growing up in a little town called Muharaq

He worked day and night til' he was able to buy some respect and build a store

Let me now tell you a story in a form of a poem that is designed like a dream

I don't know why I have to tell it in writing but I know what it means

Just picture it as you close your eyes, and look at the scene

As I paint it to you, it was 1952

A man named Aesa suddenly woke up

Aesa was not a solider

He was just a humble man with a family that owned a store in Muharaq

But on that day, he dragged him self outta bed like he always did

Toast, eggs and orange juice with the wife and kids

He lived on the ground floor of a little store he ran

He grew up and made himself into a man

But they still called him an alien

In Arabic, he told us that he was called "Sajeen al Jazeera"

That meant, a prisoner of the island

When everybody was afraid of the English, afraid of the Portuguese

Bust most of all

Afraid of a homeland attack

But on a particular mornin' when Aesa went out to the doormat

His vision and world went black

Right there!

Front page news

15 days before 1962

The shores of Muharaq were being invaded and the Portuguese are coming!

Pictures and flash backs of innocent farmers and workers dyin' and runnin!

Aesa knew exactly where is this leading to

Just like he guessed the paper news said

The evil Portuguese had their sights on Bahraini's in their home town will be locked away

They gave Aesa just a couple of hours

To get his family and his lives work in two bags

JUST TWO BAGS!

He couldn't even pack his clothes

Some people who lived near didn't even have a suitcase to pack their stuff in

so 2 trash bags was all that was given to them

When his kids asked mom "ma where we going?"

No one even knew what to say to them!

Aesa didn't wanna lie he said that the Portuguese were looking for an evil one from one of their kind!

So they lived in a place called Arad

Where a Lot of Bahraini's are!

Sshhhhh stop it! don't look it the riffle men!

You don't wanna get the Portuguese wondering...

If you ran or stayed or not

Cause of you ran then you might get a shot

But please other than that just try not to think about it

Try not to worry or get so claustrophobic 

For being so crowded

Someday. someday.. we will all get out and have our freedom! someday.. someday...

As soon as the invasions fight started

The riffle men showed up, and they came to the Bahraini's and

Hey! you have to come!

All of the Bahraini's that were held captive had to go

They took Mr. Idris

And the people didn't understand

Why did they have to take him?

He was just an innocent worker

So now they're in a town with soldiers surrounding them

Every night and day looking down on them

On horses and patrols shooting some while holding their backs to the wall

Aesa didn't really show hate on them that much, not at all

They were just doing their job and

He just didn't wanna have any problems

He had a little garden with vegetables and fruits

He gave the riflemen troops a basket that had them that his wife made

But in the back of his mind, he just wanted his families and everyone's life saved

Prisoners of an invasion of their own country what for!

As time passed in the prison town

He wondered if they would live to see salvation, if and if that day comes!

The only way was joining the resistance

And supposedly, some men went out for the resistance and signed on

That ended up burning down their very own country with grenade bombs!

That 14 oz blasts put an end to the invasion pretty fast!

Two ends of the town were burnt to bits, the end of the invasion came pretty quick

Aesa came out, big hopes for his normal life back with his kids and wife

But later they got back to their home and

what they saw made them feel fear and feel so alone

There were people deciding in every room

Heads smashed to their windows and necks bashed between doors

Words are written on the walls that said

Bahraini's are not welcomed anymore!

Aesa dropped his bags at his sides and just stood in shock outside

He looked at his kids and his wife with no words to say

They looked back at him and his wife said: "someday everything will be back to normal, someday.."

Now the names have been changed, but the story's true,

My family was locked up back in 1962

My family was there it was dark and damp

And they called it a confinement camp

I remember my grandfather told me

When they came back from the camp it was really, really bad

And I remember my Grandma said:

Did you think we wouldn't have made it out alive?

Then my grandma died just 2 days after the stories end.

Author's Note

Muharaq is a town and the first town that was in a country called Bahrain where I am from.
Arad was an area that was part of Muharaq.

This was inspired by a song called "Kenji" That was similar to my grand fathers story.

Reviews

[Black Jess]

War ! I despise it , it only brings tragedy and loss and misfortune ! >_<
Your grandparents are legends and you are telling their stories *-*
This is very nice and sad as well, to imagine how people were treated, and than murdered ! To live with fear every second, to feel unsafe in your own country, to be without shelter, without food, separated from your family, afraid of talking or walking or ... Because at any moment you can be shot or explode by a grenade falling from no where !
This tragedy it historical and it shall be remembered as well as the bravery and courage of the fighters and soldiers !
Good job !

[Joey Nizz]

I hate war and disputes or anything related! people should be happy with what they have instead of asking for more and start invading other countries to get what they need.

Thank you for your time to read and review this one.

[Black Jess]

True enough !
you"re welcome ^^