Ellis Island

Hi Charlie!

Today I decided to talk about Ellis Island.

Ellis Island was the Story of the American’s Dream. Several millions of people crossed the sea to join what was called the New World where all the wishes became true. They were fleeing death, war, misery, all the dark aspects of the world.

So here is a little story I wrote about it, I hope you will like it!

                                                                    Rebecca

“My name is Rebecca and I am from Germany. This is a sentence, I often repeated in the past.”

Germany was my own world, trees, flowers, green landscapes, sky’s tears, snow, and wind were my playground. I was running among the hills, trying to catch this immense circle which name is Sun.

I thought I could grab every thing in my hand , the moon, the sky and the river. I was proud, my country was all I had. I was a child and I wondered if I deserved this happiness I felt in a single place. It seemed too easy, this life was too beautiful, too perfect, there was something wrong. When I grew up I realized it. At that time, I was living with my mother, and my father,  in a little town next to Berlin. I was 17 years old, I began to discover an independent world without mum and dad any more. They were there, at home but something had changed. Mum didn’t mind when I came back late and dad forgot the time sitting on a chair. They were old. That was the problem.

And then, he arrived one month later. I didn’t know him, I only heard some pieces of serious political discussion about him. My parents were talking about him, like a crazy man, a man who had never known fairness and justice. So when I discovered all the horror and injustice he caused to my country, I had a talk with my father.

“ Dad, please I don’t understand this man whose name is Hitler. He is destroying my country, its honour and mine. My friends Anna and Rachel left the village and I absolutely don’t know why!

Is it because they are Jews? Is this it ?” I started crying, “What could I do against such an injustice?”

“Resist”,Dady said. “ Your mother and I have a plan and you’re going to help us.”

“ W-What?” I said “ Which plan? Father are you crazy? Do you know what is the price of this action? My life! My whole life.” When I was saying this I felt all my courage disappear. My life which seemed to me perfect was suddenly a disaster.

Wait! The age of my parents was not the wrong thing. Hitler was the wrong thing. He was the reason. My friends had left, my country was falling down taking my life with it and my parents had become crazy. It was him. “What am I suppose to do?” I thought.

“ Do you know what he does to Jews? Can you just imagine the horror and the life these people are living? ? Torture, slaughters and death. Children, poor people, old women or men, babies, nobody is forgotten. I don’t want to. My country is not a monster, my country has a story like others. My country is not what He thinks it is”, my dad said . “Now listen. This evening Rachel and Anne will come with three other people you don’t know. They will eat at home and then you will leave the country.”

“W-What ?” I said. “ Yes you will, you have to darling. You will take a ship to go to the U.S.A. The travel will surely be long but you have to take care of your guests. Don’t lose them. As soon as you arrive your mother’s sister will be waiting for you. She will look after your friends and you. The three other people have family over there. As you may have guessed it, these five persons are Jews, and they need help, Rebecca. They need our help.”

“ What about you and mum, what are you going to do?” I asked.

“ We will join you later with other Jews. It’s going to be a difficult travel, but I believe in you. I know you will succeed ! I love you so much… You are now a resistant and your new best friend is silence.”

Anna and Rachel arrived last night with false papers. We cried when we saw each other in such a situation. The three other people are a little family with their baby. They had not said a word since they were there and it was better like that.

We were sitting in a tiny cabin with a single bed and a little bathroom sink, waiting for the departure of the boat. It smelled sea and fish. Anna didn’t feel well while Rachel who was so happy to be there as if we were travelling on the Titanic.

When I heard the captain shouting his orders, I got up and went on the deck. It was overcrowded but I managed to join a place where there were less people. And I saw it. My country. My beautiful country with its big cities and wonderful countrysides. I would have never believed that one day I would leave it, never. Even so, it was what was happening. As I was looking the city, I saw mum and dad. They were crying. “We Love you so much Beky, take care of you, I’m so proud of you , you are my big girl!”, cried mum. Dad didn’t say anything. He looked at me, smiled and hid a tear which had fallen. A last Good-Bye, a last tear on my cheek and a last sigh faced to my future life.

I came back to my cabin and sat on the floor. And every day was the same. During the night, we let the bed to the mother and her baby and I was sleeping on the floor with Rachel and Anna who was sea-sick. She threw up each night. During the day, she was staying at bed alone. I spent my whole time walking on the boat and waiting. We didn’t eat a lot, just a piece of bread for each person and sometimes meat, when we were lucky. Anna was very sick and she was not able to do anything. Rachel was dreaming all the time, thinking about her new American life. And the little Family was still silent. My face was very pale and I didn’t dare to look  at myself in a mirror anymore. I had lost colour, I was very skinny and tired with dark circles. The night, the baby was crying and other people next to us were noisy. On the boat, every body was skinny. Nothing to eat, nothing to do, nowhere to sleep, it was hell.

However, one day, after all that happened, we arrived. The first thing I saw was the statue. A beautiful statue which was representing a women with a torch and a book and she seemed to be waiting for us. The boat passed in front of it. She was quite big. I have never forgotten it because it became my first memory in this new country.

I heard people crying “ Here is the New World! Here is the American Dream! Open your eyes people! America you are our destinity!”

There was a thunderous applause and happiness took away all our fear.

“ Rebecca?”asked Rachel “ Umh?”

“I’m happy” “You are?” “I am” “ Then me too” I concluded.

Every things seemed suddenly perfect,Rachel was laughing, the wind on her face, her hair flying around her wonderful smile, Anna threw up again then told us “ Promise me girls that the New world will not steal our friendship” “ Promise!” we answered.

The crowd was screaming and a magnificent smile appeared on all these poor faces. Pain died, and the boat entered in the harbor under a beautiful sunset, carrying lost souls, forgotten by their origins but dreaming of America as their lighthouse in the dark night.

Rachel climbed on the deck and shouted “ Here I am darling, wait for me!”

Everybody laughed and began to sing “ Wait for her, wait for her!” Our voices were so loud that some people on the dock started to stop and looked at this boat bringing a crowd singing so happily.

“Welcome!” cried one “ Welcome!” continue another one. And soon it was shouts of welcome and fraternity that our spirit had not received for so long.

I discovered the city little by little, new sights, new landscapes and especially new life.

I spent the whole day repeating “ My name is Rebecca and I come from Germany.” I saw a doctor who spoke to me in a language I didn’t understand. I only knew how to say one sentence which my dad taught me. Apparently it was very important and useful. And I said it all day.

But the worst thing was the waiting. The waiting for a new test and another waiting. People were screaming in different languages and children were crying. It was awful. The baby was sleeping and I waited with my little group for, well I don’t know. Anna was exhausted by the travel, and she fell asleep on my shoulder. Rachel spoke to me about her new dress she would buy in the U.S.A and how her husband would look. And then I understood the next test would be the last one, surely the most important.

I passed it first, the little family too then Anne, then Rachel and … as we were waiting for her a woman who was speaking German told us that she was sick. “What? How? It’s impossible!”, I told her, “I was with her a few minute ago, she was looking perfectly fine! She was looking for her husband, she was...” “ Oh, she is married?” interrupted the woman.

“ No,no you do not understand, she was dreaming! She was speaking about her future life, no, no ,no, NO!” I fell on my knees and started crying, “ You can’t, you can’t, you do not know what we endure! I left my parents, my country, I fight against Hitler’s injustices. He wants to kill her! He wants to kill everyone without any pity. He is a monster! All this travel, all this hope she has, you can’t just ignore it! Please give me my friends, give me my friend!

I’m going to kill someone if she leaves the U.S.A! ”

I heard Anna crying behind me. I was tired, I was hungry, I just wanted to have my friend. I just wanted to be happy again after all these things we fought against.

The woman said “ Come on honey, listen, she is going to stay here. She will be with you, in America, in three months, I promise you, I won’t let her leave this country. Now let’s go home with your family, you know life can be hard but it doesn’t mean that all is finished.”

She helped me to get up and left us.

Among the crowd, I saw my aunt. She caught my arm and I called Anna. We said Good-Bye to the little family and then we left without Rachel, mum or dad. Only me and Anna walking in a street we had never seen. We were scared.

My aunt smiled and told us “So shall we buy you a beautiful American dress? Your first one! You may find your lover! Welcome to America girls!”

We laughed, I noticed a tear falling down my cheek, I thought “ Rachel must be so jealous!”