Time Apart
Emma had never known life with Anna and now it was time to say goodbye to everyone and tear the two families apart for the first time. They had lived near each other and been best friends since they were born so they were like sisters. But now they were at Karachi airport and leaving for two different countries. Anna’s family to Finland and Emma’s family to Iceland. They are both from Pakistan and they had lived there in a small town called Bhalwal for their whole life. In the last 3 weeks they had been staying in Karachi, the capital city of Pakistan as the war reached their home in Bhalwal.
Karachi was a very cultural place and when they were there even for just those 3 weeks they were afraid to be invaded any day. Anna and Emma really liked living in Karachi because it was much bigger and safer than Bhalwal and there was more to do there but they still missed their old hometown.
Emma’s father has always been very committed to the army so he was never really home even before the war started so Emma and her brother were very used to him not being around even before the war. Emma and Anna really liked going to school as they were very lucky to be able to go to school as a huge part of Pakistan don’t allow girls to educate themselves so a lot of girls from Pakistan don’t go to school and they basically live at home in the kitchen and marry early.
Anna’s uncle owned the school in Bhalwal and he has always wanted girls to get the same amount of education as boys. They will never forget the day when they had to leave their home in Bhalwal. It was a beautiful day and Anna and Emma were walking home from school with their friends when suddenly they heard bombs all around them and the ground was shaking. They were terrified and started to shout for help. Suddenly they heard a voice from behind saying “come back to the school right now!”. It was their teacher.
They turned around and ran back to the school. When they got to the school the teachers told them to hide under their tables in their classroom. Teacher brought a big blanket to cover them. Everybody was shaking with terror and the teacher was trying to calm them down but the teacher was scared too and they could see that.
When they had been there for about an hour they noticed that the noises started to fade so they tried to run home. When they got home their parents had been very worried about them but they were very relieved that they were home and safe. When they had calmed down the noises started again and much louder than before so the bombs sounded closer. Suddenly they heard a very loud bang and it was their school that had been blown up.
After the loud bang they were in so much shock that was very hard to calm down. The bombs started to fade much more and the ground stopped shaking so they were going to try and eat something. They found it hard to find an appetite. It was then when they realized that it was not safe for them to live in Bhalwal anymore. The families decided that the best decision was to move to Karachi because the war had not reached the capital city yet and it would be easier to flee to another country from there. The trip to Karachi was not easy because it was hard to get out of Bhalwal because there were troops everywhere and they didn’t allow you to leave the area without a good reason to. They started packing and had to take as little as possible but take as much necessary. Emma and her family decided to take the bus because they didn’t have a car and there were only three of them travelling. Anna on the other hand had a bigger family so they travelled by car that they owned.
Emma’s family had to switch about four buses on the way and Anna’s family had to stop for petrol about three times as the trip to Karachi from Bhalwal took about 18 hours.
Anna’s father´s friend had found a place for them to stay, so when they got there he was there waiting for them to show them where they were staying. They stayed at a bottom of a flat in a sort of a basement and there were other people from babies to old people from other towns in Pakistan staying there and all for the same reason as Anna’s and Emma’s families.
The trip there had made them very nauseous and the flat had no windows so the air in there was very stuffy. The flat smelt old and there were drops of water leaking from the ceiling. The good thing about it though was the location. It was based in the center of the city and was not far from the airport. The city had closed the schools there because the war was very close and the people in Karachi wanted to keep their children safe. So Anna, Emma and their siblings hadn’t gone to school for a long time. Emma’s family was feeling very nervous about moving because they couldn’t go with their father because he was still at war and they didn’t even know if he was going to make it.
In the first few days they were trying to get used to the flat and hoping that it wouldn’t collapse. They also had to plan and decide where they had to go next because they knew that Karachi was expecting an invasion any day. They had three countries to choose from. Germany, Iceland and Finland which they all found very interesting.
It was upsetting thinking that they could be leaving for two separate countries so they made most of the time they had together. After a few days of planning it was decided. Emma’s family thought it would be best for them to move to Iceland because her mom could find something there more related to her job and Anna’s family wanted to move to Finland because they have gotten in touch with one of her uncles that lives there now and he really recommended it.
Now it was all decided which was great because they could go somewhere new and in a safe environment but the hardest part was that they were going to be apart from each other. Anna and Emma didn’t like this idea but they wouldn’t want to stay in Karachi anymore. Everybody had packed the night before so they were ready to leave the next morning. They took two taxis to Karachi airport. They went through the airport together like they were a whole big family. It was very busy at the airport as there were a lot of people fleeing the country like Anna and Emma. When it was time to say goodbye they all cried because it was like tearing a whole family apart. They all promised to keep in touch and hopefully one day see each other again.
Now, 2 years later ,in February, in two different countries, Anna and Emma are living their best life with their families and have been keeping in touch with each other but have not yet seen each other. Anna and Emma have been texting a lot and they decided to go together start university in Berlin in the summer. They can’t wait to see each other and experience a whole new city together. They still miss Bhalwal and hope that one day war will be over and they could go home again.
Jenna and Freyja Ísobel
Karachi was a very cultural place and when they were there even for just those 3 weeks they were afraid to be invaded any day. Anna and Emma really liked living in Karachi because it was much bigger and safer than Bhalwal and there was more to do there but they still missed their old hometown.
Emma’s father has always been very committed to the army so he was never really home even before the war started so Emma and her brother were very used to him not being around even before the war. Emma and Anna really liked going to school as they were very lucky to be able to go to school as a huge part of Pakistan don’t allow girls to educate themselves so a lot of girls from Pakistan don’t go to school and they basically live at home in the kitchen and marry early.
Anna’s uncle owned the school in Bhalwal and he has always wanted girls to get the same amount of education as boys. They will never forget the day when they had to leave their home in Bhalwal. It was a beautiful day and Anna and Emma were walking home from school with their friends when suddenly they heard bombs all around them and the ground was shaking. They were terrified and started to shout for help. Suddenly they heard a voice from behind saying “come back to the school right now!”. It was their teacher.
They turned around and ran back to the school. When they got to the school the teachers told them to hide under their tables in their classroom. Teacher brought a big blanket to cover them. Everybody was shaking with terror and the teacher was trying to calm them down but the teacher was scared too and they could see that.
When they had been there for about an hour they noticed that the noises started to fade so they tried to run home. When they got home their parents had been very worried about them but they were very relieved that they were home and safe. When they had calmed down the noises started again and much louder than before so the bombs sounded closer. Suddenly they heard a very loud bang and it was their school that had been blown up.
After the loud bang they were in so much shock that was very hard to calm down. The bombs started to fade much more and the ground stopped shaking so they were going to try and eat something. They found it hard to find an appetite. It was then when they realized that it was not safe for them to live in Bhalwal anymore. The families decided that the best decision was to move to Karachi because the war had not reached the capital city yet and it would be easier to flee to another country from there. The trip to Karachi was not easy because it was hard to get out of Bhalwal because there were troops everywhere and they didn’t allow you to leave the area without a good reason to. They started packing and had to take as little as possible but take as much necessary. Emma and her family decided to take the bus because they didn’t have a car and there were only three of them travelling. Anna on the other hand had a bigger family so they travelled by car that they owned.
Emma’s family had to switch about four buses on the way and Anna’s family had to stop for petrol about three times as the trip to Karachi from Bhalwal took about 18 hours.
Anna’s father´s friend had found a place for them to stay, so when they got there he was there waiting for them to show them where they were staying. They stayed at a bottom of a flat in a sort of a basement and there were other people from babies to old people from other towns in Pakistan staying there and all for the same reason as Anna’s and Emma’s families.
The trip there had made them very nauseous and the flat had no windows so the air in there was very stuffy. The flat smelt old and there were drops of water leaking from the ceiling. The good thing about it though was the location. It was based in the center of the city and was not far from the airport. The city had closed the schools there because the war was very close and the people in Karachi wanted to keep their children safe. So Anna, Emma and their siblings hadn’t gone to school for a long time. Emma’s family was feeling very nervous about moving because they couldn’t go with their father because he was still at war and they didn’t even know if he was going to make it.
In the first few days they were trying to get used to the flat and hoping that it wouldn’t collapse. They also had to plan and decide where they had to go next because they knew that Karachi was expecting an invasion any day. They had three countries to choose from. Germany, Iceland and Finland which they all found very interesting.
It was upsetting thinking that they could be leaving for two separate countries so they made most of the time they had together. After a few days of planning it was decided. Emma’s family thought it would be best for them to move to Iceland because her mom could find something there more related to her job and Anna’s family wanted to move to Finland because they have gotten in touch with one of her uncles that lives there now and he really recommended it.
Now it was all decided which was great because they could go somewhere new and in a safe environment but the hardest part was that they were going to be apart from each other. Anna and Emma didn’t like this idea but they wouldn’t want to stay in Karachi anymore. Everybody had packed the night before so they were ready to leave the next morning. They took two taxis to Karachi airport. They went through the airport together like they were a whole big family. It was very busy at the airport as there were a lot of people fleeing the country like Anna and Emma. When it was time to say goodbye they all cried because it was like tearing a whole family apart. They all promised to keep in touch and hopefully one day see each other again.
Now, 2 years later ,in February, in two different countries, Anna and Emma are living their best life with their families and have been keeping in touch with each other but have not yet seen each other. Anna and Emma have been texting a lot and they decided to go together start university in Berlin in the summer. They can’t wait to see each other and experience a whole new city together. They still miss Bhalwal and hope that one day war will be over and they could go home again.
Jenna and Freyja Ísobel