I read a real story a while back
named “Our Terrifying Swim: Two Syrians' Journey Through Dark Waters to Greece” by
Salma Abdelaziz. It was written on September 14, 2015. This article was about
two Syrian refugees who wanted to escape their current lives and go to safer
and better places. The two men were Hesham Modamani, age 24, and his friend
Feras Abukhalil, age 37. Both Modamani and Abukhalil knew that they did not
have enough money for a smuggler ferry ticket, so they decided that the best
possible option to get out of Syria was to swim. They swam from the Turkish
coast to a Greek island called Chios. Both men planned the trip using their
phones and Google Maps. Although it may seem like a suicide mission, this is
how far people were willing to go to get out of the war zones. Madamani and
Abukhalil had many difficulties throughout their journey. For example, they were
not able to rest at the places they intended to because both islands ended up
being rocky and unsuitable for them to take a break. To get through the amount
of exhaustion they were feeling, they tried to cheer each other up by keeping
the air light and telling jokes. After swimming for a tiresome five hours, they
were able to see their destination of Chios and Modamani was able to get the
attention of a ship using a laser pen. After getting to Greece, both men said
their goodbyes and parted their ways. However, both men knew that they wanted
to do something to help the Syrians who were still suffering and being
oppressed. Personally, I think this is a very inspiring story. We should look
at and commend these amazing heroes for being so head-strong. I think that
these two men have a great story to tell and should not be ignored.
Annamika Dua
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