On the Other Side

Chapter 5: Serbia

After walking for about an hour and a half, the group arrived in the small town of Miratovac. From there, they took an 8 hour and 17 minute long train ride to Belgrade[53]. By then, the sun was beginning to set, and they needed a place to sleep the night. As they stepped out of the station, Najid shivered because of the freezing night's cold air licking at his exposed face.

"We need to find somewhere warm to sleep soon Irfan," Halima said worriedly as she looked at her son in her arms, "I don't want Kareem to get sick!"

Abal lifted her head suddenly as she remembered something, "On the train, I was speaking to some of the other refugees and they said something about a warehouse behind the station! Let's go!"[54]

Huddling together for warmth, the Syrians shuffled their way under the orange glow of the lampposts above them. As they made their way through the empty alleyways of the train station, they turned a corner into a makeshift courtyard full of refugees. They were crowded around oil barrels filled with water with a burning fire underneath them, causing a black rancid trail of smoke.

"They're heating up the water," Jawl said aloud, "They're trying to wash in these freezing temperatures."[55]

Behind them, a large run down warehouse watched over the area, creating a somewhat eerie atmosphere in the darkness. Inside, flashes of orange light could be seen through the broken windows, along with black smoke rising out of the roof and entrance. Najid imagined this was where the station used to keep trains that needed maintenance – it was the only explanation to its size. Entering the building, they had to use some of Kareem's old blankets to cover their mouths and noses; the smoke was everywhere. It filled the entire concrete building like a fog, causing strange eerie shapes to appear on the walls. People sat around 3 different campfires, with thin blankets wrapped around them – it didn't seem to make much of a difference.

"Can we sit here?" Irfan asked respectfully as they neared one of the campfires.

"Please do!" Said a man in a red woollen hat.

Although the crackling sparks from the fire burned Najid's eyes, he was thankful for the warmth it provided. The entire journey they had taken so far was so cold. Cold air, cold water, cold floors, and cold trains – that's all they had experienced. But now, he basked in front of man's greatest invention: fire.

"Najid," Jawl whispered and she poked at her brother's arm, "Najid, wake up!"

"5 more minutes, please... I don't want to go to school," he whined as he turned his back to his sister.

"There is no school silly, and seriously, you'll like this a lot – just get up!" Jawl said grinning over him.

Najid sensed something unusual in his sister's voice. He opened his eyes groggily only to see the concrete floor of the warehouse. He didn't know when he had fallen asleep – it may have been a few minutes or a few hours, but what he did know for certain was that he didn't have a grey blanket.

"Okay fine, I'm up, I'm awake – stop poking me!" He laughed.

Jawl giggled as she stood up, "Come outside!"

And with that, she ran out the front door. Najid raised an eyebrow in curiosity at his sister; it had been a long time since she had been this excited about anything. After stuffing his things into their rucksack, Najid walked outside.

The entire courtyard was covered in a thick layer of snow, with snowflakes still drifting down from the grey clouds above[56]. His eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at his surroundings, but before he could say the word "snow," a large ball of snow hit him square in the face.