Locked In

Starting Over

We got our luggage and walked off the train into the bright sunshine. Ostersund was situated on the fifth largest lake in Sweden; Storsjon; and was opposite the island Froson. It was in the center of Sweden herself and was a known trade and commerce city. It was certainly a luck of fortune that we had endured this long to manage to see and settle in this new place. We walked along the roads and alleys to a small hill and stood upon it looking at the majestic beauty of the city and mountains in the distance.

"Alhamdulillah that we made it here Mom," Daboor said as he stood next to me.

"Yes this is a wonderful sight to behold. It's beautiful."

"Where do we go now that we are here," Yusuf asked.

"There are a few friends here. We can go there for something to eat and they'll help us get housing and jobs," Hamza said.

Hamza pulled out a cell phone and dialed a number. He talked for a few minutes and then closed the phone. "One of our friends will be by to pick us up. He'll have to make three trips so we can wait here for him to come get us."

Half an hour later a van pulled up and a middle aged man got out. He looked around and then walked over. "Hamza you brought a large group with you."

"Hello Jason. There's another group coming through Norway. Not sure where they are at right now though. This group is from America."

"So you are the group of escaped prisoners? Glad to see you here. Welcome to Sweden and welcome to our beloved Winter City."

"Thank you."

"Are you Muslims?"

"No. You're the only Muslims here right now."

Jason and Hamza seemed to sense our disappointment and confusion. "Don't worry about anything. Insha Allah our brethren will prevail. As Imran told you in Malmo we are watching the group of converts in Norway. Allah won't let Islam die or be destroyed."

"It's not that. It's just...we thought that since Sweden is the only country that accepts Muslims that there would somehow be more here."

Jason seemed to know what we were getting at. "Not many Muslims know that Sweden is a safe haven. Of course that is a good thing as well because the governments who are against Islam won't attack us for harboring criminals."

We divided up into three groups and Jason took the first group away. On the second trip we went with four other families. Finally our group was once again reunited and we stood inside a large church. We sat on the benches and looked around. As was usual in a church there were stained glass windows with pictures of saints and angels. I liked the way the light shone through the stained glass but yearned for the beautiful architecture of a Mosque and the carpeted flooring.

"There are some apartments and houses for rent. I can get you the information and you can tour the places. Do you plan on living in one neighborhood together?"

"We'd like to stay close to each other if we can't live in one neighborhood," Hamza said.

Jason nodded and left. In the basement of the church there was food cooking. We sat there until it was time to eat and then went downstairs to eat breakfast. The people working in the church knew that we didn't eat pig in our religion so they didn't cook any sausage or bacon. Instead we got to choose between waffles and pancakes, home fries, eggs done the way we liked them, coffee, juice or milk for the children, hash browns, a fruit bowl and biscuits.

After our second breakfast Jason came back with some forms. He passed them around. As I looked at mine I saw that I had an apartment complex brochure and a few applications. For the next several hours the adults spent the day job hunting while the children were left in the church. I managed to get a job as a waitress and was supposed to start working tomorrow. It was different from my teaching degree but it would have to do.