Refugee in search of a homeland

reaching for the clouds. The horses went slowly, pulling the heavy coach steadily up the hill. Suddenly I saw a couple of rough looking men jumping out from behind a boulder and running after our coach.

"Quick, get your whip out and get those horses running", I shouted to the driver. "Robbers are running after us."

The driver got out his whip and began to work on the horses. Slowly, ever so slowly, we gained some speed, but I could see that the robbers were closing in on us. They could run faster than the horses pulling the coach up hill.

"Faster, faster," I shouted, but the robbers were now only a couple of meters away from the coach. One came running on the driver's side, to get the reins for the horses, the other came for me. I could see a fury in his eyes, that made me even more scared. He was trying desperately to grab the top of the coach where I sat. The sweat was running down his face in trickles, ending in a filthy beard. His hand reached out for the side, grabbed it and clung on to it with all the strength he could muster after this long chase. With all my might I let down my fist on his four fingers. He lost his grip, stumbled, tripped over a stone, and fell on the ground.

I had been concentrating so hard on this fellow, that I missed the struggle on the other side of the coach. The driver had taken a good aim at the other fellow with his whip and with a loud crack hit him in the middle of his face. He too fell behind, and as we had reached the top of the range with the road levelling out, our horses galloped at top speed. Our pursuers could not catch up on us. We had left them behind, swearing and gesticulating.

That was a close shave! Our family was in a state of shock. No one said a word. I thanked God for our lucky escape.

After the war had finished, many people were released from jail. Also many displaced persons of other ethnic origins, those that had been forced to work in German factories, and those from concentration camps, had been allowed to go home. But with no public transport, and no means to buy food, a number of them resorted to violence and highway robbery. Conditions in Germany had become quite chaotic and remained so for some time to come.

171