On
the calm sea
The
clear sunny weather in the sky
The
painted blue and white clouds
Every
moment a joy to smile
The
islanders anchor their boats
Along
the coastal line of the beach
The
houses on land and stilt houses
The
early sun rays blossom the penetrating rays
The
children running and screaming
Under
the many coconut trees
“Hey
children don't play under the trees
One
fall of that hard coconut then you cry”
One
mother screams at her child
Playing
with the other children
Running
wild with breezing wind
Then
they hear loud motor boats
They
stop and run to the beach
They
see the 12 speed boats on the sea
The
men wearing army uniforms
They
children back home
“Fathers!
Mothers!” they scream
“There
are armed men coming to our land
Come
quick to see what to do!”
The
elders rushing out to see
They
stand there in silence
What
can they do with the armed intruders?
They
watch as the uniformed men disembark
They
shout orders and the followers stand still
“We
do not want bloodshed
We
have no quarrel with the locals
We
just want our land back
It
is our home!”
“Yes
Your Highness!
There
will be no bloodshed on this land
We
come in peace so we expect the same”
The
leader smiles and disperses them
The
villagers come out in groups
Watching
helplessly at the armed soldiers
“What
they want with our land?
Anybody
knows who are these people?”
One
old villager speaks
“I
have seen the leader
He
used to work in the restaurant
Near
the border to our town
I
heard he is a nice and friendly man
One
day he left town and never heard since
Now
he is back with his army of soldiers
We
better call the police or army”
The
morning light in the sky
The
clear blue and white clouds
Now
the joy has been compromised
The
villagers watch in fear and hope
The
village head finally makes his move
He
tries many times before his urgent call passes through
“I
am Ali village head of Hat Satu
I
am reporting a few hundreds armed intruders here”
The
desk officer takes the urgent call
“Thank
you Ali We will make the arrangement”
The
line goes dead in Ali's ear
“Well
I hope the police arrive quickly”
The
leader of the intruders turns to look
Finally
he decides to walk to the villagers
He
stops facing the village folks
“Just
coperate with us everything will be fine”
Ali
steps out to face him
“I
know you once before
I
used to give you a lift back to town
You
used to tell me you are a prince”
The
prince looks at Ali
“Ah
Ali the fisherman
Always
grumbling about poor catches
Always
complaining about the government”
The
prince eyes every one
“You
don't have to be afraid of me
I
am not at war with this land
I
am just fighting with my own government”
“Karuna
leave our land
We
are a peaceful people
We
don't need armed intruders
We
have nothing here for you”
“You
are right, Ali
Our
fight is not with you and your folks
And
the people on this island
It
is our fight for our land
In
the time past
This
land belonged to my royal family
In
wars that were waged we lost
Our
land was taken and sold
As
part of our peaceful settlement
My
forefathers had to agree
It
is history but I am claiming it back
This
island is my home”
“Karuna
you take the wrong way
You
should take it with your government
This
island doesn't belong to you and your people
It
has been for few centuries”
“We
will see, Ali
Right
now we are staying put here
You
better advise your people to keep away
We
don't want any bloodshed on this island”
Karuna
walks away
As
the cool sunrays beam along
The
sky turns a bit cloudy
Ali
shakes his head
The
police and soldiers arrive
They
put up barricades around the surrounding
The
villagers are told to stay away
Road
blocks are staged and guarded
Karuna
watches from his spot
He
knows the police and army will not attack
As
a fellow brother in religion he has hope for it
“Do
we retreat Your Highness?”
“Let's
play a game
These
police and soldiers will not attack
We
will hold it here for a while
Maybe
I will think of something else”
