MILITARY SEASIDE RESORT

Yasmin and Azzam lay asleep on the backseat of the taxi, with the rhythmic sound of the engine lulling them into an even deeper, relaxed slumber.
Several hours later we arrived in Lattakia. The taxi pulled up at the gate of Fawaz's sister, Suharb. His kind and gentle sister warmly welcomed us into her home. She lived in a three roomed apartment built over her father-in-law's house, in an outer suburb of the city.
We had lived out of our suitcases since our arrival in Syria, six weeks earlier and I was adept at finding our articles of clothing at a moments notice. Moving houses wasn't a foreign activity for me. My life had been one of many abodes and I was never insecure at the thought of finding a new residence. We stayed with Suharb for a week or so and moved into the Syrian army beachside resort apartments, which were vacant because it was the winter season. The Meditteranean military coastal resort had soldiers standing guard at every entrance. The Syrian army had to a be alert because there was always a threat of assassination of top military personnel by one of Syrias' enemies. Syria was prepared for any threat of invasion or war. The knowledge of which was a sobering thought at the time and quite nerve-racking nevertheless, for an Australian born pacifist.
The apartment was sparsely furnished and the floor was made of marble which was cool in the summer months but very cold in winter. Our daily routine consisted of preparing meals, bathing and our daily stroll to the beach. Watching the glistening sunset over the Meditteranean ocean always managed to gently raise my spirit. Azzam and Yasmin were living for the moment as children do and I followed in their astute wisdom. As far as I was concerned our adventure had just begun and I kept that innocent outlook on life for most of the nine and a half years that we lived in Syria.
I wasn't used to seeing soldiers carrying guns in Australia and the sight of the armed men standing at the gates always made me nervous. On many occasions Fawaz had to travel outside of Lattakia and I was left to look after the children.
I can remember feeling nervous and alone in a strange country whose language I could not understand and the arabic letters of their alphabet had no meaning to me. Whilst the children were oblivious to anything except their present needs and desires, I was creating in my mind, dark scenarios involving abandonment and helplessness. I imagined Fawaz not returning and the subsequent events that would follow. There was no Australian Embassy in Syria. It was situated in Lebanon. There was no-one to talk to except my beautiful children and at the early ages of 18 months and 3years old, our conversation was limited.
We had a black and white television in our bedroom and after the children would go to sleep at night I would desperately try to find the local TV channels, but was thwarted in my efforts as there was no antennae attached to the television. I drew on my experiences during my childhood (which included using the outside toilet and a plank of wood to make a see-saw) where I was always building and pulling things apart to mend and until now can usually find a result for most simple household repairs. I never left the holiday resort without Fawaz, so I had to rely on the few items that I had in the kitchen. Anything made of a metal substance would of been ideal and I found the simple pot scourer helped to solve my problem. After I untangled the metal spagetti-like thread, I attached one end to the empty antennae section at the back of the television and trailed the remaining thread along the floor and out the window, along the verandah railing and wrapped it around a metal pole. The moment had come to see if my invention was going to fill my empty night hours with companionship, even if if wasn't to be a two way relationship, I was willing to settle for unrequited love.
After tuning the television for a few seconds, to my surprise, I managed to find a TV channel. It didn't matter that I couldn't understand what was being spoken. I had my company for the night and I slept soundly with the knowledge that I was not alone.

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