Copyright Fatima Fakier Deria
Rejected on all fronts once again, they settled into the ruined land so grudgingly allocated to them.
Not what they’d hoped for, but it was better than the hole in the ground they’d begun to envisage as their final destination.
So their men laboured long into the nights, constructing, repairing, refurbishing and slowly a civilization began to emerge. Houses, markets, hospitals, schools. They fished, cultivated the soil, became self-sufficient as a community.
Life wasn’t easy, but it was better than they’d known in the past.
And it wasn’t for sharing, when the others began to gather on their borders.
Venice just doesn’t do it for me. Which is strange, considering I’ve spent such a large amount of time living and cruising on water. But it’s a very vivid photograph, courtesy of Fatima this week. And thanks to Rochelle for launching the fleet of Friday Fictioneers once again.
castelsarrasin 
Dear Sandra,
A tense situation brewing I fear. An immediate feel to this one. For someone ‘not feeling it’ you still show us all how it’s done.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Tense indeed. And none will remember, as they repel the people at their borders, how they too were once repelled. Thanks for reading, Rochelle. And it’s a lovely photo, I just don’t ‘get’ Venice as a place to visit.
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Ain’t that the whole problem? “It wasn’t for sharing”. Well done, Sandra
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Short memories, I fear. Thanks for reading, Neil.
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I think “not meant for sharing” is the definitive comment for this piece. Kind of sad, really.
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Thanks for reading. 🙂
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The flip side is their wee nation seems to have limited resources, and those gathering on their borders could as well be armies or a barbarian horde as well as refugees.
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James, im thinking Vikings. 😊
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Who knows what lingers amongst those at the borders?
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Having been a tourist in Venice, I can understand – it’s the masses of tourists that spoil it! Perhaps that is who is gathering on the borders…
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🙂 Thanks for dropping by, Iain.
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Sandra, I also struggled with the Venice location, and shifted mine to Sydney. I couldn’t help but see a dead body heading down the canal on that barge and wanted to resist the temptation. Being in Australia we are quite removed from what goes on overseas at times. Although there’s been a lot of talk about boat people, I don’t see it. Well, I’m not really in a position that I would either. I saw on tonight’s news that the influx of refugees was causing tensions in Europe. It is difficult for the locals when you get a huge influx of people from another culture, and yet we’re living in a multicultural world. A very timely issue to touch on.
Best wishes,
Rowena
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Thanks Rowena. I’m not so sure about multi-culturalism. A fine concept, but nevertheless most of the major conflicts in this world of ours been caused by differences in culture. It’s a thorny issue.
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Sure is. Not sure anybody has a handle on it. At least, not in the political arena.
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You evoke a strong sense of history. Pioneering people always fascinate me. In a way I understand them being protective of what they must have sacrificed to create. Very interesting take.
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Thanks Jilly.
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Beautiful writing for such a grim message.
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Thanks for visiting, Claire.
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I like the juxtaposition of elegant prose and stark reality. Well done.
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Many thanks.
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That’s an interesting story, Sandra. Is it reaching back to the foundation of Venice, way back thousands of years ago, or is it metaphorical and applicable to our present day? Or both? Whatever, it’s a good read.
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I wrote it as a metaphor, Penny. And like most people, I haven’t a clue what the answer is to this issue. Thanks for visiting.
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It’s easy to forget those who toiled to create places and things we take for granted. Excellent Sandra
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Thanks, Keith.
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They face the grim reality of the “hole in the ground” and they work so hard to avoid it. Then they are faced with another grim reality of having their hard work usurped by others. A chilling exposition of the current climate of population versus habitation. Superbly done!
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Exactly so, Edith. Thank you for reading.
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A civilization built from scratch in five paragraphs. And soon to be invaded. If they wont fight for their land i dont know who will! Well done.
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Thank you for visiting.
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Trouble looms in the distance. I hope your well written characters make it.
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It was ever thus. 😦 Thanks for dropping by.
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There seems to always be someone (or a group of someones) waiting in the wings.
So well told.
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Inevitable, it appears. And we’re no closer getting to grips with the issue. Thanks for reading, Dale.
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From the way they were treated, I’m not surprised they’re unwilling to share everything they’ve worked so hard to build from scratch, Nice one!
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Thanks for reading. 🙂
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Dark clouds gather. Excellent writing Sandra.
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Many thanks.
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Social commentary at its best! Great Write, Sandra. I can’t speak much of the current situation without thinking of how many times I was ‘yanked’ from my Mom’s arms and shoved off to yet another foster home…always a stranger in exile, it seemed. Can’t watch the news without tears and memories these days. It absolutely sickens me.
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I remember hearing someone say they made a point of never watching the news or reading newspapers. “How could you do that?” I thought. But I’m getting closer to seeing how these days. Thanks for reading.
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I have a friend who does indeed not watch the news or read newspapers. To many they seem uninformed about the world…but then, whenever I see them, they are so very happy and filled with joy…sooo, maybe there’s something to that. For me, I only pay attention to the weather and morning traffic (both I get from the car radio), especially in the winter.
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Great cities are built with care and investment of time & labor & sweating it out under the sun.
After all the hard work is done, tourists visit for some fun 🙂
I Spy You – Anita
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Or to make their home there, I guess.
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How desperate must the founders of Venice have been to build a city in the middle of a lagoon? Yet, they rose to be the hub of where Europe meets Asia, such an important trading port. And you’re right, Sandra – they fiercely defended their territory too! Lovely writing
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Thanks, Lynn.
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My pleasure Sandra
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After you’ve worked so hard to grow the fruit and bake the pie everybody wants a slice. Isn’t that the way it always goes?
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That’s the way it seems. Perhaps the answer is to give cookery classes to everyone. 😉
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I really like your take on the prompt Sandra. It relates quite a lot to the world around us now and through history.
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Thank you, Lisa.
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And so the cycle continues …
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Exactly so. Thanks for visiting.
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Such grit and determination they have to survive with the little they were offered. A pity they were treated so badly at the outset they feel unwilling to help others.
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Yes, nothing much has been learned, has it? Thanks for visiting Sarah Ann.
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Having graduated from college with a kinda’ useless social Anthropology degree then gon into archaeology, borders have always bothered me. Why must we “own” things surrounded by a fence, an imaginary line on a map? And, instead of joining forces by sharing ideas, food, and art we shout. “This is mine! Do not touch!” as if we were four-year-olds. I, too, am guilty but am working on it. Evidently this is a very good piece, because you definitely got me all riled up,
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I find I can empathise with all sides of the equation here. But that doesn’t get me, or anybody else, any nearer to finding a solution to it. Thanks for reading, sorry if I raised your dander! 🙂
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Great piece Sandra in which I think you manage to convey all sides’ views and leave the reader to determine where they sit on the matter. In one sense it’s a simple concept but underneath there’s complications
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It’s a thorny one, that’s for sure. And it seems nobody has the answer. The consequences of adopting either side in this argument leave me feeling totally dismayed.
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This is an intriguing story, I was sad when it was over. I want to know more! It sounds like the beginning of a novel. Please write it!
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Evocative. The tension in “not for sharing” is palpable.
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For those of us living in a desert, to see a city built on water, is quite a sight indeed. Together with all those old buildings that look like something out of a Disney fairytale. I plan to go back there if only to show my daughter the sights. That said, I wouldn’t stay there. Too damp. Used to the desert I guess. Your story was social commentary of a thorny issue at its best. How to accommodate for people looking for a better life? And protect what one’s community has worked so hard to protect? Fine balancing act, nice in theory but difficult in practice.
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So difficult, Fatima, that the problem has yet to be mastered, sadly.
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Cruising the waterways, in France or anywhere else, sounds idyllic – as long as you are given the peace to write.
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A powerful word to our current situation. I hear in our present an echo of a past that sends shivers down my spine.
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life is tough. only the strongest and the fittest survive.
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