Big Mistake 3

Upon hearing of my father’s resignation, Paul Jones was the first to express his sincerest regrets. Two days later, he couldn’t wait to tell us that we were going to America. My father suspected that Paul had played a big part in speeding up the process. Even Mr Barnes thanked my father for his contribution to the camp and assured us that it would not be long now.

Around this time, on the other side of the world, a distant aunt on my mother’s side had heard about our plight and immediately began organizing sponsorship papers for us to join her in America. ‘Eight months in refugee camp, too long, no good!’ Knowing that the process was faster for immediate family members, she falsely wrote on the application that my father was her younger brother. Long-distance communication was impossible and our well-meaning aunt had no way of knowing that we were already as good as getting on that plane. When the sponsorship papers arrived, Miss Callahan was quick to bring the discrepancy to her boss’s attention.