Arrival and Inspection

The air steward accompanied her to immigration, all the young girl had to do was follow she was asked no question and all her documents were in order – thanks to her grandma. She does not remember much about the journey from the airplane, through immigration, to getting her one suitcase, she was just dazed and tired still unable to figure out a lot of things and seeing, for the first time, a lot of Caucasians. There was a time when she was ushered into what appeared to be a large tall “metal box” with a lot of other people and her escort. When the door closed the “metal box” seems to go up by itself and it left a strange nauseating feeling in the pit of her stomach. Just when she felt that she could not breathe, there were no windows, the “box” came to a sudden jerking stop and the door

opened. She could not get out fast enough then was guided into a room where her escort spoke to a Caucasian man in a white overcoat. The man was a doctor and he explained that he would be examining her to make sure that she was a healthy young girl. The escort left and the doctor asked her to remove the top part of her clothing then he left the room. Totally confused, the young girl could not remember if she was instructed to remove just her dress or if she was to remove her petticoat (slip). After removing her arms from inside the dress and petticoat she held the clothes to her bosom and waited anxiously – unsure what to do next. The door suddenly opened. She was so frightened that she released her hold on her clothing and allowed the dress and petticoat to fall from her grasp. Both the young girl and doctor were surprised but he calmly told her that she need only remove the top part of her dress in order that he might examine her upper torso. He listened to her chest, back, told her to breathe in and out, checked her eyes, ears, mouth, tongue and skin. Then told her she was a healthy young woman and “welcome to England.” Her escort returned and the doctor handed some documents to her. They went into another “metal box”, this time it went down. She had the same feeling in the pit of her stomach.

As they walked, there were a crowd of people who seem to be looking at her, staring. Some had cards with names, others were smiling, some were hugging. She did not know what faces to look for. Was there someone in the crowd for her, someone who knew her? Her grandma had told her that her parents would be at the airport to meet her but the young girl had no idea what they looked like. They, however, would know what she looked like because her mother had sent the outfit that she wore. She saw a family that she thought was hers but the escort walked away from them. Then, suddenly a woman, a man, a little boy, and an older little girl stepped forward to the escort. This was her new family? Words were exchanged papers signed and the escort handed over the young girl to the woman. Strange hugs and even stranger introductions. Her father took her suitcase and the two children, while her mother took her hand as they walked to her father’s friends waiting car. Her new life had begun but little did she know what awaited her.