In Romania it is very hard to live and work. The villages are small and food is scarce. It is a very poor Country and the only one with money is the King. The King is a very greedy man. All he wants is money and food. Everyone, men and women, must work hard. In my village, the men and women fish in the river. They catch many, many fish yet only get a few of the fish that they catch for food and payment. The rest of the fish goes to the King of Romania, for taxes! If we do not give the king at least 3/4 of the fish we catch, he will destroy our village.
My parents really disliked living this way, yet they were forced to because there was nowhere else to move to and it was really dangerous trying to escape. One day, word was given that a ship was coming to help the people of Romania escape to a new land, a land called America. This land promised easier living, easier work, education and most important of all, Freedom. When this reached my parents they were overjoyed. They quickly put our few precious belongings into a small box and then returned to work.
At night, my family and many others left their homes quickly and quietly. They all headed toward the river where the ship was waiting. This ship, it was said, was made by Romanians that escaped to the New Land successfully a few years ago.
When I first saw the ship, I thought it was the biggest thing I have ever seen. It was probably as big as the Romanian castle itself. My family and I were the first to board the ship. It wasn't as elegant as I thought it would be but it was enough to satisfy our needs. A thickly carpeted area in the Main Saloon is where we slept, a small galley where the dry biscuits and water was kept, and on the deck was the Captain's chamber.
The captain was a mid-sized man. He always had a smile on his face where ever he went. He had a good sense of humor and always made the passengers laugh and smile. He was Romanian and we called him Captain Vlad.
My parents found a small area in the main saloon and settled down. By then the ship had started up and was sailing toward the Black Sea. Captain Vlad told me that we would sail into the Sea of Marmara out into the Sea of Marmara out into the Aegean Sea, through the Sea of Crete and then into the Mediterranean Sea. Once we are out of the Mediterranean Sea we will sail across the Atlantic Ocean and stop at Ellis Island. I had no idea what Ellis Island was, the Captain said it was where we go to immigrate to America legally.
It took about nine months to get out of the Mediterranean into the Atlantic. By then I hated this ship and I wanted to get to America as quickly as I could. By then the biscuits were so hard you could throw it on the ground and not even a piece would fall off. We had no other choice but to eat those biscuits, we soaked the biscuits in water and then when they were soft enough we ate them. They were all very soggy and tasted like worms but it was the only source of food. Either eat it or starve.
In the Atlantic Ocean we ran into a storm. It was a strong storm and the ship was tossed up and down. I became sick and vomited a few times. When the storm passed Captain Vlad asked me to accompany him in checking the ship for damage. The ship was not badly damaged, except for a few broken pieces of wood the ship was fine.
After about eleven months in the Atlantic, Captain Vlad announced that we were approaching Ellis Island. After about an hour after the captain's announcement, a huge gray statue came into view. When we sailed closer to the statue the Captain told us that the Statue was called the "Statue of Liberty". It represented freedom and liberty. When the ship sailed even closer to the statue I could see it was a woman holding a book and a torch. It was the most wonderful thing I have ever seen. It was large, even larger than the ship, and it was so beautiful.
The ship stopped at the Island the statue was perched, on Ellis Island. All the passengers got off the ship and Captain Vlad led us toward a building. In the building we were given cards and tags and stickers. These were put all over us. On our hats, our clothes, our boxes, everywhere. The ladies in white clothing gave us vaccines. It really hurt and I was really scared. When we finally left the building we were very tired. The ship brought us to land.
Captain Vlad brought us to a large house. All the passengers stayed here. This is where we all slept and ate. When my parents found a job and made enough money we moved into a house of our own. In this land is where my family started our new life. Our new life of Freedom.
Earl