Tunnel to Freedom

By Olusegun Akinniyi

Five teenagers from different countries. Faced with different challenges in their home countries, they have one thing in common - the desire to find a better life in Europe. But the pathway to Europe is rough and often leads to death. With no better choice, each teenager defies the odds and embarks on a perilous journey that will take them through untold hardships. They all ended up at a refugee camp in London but their struggle did not end there. Find out how the teenagers survived the hardships.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Olusegun Akinniyi
• Release date: Apr 14, 2021
• ISBN: 9781999231057

Olusegun Akinniyi

Olusegun Akinniyi is a civil engineer with a passion for writing. He is married to Titilayo and they are blessed with three children – Oluwakemi, Olayinka and Oluwatobiloba. He is also the author of Mission to Kongola and Oil & Gas Civil Construction. The titles are available at most leading ebook retailers.

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tunnel

to

FREEDOM

Olusegun Akinniyi

Smashwords Edition

Copyright Olusegun Akinniyi

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Acknowledgement

I would like to appreciate God the fountain of life and wisdom for giving me the inspiration to complete this work.

My sweetheart, Titilayo and wonderful children – Oluwakemi, Olayinka and Oluwatobiloba gave me all the home support I could ever ask for. Thank you for being there all the time. I love you all.

Dedication

To God Almighty for giving me life

and

To my wife and children for adding value to my life.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgement

Dedication

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Epilogue

About the Author

CHAPTER ONE

Deva Sundaran

Ramtavaya, Sri Lanka

Living or attending school in the city has never been my idea. I have always loved the peace and serenity of the countryside. People talk about the fast-paced life in the city and the beautiful facilities there. But I am content with what the village has to offer. The beautiful tea plantations are only a stone throw away from home. All my friends live nearby. I know everybody in the school by name. All the teachers know me by name. I do not have to worry about catching a bus to school in the morning. We have fresh vegetables from our garden. We also have lots of fruits from our orchard. As children, we are all happy doing all the silly things that adults frown upon. We kick the dust on our way to and from football practice sessions. Sometimes, we kick stones and just about anything that we can find as a substitute for football. Sometimes we quarrel and fight. But we always become friends again. Our parents know everything about us. We are always ready to assist them in picking tea leaves during the harvest season. In the evenings, we listen to folktales by moonlight. When one of us falls ill, the rest of us congregate at his house. We cheer him up and assist him until he becomes well again. If we have homework from school, we arrange to meet after school to complete it. When it is time for examination, we study together and celebrate our successes together. All my friends are well behaved. Many people in the village talk about us and use us as reference points when counselling their children. My grandma does a great job bringing me up. I have lived with her since I was born.

Mom left the village when I was four years old to join dad in Ramtavaya. Dad had just got his first job then. Mom met dad when he was in his second year in the University. She had just finished from high school. They developed an instant relationship and were deeply in love. But mom’s parents were against the relationship from the onset. Mom’s parents thought it was not yet time for her to start a relationship. It was no surprise then that when mom announced to her parents that she was pregnant, they disowned her totally. She had to leave her parent’s house to stay with dad’s mother since dad was still in school. She was to remain with grandma for four years until dad finished his education and got a job. As soon as dad got his first job in Ramtavaya, mom left the village to join him. But I continued to live with grandma. I was up in Ramtavaya a few times to spend part of my holiday with mom and dad. They tried to make me feel comfortable, but I always felt like a fish out of water. In the city you were confined within the four walls of the apartment. You could not go out to play with other children. Everyone was suspicious of their neighbour. You only saw your neighbours once in a month or even less frequently. You could not exchange pleasantries with other children at the shopping mall. What kind of life is that? When dad first brought up the idea of bringing me to Ramtavaya to continue my education, I resisted it vehemently. I told him without mincing words that I preferred the village school. He asked me why I preferred the village school to the ones in the city. I told him I could not afford to be so far away from grandma and from my good friends. Someone needed to stay in the village with grandma and I believed I should be the one to stay with her. Moreover, I had lived in the village all my life and understood the system so well. Plus, the fact that the students in the village school were far more disciplined than those in the city schools. I was confident I had reeled out enough points to convince dad to leave me in the village, but it was as if he was not listening to all the good points I had made in this debate between dad and son. Grandma or no grandma, dad wanted me to come to the city. Not only did he want me to come to the city, but he also wanted me to attend his old school.

But dad, why St. Peters?, I asked looking a bit confused.

He had a catalogue of reasons why I had to attend St Peters. He attended St Peters like his father and grandfather before him.

But dad, must everybody from our family attend St. Peters?. I knew I was now treading on dangerous ground. Surprisingly, dad did not show any sign of annoyance.

Listen Deva, he began calmly. Everybody who wanted the best education for their children sent them to St. Peters. I have been there myself, so I know what I am talking about ".

Eighty-five percent of the people in government and in high places today attended St. Peters. It is the oldest high school in the entire country. The educational standard established by the founding missionaries has not dropped through the years. The school has the best facilities in the whole country. Gaining admission into the University is almost guaranteed for everyone who attended St. Peters. And then you get to meet the children of ministers and all the high and mighty in the land. You also make friends and develop relationships that will someday earn you a million-dollar contract. With all those points, I knew I had no chance of winning this argument against dad. So, I finally threw in the towel and accepted to come to Ramtavaya and to St. Peters College.

I moved to Ramtavaya two weeks before the beginning of the new school session. All the freedom and peace I enjoyed in the village literally walked out on me the moment I stepped into Ramtavaya. Everywhere and everything looked strange and new. I had to go out with mom and dad to buy new school uniforms and books. There were long queues of vehicles everywhere we went. People milled around everywhere we went. They all appeared to be in a hurry going nowhere in particular. In the mornings, you did not hear the cock’s crow. You depend on the alarm clock to wake you up. There were no tea plantations and birds to cheer you up in the morning. Dad would be gone to work by the time I woke up. When mom went out, I would be all alone staring blankly at the walls of our apartment. With the amount of violence on the streets and in the news, I could not go anywhere. I had lost my freedom. Whatever peace was left in me disappeared when one night we started to hear gunshots. This lasted for several hours and I could hear people shouting orders. I had no idea what the shooting and shouting was all about. But it was so scary. If I had a choice, I would have left Ramtavaya that night. The following morning, I asked dad why the people were shooting in the night. He said it was a common occurrence in Ramtavaya. It must have been the Sri Lanka Army soldiers and the militia. I could understand the Sri Lanka Army but who were the militia? Dad said they were people fighting for the independence of the Tadramunus. I remembered hearing about the militants in one of our history classes at school, but I had no idea there was so much shooting involved.

Why are they fighting for independence?, I asked.

Dad cleared his throat and adjusted his seating position. He was going to give me a thousand and one reasons why the militia were fighting for independence.

He began, "I am sure you know that the Tadramunus are the second largest ethnic group in the country. The Rashkapuras form the largest group. Long before the country became independent, we had access to early western education. So, when the country became independent, our people got