by Stan Mason
‘isn’t that rather risky’ asked Nathan with concern showing on his face. ‘Look at the state of this vessel. How could you leave her behind in one of the cabins?’
‘As ah said, don’t worry ‘bout her! She’s a very lucky woman. You see, our cabin’s right at de top o’ dis t’ing. We got de best one on de boat,... where d’ere ‘aint no water cummin’ in.’ He roared with laughter boastfully.
‘You mean she won the best cabin on this liner in a fashion competition,’ cut in the Indian smartly.
‘’Aint dat just what ah tol’ you, man? She is sure a lucky one winnin’ de main prize outta fifty thousand people.’
‘Isn’t that typical,’ moaned Rajiv miserably. beginning to show his annoyance. ‘I work twenty-four hours a day like a dog to pay for a lifetime trip, He gets it for nothing by a stroke of luck!’
‘Hey... watch what yah saying ‘bout my girl,’ threatened the West Indian, squaring himself up menacingly. ‘She knows exactly what she was doin’ which is more dan I can say ‘bout you wi’ dat stupid cloth ‘round yah!’
Rajiv shivered in reaction, pulling the cloth around him more tightly. ‘You West Indians never contribute anything. All you do is take! You take it all from wherever you can get it giving nothing back!’
‘Why do yah say dat, man?’ came the controlled response. ‘’Aintcha never heard of Worrell, Sobers an’ Lara? De best cricketers in de world! An’ what ‘bout the spirit o’ life we bring? Lively an’ colourful West Indian calypsos , an’ bright colours an’ customs. It’s better in Trinidad where ah cum from because the sun’s always shinin’. Most of the times it rains in Britain but we brought all de colour wi’ us. ‘Aintcha b’ it’s floween to any o’ our carnivals, man. Yah’ve nevah lived!’
At that moment, there was a groan from the corner and a little Pakistani crawled out of the shadows holding his head
‘Does anyone here have a paracetamol?’ he asked in desperation. ‘My head is splitting! I must have passed out.’ He stared at the listing gangway with a strange expression in his eyes. ‘What happened?’ he asked unnecessarily.
‘Man... it’s best yah don’t know,’ ventured Taunton sitting down. ‘Dis boat must’ve hit a rock an’ it’s floatin’ on its side. Ah reckon we should have all been dead by now but we ‘aint.’
‘I remember seeing a film,’ advanced Rajiv unwittingly, ‘where all the passengers on a ship were discussing their fate, just like we are here, but they were actually all dead. Does anyone remember it?’
The little Pakistani’s face showed his concern at Taunton’s explanation and he moved across to join them. ‘Hit a rock!’ he echoed. ‘Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear! I saved up all my life for a special cruise and the ship hit’s a bloody rock! Wasn’t there anyone standing on the bridge looking out for rocks. No one at home will believe me when I tell them about this. Look... if anyone needs medical help, I can assist. I work as a nurse in a hospital in London.’
‘I think you’re the only one who needs help,’ returned Nathan bluntly.
‘Where did yah get yah’r nurse’s certificate? In Delhi for five quid?’ taunted the West Indian callously.
‘Hey!’ cut in Rajiv angrily. ‘Watch your mouth! That’s my city! I come from Delhi! I will hear no disrespect!’
‘You’re way off beam.’ countered the little man. ‘I come from Pakistan. I’ve been working in Britain as a nurse for twelve years. One of my brothers is a nurse also and my two sons work on the railway. We are all very good British!’
‘I’m sure you are,’ commented Rajiv. ‘One of your family comes to Britain, usually through the back door, then you apply for your wife, your father and mother, your brothers and sisters, your cousins, your nieces and nephews, and Uncle Tom Cobley and all. That’s what you do. You make it hard for us British... and it’s all done on taxpayer’s money!’
It was clear that an argument was about to break out between them . Before that happened, however, they were forestalled by the sound of more heavy footsteps as Tom Belmont, puffing and panting, found his way into the area.
‘Ahoy there!’ he greeted, with a wistful expression on his face. ‘Jesus Christ! What is this... the bloody United Nations!’
‘No, sir,’ declared the little Pakistani, holding his head. ’We’re all very proud to be British!’
Belmont burst into laughter and sat down with them. ’I s’pose it’s best if we wait here until they sort it all out. I guess it’s like the Titanic in a way. Do you know the steel they used in making it was a fraction too thin so that when it hit the iceberg it buckled and let all the water in. If the truth is known, they probably cut corners on the metal used in this liner. That’s why we have this problem.’
‘You Anglo-Saxons are always so cool,’ muttered Rajiv admiringly. ‘The Earth could collapse but nothing shakes you.’
‘Anglo-Saxon!’ sniggered Belmont. ‘That’s a laugh. What makes you call me that? I s’spose it’s because I’m white and I’m British. Well let me tell you that my name stems from Belle Montagne, which means beautiful mountain in French. My ancestor was probably one of the Normans who invaded England in 1066 under William the First. And if I dug deeply enough, I’d discover that my wife is from pure Viking stock... but there’s no point in going into all that now.’
‘Where is your dear wife?’ asked the little Pakistani. ‘Shouldn’t she be with you here?’
‘How should I know?’ roared Belmont coldly. ‘She’s always bloody pissing about doing something or other. She drives me crazy. Never on time for anything! She’s probably in the loo powdering her nose, wondering where all the water’s coming from.’ He burst into laughter as the cartoon image crossed his mind.
‘Are you not concerned for her safety?’ challenged Rajiv with surprise.
‘Look fella,’ retorted Belmont snorting. ‘My wife and I married when we were eighteen years of age. That was thirty years ago. Since then we drifted apart. She can look after herself.’
Silence reigned at his callousness. Seemingly he didn’t care for her safety at all. It became patently obvious that he had become bored with his marriage, enough to put his wife at risk of drowning.
‘What a mixture we are,’ stated Nathan, changing the subject quickly. ‘A Christian stemming from French blood, a Sikh Indian who came from Delhi, a Muslim from somewhere in Pakistan, a West Indian from Trinidad, and a Jew whose family emigrated from Russia. And we’re all British!’
‘And we all contribute to the British economy,’ added Rajiv brightly. ‘We give to charity, we have jobs, and we pay our taxes.’
‘Not me, man,’ admitted Taunton. ‘Ah don’t have a job. Ah got three kids wi’ mah woman an’ it sure don’t pay for me to go to work. The Government pays mah rent, mah Council Tax, de childrens’ benefits, an’ dere’s always sump’n fah me an’ mah woman to live on. Man... ah got it made! An’ mah woman’s expectin’ again so it’ll get even better,’
‘You really ought to think it out,’ criticised the Pakistani, somewhat miffed that the other man had achieved so much by doing absolutely nothing. ‘It’s not a long-term plan. You only have the advantage of child benefits while they are under eighteen. After that you’ll receive a much lesser amount. Aren’t you concerned about your future?’
‘The future? Who cares about the future?’ continued the West Indian carelessly scoffing at the advice. ‘You gotta live fer de moment. Ah mean ah could be dead in de future, so what use would it be if ah did things differently?’
‘I hate to say this,’ intervened Belmont quickly, ‘but if this ship founders and sinks, you could be dead in two minutes. Think on that one. Shame that most of the lifeboats are on the side facing the sea.’
‘Yah see what ah mean,’ concluded Taunton bluntly. ‘Why make plans for de future? Dey’d never turn out to be the same as yah thought they’d turn out to be.’
There was silence for a few moments and then the little Pakistani sat up. ’I think it might be a good idea for one of us to go and find out what’s happening with this ship. Someone must know what’s going on. Everyone else could have drowned for all we know. We ought to take steps to find out.’
’Be my guest,’ invited Belmont, thrusting out an arm in the direction from where he had come. ‘Have you any idea what effort it takes to walk through a ship floating on its side, and all the hazards you’ll come up against? Go ahead if you want but don’t be surprised what you find.’
‘Well I don’t intend to end up as a drowned sardine,’ claimed the little man. ‘Not if I can help it!’ He stood up and went to the gangway, staring into the dark depth.
‘Not downwards!’ shouted Nathan sharply. ‘I came from there. It’s completely waterlogged. You got no chance going down there.’
‘And there’s not much point going upwards,’ Belmont informed him. ‘There’s some heavy machinery that’s come adrift and it’s blocking the door. Our only hope is that the radio room put out a May-day signal before it got waterlogged.’
Perhaps we should all pray,’ suggested Rajiv. ‘The Sikhs believe that God is the only reality and that spiritual release can be obtained by through devotional singing, recitation of the divine name and meditation. I am sure he will help us in this hour of need if we all pray together.’
‘That’s a thought,’ said Nathan. ‘It’s the same God although the prayers will come to him from five different directions’
‘Your God’s not the same as mine,’ forwarded the Pakistani. ‘I’m a Muslim and I pray to Allah.’
‘And I’m an atheist,’ declared Belmont blatantly.
‘As a member of the chosen race, I pray to a single God in Hebrew,’ confirmed Nathan.
‘An ah don’t pray to no God,’ admitted Taunton shaking his head form side to side.
‘Perhaps we should observe our separate thoughts in silence for a few minutes... or something like that.’ advanced Belmont sincerely although even though he was not a particularly religious man.
They sat quietly for a while, closing their eyes in silent prayer except for the irreverent Taunton who rolled his head, clapping his hands together as he hummed a reggae tune.
‘Will you shut up!’ demanded the little Pakistani angrily, opening his eyes at the disturbance.
‘Whassamatta, man,’ came the swift response. ‘Can’t yah pray to yah’r God when dere’s music in de air? De world is silent but it’s upta people to make noise an’ music!’
‘Will you both shut up!’ insisted Rajiv irately. ‘Please... both of you... shut up!’
The West Indian and the Pakistani glared at each other fiercely and then fell silent as requested, leaving the others to continue their prayers in silence.
Over the next hour, a great deal of noise could be heard all over the vessel. At first it related to the clanking of metal on metal, and then it sounded like a whale groaning. Although none of the five men showed any sign of panic they all believed that the liner was sinking. As time passed, however, they were proved to be completely wrong in that asuumption. The din related to the clearing of the gangway entrances and exits by some of the ship’s crew. In due course, the noise stopped and a member of the crew appeared at the batch to stare solemnly at the group.
‘We’ve cleared the way,’ he informed them. ‘Is anyone injured? Are you all able to walk?’
‘Yes we’re all fit and well,’ returned Nathan with an element of relief.
‘Good!’ said the man. ‘We managed to get off a May-day signal when he hit the rock and we’re not far from land.’
‘Where are all the other passengers?’ asked Rajiv with concern.
‘Most of them have been transferred to ships which came to our aid.’
‘Most of them?’ challenged the Pakistani. ‘What about the others?’
‘There are pockets of people like yourselves but some didn’t survive. Come on, follow me!’
There was silence as a token of respect for them dead then they got to their feet, stumbling along a corridor to rech the top deck with difficulty as the ship was on its side. A ladder was made available for them to disembark the liner to descend in a small motor boat which, together with some other passengers, chugged across the sea to a distant shore.
‘What about your woman?’ Nathan asked the West Inidan. ‘Shouldn’t she be coming with us?’
Taunton shrugged his shoulders aimlessly. ‘Yah know what women are like. She’ll get off by herself.’
‘And your wife?’ asked Nathan to Belmont. ‘What about her?’
A smile came quickly to Belmont’s face. ‘If she passes on to the next world, I’m sure my life will go on,’ he answered callously.
When they arrived at the shore, a number of ambulances waited there to take them to the nearest hospital.
‘Well,’ commented Nathan, as he was helped into one of them, ‘I learned a lot today. It’s quite clear we all tend to live in our own little worlds, limiting our thoughts to ourselves and our respective cultures. Finding out about others and their contribution to society was very rewarding.’
‘Except for the West Indian,’ returned Belmont, looking directly at Taunton. ‘No disrespect, man, but like so many others, you’re a serious drain ont eh British economy’
‘Not so,’countered Nathan pedantically. ‘There has to be a distribution of wealth. Whatever we pay in taxes has to be handed out to others or there would be too many givers and too few takers. Our West Indian friend here is an element of that kaleidoscope. What he receives is an actual contribution to the distribution process.’
‘Democrats!’ snapped Belmont. ‘Democrats and do-gooders! That’s the problem with Britain today. What we need is people of sterner stuff. People willing to dish out firmer punishment to criminals. Polticians who come down heavily on those who live off the rest of us for nothing!’
‘Maybe,’ responded Rajiv, ‘but no country is ever free from such problems. Just look at the advantages in our multi-cultural society. We have the best of all worlds in all walks of life, especially in choice with regard to everything that we do or want to do.’
‘He’s right,’ expressed the little Pakistani. That’s just it. A multit-cultural society has the best of all worlds.
As the vehicle pulled away, thee was a loud gurgling sound in the distance from the liner. Within a minute, the stem dipped sharply and it sank quickly into the sea. Each member of the group thought about the two women still aborad but no one uttered a word about them.
‘So much for the three thousand pound exclusive cruise,’ muttered Nathan disconsolately as the vessel disappeared into the water.
‘The same goes for me!’ moaned Rajiv sadly. ‘Money down the drain!’
‘But not fer me, man.’ laughed Taunton. ‘Ah’m sure mah woman’s gonna win a holiday in a competition next year if she ever got off. Maybe we’ll all end up on the same boat again.’
They all began to laugh at the comment. Before Nathan intervened finally.
‘Well they won’t get a second chance with me,’ he told them. ‘I go by the old adage: First cruise disaster, shame on them. Second cruise disaster, shame on me! No, they won’t get a second chance.’
Well what else could anyone do in the face of adversity? It’s human nature after all!
The Lantern
The most distinguishing thing about life is that it twists and turns like a pliable piece of plastic being pulled forwards and backwards by invisible hands causing an individual to feel that he or she is merely a pawn in the critical game of life. Although one can make personal decisions on the direction their life can take, there is a major force in the spirit world which not only guides our thoughts but creates unfavourable situations to test our courage. Consequently, all manner of str
ange things occur in the environment. One can easily identify them daily from the stories printed in the national newspapers to determine how feeble our efforts appear to be with regard to the entity which everyone knows as Fate. Inevitably, some people will enjoy the ride as they find pleasure at the end of the rainbow; others will get the rough edge of the wedge and suffer. It is a sheer lottery and there appears to be no rhyme or reason as to who will benefit and who will not. Such effects exposes life’s indifferent tapestry to an ignorant unaware world which has no control over them.
Gina Lampert was a young woman who worked in a Government laboratory testing specific drugs on mice, rabbits and small monkeys. The operation was an extremely sensitive issue to many members of the public for obvious reasons. Consequently it remained a secret base primarily to prevent Animal Rights activists breaking into the plant to damage it and release all the animals. Even more important, it was necessary to stop any sympathetic outside bodies from passing on adverse information to the media about the activities carried out there.
Gina, herself, had no conscience regarding her work. If the results proved successful and the drugs she tested could help to relieve the suffering and pain of human-beings. As far as she was concerned, it was all worthwhile even at the expense of testing them on dumb animals. In any case, the animals kept at the plant were very well looked after, well fed, and they were even loved by some of the staff. After all, it was recognised that their existence in the wild would probably be short-lived through attacks by predators whereas they lived longer in a caring environment in their cages at the base,
At this particular moment however, the problems of the animals and the Animal Rights activists were the last things on Gina’s mind. She had booked a holiday to Hong Kong and there were only two days to go before she left. It was going to be the holiday of her dreams. She had always wanted to go to the colony... especially before the handover by the British Government to the Republic of China but lack of finances forced her to delay the trip. But as time passed, she saved up enough money for the journey and paid the travel agency the sum in full. In fact, she was practically packed and ready to go.