Morning in a beach close to Aqaba. The sun came out and started peeking over the hills that seem to rise out of the sea and then extend further towards east and the desert. The rays of sun are hitting the windscreen and it's becoming hot. I draw the curtain away and look outside, when I catch sight of dead bodies, lying there helplessly, under the window. Three corpses, being warmed up by the mild morning sun.Male or female? I don't know, I can't tell, I only see the disfigured heaps of meat, drained of all life. Actually I don't even want to know. They're soon joined by a fourth body, they're all stacked under the window in an orderly fashion. I start feeling disgusted, I see flashes of scenes from Iraq, Afghanistan or Sudan. Why? Is life really worth that little? I'm only counting the bodies without knowing anything about their past. Where am I anyway, isn't this the civilised, westernized Jordan?
I turn to the other side and fall back asleep. But the smell of death won't let me sleep. It's creeping stealthily towards me, filling up the car and pricking my conscience. Was there really no other way? What did they do so bad, that they have to lie here under the window, so ingloriously, with broken extremities and crushed bodies? Is the fact that they annoyed somebody an adequate and excusable reason for their premature death? What kind of a civilisation are we living in?
The temperature in the car is rising and another fly wakes up from night numbness and comes down from the ceiling, buzzing around my ears. It sits on my cheek and walks to my mouth. Just you wait, you little bastard! Land on the bed if you dare! Clap! Another corpse - so full of life just a moment ago - joined the others. One moment and everything can be turned upside down. You never know where your window waits for you! Come on, time to get up!
Translation from Slovenian:
Maja Simeonov