Day 5 - Heading Home

I began writing this post sitting on the sea wall on Saibai Island early in the morning as the sun rises on another day. The peace, serenity and quietness of an early Saibai morning seemed like an appropriate backdrop. It was with mixed feelings that we prepared to leave today. The island lifestyle is so diverse and very different to the city life we have in Yeppoon.  The experiences we had on Thursday Island were so different to that of Saibai and Dauan. The village life of these two islands makes me wonder how hard it must be.  

As I sat the departure shed I watched two little boys playing and sitting with their grandma. They seemed so happy and playful with Deb and Cathy. As the plane landed and we were about to board their demeanour changed immediately from happiness to sadness not wanting their grandmother to leave. We boarded the plane and the pilot taxied the runway. As we sat at the top of the runway I looked across and could see Samukie and his family waving to family who were leaving. I imagined thoughts running through my head about leaving a small community of 150 people, one road, and one store.  Also, the sea forms so much of what there is to do.  Sitting in that moment, on that plane on the island I could kind of feel what it must be like for a 12yr old Saibai Island boy to leave everything he has known.  The only saving grace is the knowledge that others have gone before and done it. There are undoubtedly boys on that plane in Year 11 & 12.  That reinforces the extra pressures that our community boys have and how quickly they must grow up.