Unblocked

Introduction

DAWN, RISING

A mother and her two children hurry northward through the Eastern European countryside. They leave behind a region embroiled in civil war, its people devastated by mass genocide, crushing economic sanctions, political and religious persecution, and daily threats to their lives. Already 13-year-old Maja has been wounded in a mortar shell attack, while her father remains imprisoned in a concentration camp. The family has lost their jobs, their home, their possessions, any sense of security, and even their official identities: Yugoslavia is no more.

For now, mother, daughter, and son have only one intention—to escape alive. But first they must make it through this land of warring republics and political upheaval, where rape has become common and many women and girls looking to escape are instead taken into prostitution. A succession of drivers is paid to take them as far as each is willing to risk. For much of the journey Maja’s mother hides her under a blanket.

At the southern border of the Czech Republic, a border patrol guard searches the vehicle and interrogates them. After a short, tense discussion, he nods to the driver. “Their country no longer exists,” he says. “You can do with them what you like.”

Formerly protected citizens of a sovereign nation, the family is now stateless, vulnerable to abuse from anyone in power. With no proof of their names, birth dates, educational or professional histories—with no official data at all—they have, for all ...