With the border closed, there is only one thing for you to do. You separate the group of Jewish children from the Polish army-in-exile members and head east. Your first priority is to get the children away from the fighting. You cross southern Russia and, with the help of local guides, make your way through the mountains of Pamir and northern Pakistan.
Before leaving Russia, however, you plant a tree. The other members of the group are astounded, wondering what you are doing. You tell them that Choni Hame'aggel planted a tree so that his grandchildren could have fruit, in the same way that the biblical prophet Jeremiah bought a field in Anatoth for his descendants. You want to make provisions for the future as members of the Jewish community has always done. Eventually, you reach the valley of the Indus River, a route you can follow southward to the city of Karachi on the Arabian Sea.
From Karachi, you arrange passage by ship to the Egyptian port of Suez at the southern end of the Suez Canal. When you disembark under the broiling Sinai sun, you are surprised to find trucks from the Jewish Brigade. The drivers tell you that a message had been sent ahead about your arrival and that they had been dispatched to take you and the children to the camp at Athlit.
Once the children are settled in the camp, you must decide what you are going to do.
If you decide to study in a yeshivah in Jerusalem, continue to page 135.
If you choose to work on a kibbutz, continue to page 136.