Voices of Flight

On August 27, 2015, Austria stood still, struck by tragedy.

On the A4 near Parndorf, a refrigerated truck revealed its grim secret:

Seventy-one souls, fleeing for hope, suffocated within.

In the wake of this sorrow, borders briefly opened,

Welcoming countless seekers to Europe, to Austria.

In 2015 and 2016, some 1.3 million souls sought refuge here each year.

Yet soon, the gates closed, policies hardened,

And initial compassion soured into rejection, even hostility.

A year ago, we gathered on an A4 highway rest stop,

Near that fateful breakdown lane, to honor the Parndorf dead.

On September 28, 2018, a small circle formed around Noah’s Ark 2.0,

A ship sculpted over four weekends in July 2018,

Crafted by asylum seekers from Neusiedl am See,

Guided by the artist Hüseyin Işık.

This vessel stood as a beacon of salvation from the flood,

Yet also a memory of the perilous boats that braved the Mediterranean—

Fragile, overcrowded dreams of freedom.

“The boat is not full,” a banner proclaimed,

“The path to freedom must not lead to death,” its guiding creed.

Words of Flight

The gathering was more than an installation’s display.

Words, too, were offered to honor the lost.

Visitors were invited to share texts on flight and displacement—

Works of renowned authors mingled with fresh voices.

Christa Zettel read her piece Flight, crafted for this moment.

Christa Wendelin, Richard Bodyn, Willi Stelzhammer, and Hüseyin Işık joined the reading,

Alongside two who had once sought refuge in Austria:

Saleh Shlash and Wasiat Dawodu (whose words were read in her absence).

These voices sparked Many-Voiced, a chorus often drowned in media noise.

The words of those who fled carried profound weight,

Yet such voices are too rarely heard.

Among them, Saleh Shlash’s poem, spoken from his heart:

Imagine a sea without water,

A person without friends,

A night without sleep.

Imagine a heart without love,

And then—

Imagine me without you.

The journey to freedom must not become a voyage to death.

Noah's Ark 2.0

The boat is not full