Goodbye to Italia

Twice a week, goods are distributed that have obviously arrived from outside the camp. They are a mix of clothing, essential toiletries, and other things that provide us with a modicum of decency. One of the guards doesn’t mind responding to my queries about the growing population of prisoners and army personnel. ‘There are always opportunities for small businesses to flourish in war-time. The general public is migrating here and providing services to support our expansion. There is even an opportunity for POWs to go and work in the re-opened Cullinan and Premier mines, if you’re interested?’ I shake my head. I don’t want to work in the mines, even though the thought of finding diamonds is alluring. No, I will be more suited to taking stock and distributing goods, much like what I used to do when I was a civilian. But the tricky part is working out how to get into that line of work.