"The first sign that something was wrong was the blurred text in the book Gary Williamson was reading. The problem with his vision had come on suddenly the day before, it had been normal. Williamson thought perhaps he was tired, or run down. He was 18 and had arrived in Gibraltar after travelling through Europe for two weeks, sleeping rough and not eating or drinking properly."
"With no money left he had made it to Gibraltar four days earlier with the intention to find work he decided to hitch a lift, thinking a UK-bound lorry would be his best bet. He made it to the gates where the haulage lorries left the port, threw down his backpack by the side of the road and waited. None of the lorries stopped to pick him up."
"When he woke up, it was. As Williamson washed in a public lavatory block, a tourist asked if he was OK, gesturing at his face. I'm like: what do you mean? My face was covered in bites from insects in the sand dunes, and I was looking in the mirror and couldn't see myself."
Gary Williamson, an 18-year-old traveler, experiences sudden vision problems while in Gibraltar after two weeks of rough travel through Europe with minimal food and sleep. His eyesight deteriorates rapidly over consecutive days, making reading impossible. Stranded without money, he attempts to hitchhike home but fails to secure a ride. Sleeping rough behind a sandwich stall across the Spanish border, his condition worsens further. He develops insect bites covering his face while unable to see his own reflection in a mirror. The combination of physical exhaustion, malnutrition, and deteriorating vision creates an increasingly desperate situation for the young traveler.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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