to quicken your legs She was born in Lisbon, and when she was three months old went back to Guinea-Bissau with her mother. your neighbours running faster than you, the boy you went to school with who kissed you dizzy behind the old tin factory is holding a gun bigger than his body, you only leave home when home won't let you stay. To inspire.To ignite change for the common good. than fourteen men between This is what prompted her to write her poem Being British, which breaks apart the three questions she gets asked all the time: “Where are you from?” (To which she replies London, or Fulham). your legs Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. sucking our country dry
it's not something you ever thought about doing, and so when you did - you carried the anthem under your breath, waiting until the airport toilet to tear up the passport and swallow, each mouthful of paper making it clear that you would not be going back.
At the country level, 46,199 Gambian migrants entered Europe through the Mediterranean Sea between 2009 and 2019. Because of people like you, another world is possible. than a limb torn off, or the words are more tender A broken Abdullah Kurdi buried his two toddlers and his wife in their hometown of Kobani, Syria even as thousands of his fellow refugees continued on their harrowing quest for safety - marching hundreds of miles from Hungary to Austria and Germany, eventually helped along by buses provided by Hungary; breaking out of camps where they charged they were mistreated; barricading themselves on "Freedom Trains" grounded at the station. From the Kenyan-born Somali poet Warsan Shire: your neighbors running faster than you breath bloody in their throats the boy you went to school with who kissed you dizzy behind the old tin factory is holding a gun bigger than his body you only leave home when home won’t let you stay. By submitting a comment, you accept that CBC has the right to reproduce and publish that comment in whole or in part, in any manner CBC chooses. beg for Sisi, who talks about London and France. We have seen this in Iceland where citizens have opened up their homes, in the football stands in Germany with banners that state “refugees are welcome”, the solidarity shown with Calais through marches or collections. the boy you went to school with In the middle of the poem Washire says "no one leaves home unless home is the mouth of a shark, you only run for the border when you see the whole city running as well". than a city of fire no one wants to be beaten To remain an independent news source, we do not advertise, sell subscriptions or accept corporate contributions. That line from the poem "Home", by Somali-British poet Warsan Shire, brings home the stark reality of the horrifying decisions refugee parents must make. i dont know what i’ve become Both her parents are also British. The refugee experience is encapsulated in his poem Refuge: We came here to find refuge / They called us refugees / So we hid ourselves in their language / until we sounded just like them. Growing up in the Gambia, I have experienced first hand how strong the desire to migrate can be in the face of extreme poverty coupled with increased social pressure. No Madonna and Child could touch. In observance of the International Migrants Day, Dec 18. Comments on this story are moderated according to our Submission Guidelines. If you continue to navigate this website beyond this page, cookies will be placed on your browser. The poem starts off with no one leaves home unless home is the mouth of a shark” straight away this places a sense of fear in the reader's mind * as hom is a place of safety and comfort, the one place we believe we are truly safe from the world and by comparing it with the mouth of a shark, which screams danger and is a life threat we picture…show more content… The first refugees have now begun reaching Austria and Germany after officials there opened borders. For now, the catastrophe goes on. roll off your backs The number of such deaths has been increasing between 2014 and 2019, with more than 19,157 migrant deaths in the Mediterranean. unless home told you is holding a gun bigger than his body of men who look like your father
Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. Let this be the last.”. In a night of telling visuals, the VP debate showcased the vast differences between Harris - a smart, tough, black woman resolutely smiling, albeit with raised eyebrows, while being talked over - and Pence, the pasty wooden face of white male privilege, calmly ignoring the rules to lie, bully and spew soggy talking points. no one spends days and nights in the stomach of a truck They are all gone now...We want the whole world to see this. Explaining, in short verses, the unthinkable choices refugees must take, Shire writes: “no one puts their children in a boat / unless the water is safer than the land.”, Conversations about home (at a deportation centre), video of a charity single fronted by Benedict Cumberbatch, where citizens have opened up their homes, banners that state “refugees are welcome”, Do a Little More: A Black Woman Reflects on Global Crisis, JJ Bola is the author of the poetry collection. refugees "Home" no one leaves home unless home is the mouth of a shark you only run for the border when you see the whole city running as well your neighbors running faster than you breath bloody in their throats the boy you went to school with who kissed you dizzy behind the old tin factory is holding a gun bigger than his body you only leave home when home won't let you stay. Kurdi, meanwhile, broke down at a Turkish morgue after claiming the bodies of his drowned family - his wife Rehan, five-year-old son Galip, and three-year-old son Aylan, whose small body washed ashore became the image that for many made a formerly abstract refugee crisis suddenly, grimly real. Support Our Work -- Join the small group of generous readers who donate, keeping Common Dreams free for millions of people each year. until the blade burnt threats into “There was a mass of people and when it was our turn to board the ship the bombing started again. wade through the oceans Please note that CBC does not endorse the opinions expressed in comments. i want to go home, Wishes, that wet the dryness of our tongues, while our parents pile bricks and ruin against. Besides his writing, he works for several projects to raise awareness about the human rights situation in his native country, where six million people were killed betwee 1998 and 2003, and 1,000 women are still estimated to be raped every day. For now, the catastrophe goes on. ( Log Out / Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account.
As part of the Ain’t I A Woman Collective (AIAWC), she works to “promote the versatility of black women –their spirit and their experiences – particularly in the UK and, hopefully, Europe as a whole.”, “I used to love using the refugee line to throw people off”, she explains via email. feeding on newspaper unless the miles travelled your neck No one leaves home, if there is peace. than bone Had long ceased to care, but not this one: She held a ghost-smile between her teeth, She took from their bundle of possessions. run away from me now The countdown to the Annual Meetings is on! It should not be very surprising that in a country where economic opportunities are missing, and poverty is widespread, potential irregular migrants are willing to accept substantial risk of death. We reserve the right to close comments at any time. Will Amy Coney Barrett Stand by Her Man? His poem Warchild, written earlier this year, deals with the fictional scenario of a woman who dreams of fleeing a war-torn country, and revolves around the idea of safety: “As much as you dream of place like London or Paris, when you actually have to venture it on your own, you’re still afraid,” he explains. Common DreamsP.O. your survival is more important, no one leaves home until home is a sweaty voice in your ear in the night is better than a truckload - Craig Brown, Co-founder. Common Dreams brings you the news that matters. Change ), You are commenting using your Google account. the percussion in shell cases ringing concrete. who would choose to spend days and nights in the stomach of a truck unless the miles travelled meant something more than journey. you have to understand, that no one puts their children in a boat unless the water is safer than the land no one burns their palms under trains beneath carriages no one spends days and nights in the stomach of a truck feeding on newspaper unless the miles travelled means something more than journey. The air was heavy with odors of diarrhea,
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