I travelled miles, crossing seas,
age six, then, taking planes,
forced to adapt to this system
today,
and move to another tomorrow;
the mind had many teachings, at
once -
what they like to call:
Disrupted Education
I walked many miles, under the fierce
sunshine
of Central and West Africa
without food in my stomach, or
money in my pocket, to go to
school -
I was chased out of the
classroom, because
Education isn’t for free –
I had forty-nine per cent,
Because teacher wasn’t bribed.
No day went by, without the
spectacular
Violence and abuse–
Across the streets, children
sleeping;
You could count each bone,
without needing x-ray
A few gathered around a computer,
as if
it was a gift sent from heavens
others simply opened their eyes,
when
they saw mayonnaise; it was here
I came from.
Teachers taught us all the riches
that lay beneath our fertile
land,
then a fire began to burn –
within me –
There were fathers, mothers,
humans,
with brains, reason, enough
ability to change
our situation
why then did my neighbour die,
because she lacked ten dollars to
pay?
Many preferred to die at home,
rather than go to hospitals –
Healthcare system, a chaos.
It was then, a fire began to burn
- within me –
I saw a young little girl, forced
to flee the rain
but sent into the ocean – raped
without justice taking place –
nobody cared,
they didn’t tell her to leave her
homeland.
Families parted, not knowing what
fate reserved –
Children deprived of their
mothers,
Women humiliated, men barbecued –
Here there were loud thunders,
But humanity has built long walls
–
Nobody heard these cries.
It was when I left that I
realised;
Injustice is high.
I see bins full of meat, I hear
Stories of lives full of
opportunities,
I realise this world is – unfair –
Some bring ethical concerns –
They like to classify the case as
complex,
National laws must be respected,
they say
But why do they then interfere
with the creation
of changeable constitutions,
and applaud exploiting
governments?
The laws change as society
changes,
But how can our laws change, when
our society still remains the
same?
It was the same curriculum, my
grand-father studied
the same poems I studied in
school.
It was the same hospitals back in
1960, only
now they look more like gas
chambers.
Where I come from, there are
people
with hearts crying to see humanity
give back to humans their basic
rights –
But where I come from, there are
rulers;
Blind to human suffering, deaf to
cries –
Insensible to a mother’s pain.
Where I come from, there are
fathers, mothers,
brothers and sisters
with brains fully functioning,
only,
jobs are for the privileged few.
Where I come from, there is a vast and fertile
land
with enough to give my children a
bright tomorrow
But where I come from, motherland
Has become a private property
of a few people who deny us our
rights,
who have made it clear that as
long as they
continue to rule, there is no
future for my children.
Where I come from, my homeland
deserves
Peace -
But where I come from, the story
is told differently.
