migrantvoice
Speaking for Ourselves

Mare Nostrum - a poem

Mare Nostrum - a poem

Shirin Ramzanali Fazel

 Migrant Voice - Mare Nostrum - a poem

Mare Nostrum

Sunshine and riviera

Restaurants, sun beds and gelato

Topless and bikini

Sunscreen and waterproof mascara.

 

Mare Nostrum

Boats, small boats, big boats

Packed with people with brown skin

Who are they?

Immigrati its their label

Greedy creatures who want to steal wealth

 

Mare Nostrum

The Mediterranean diet, to live longer

Olive oil, pasta and fresh salad

To keep the heart pumping a glass of vintage red wine

 

Mare Nostrum

Giant hungry beast

That feeds on human flesh

What’s on the menu makes no difference

Young men, children pregnant women

The required ingredient:

Must be desperate, fleeing from chemical weapons

Political oppression civil war, and starvation

 

Mare Nostrum

Romans ancient monuments

Testimony of great civilization

Great history, great architectural

Every century is dated, preserved in museums

Expert archaeologist, dig dust, catalogue

Search for the glorious past

 

Mare Nostrum

News, what’s on the news hour

No news, its everyday news:

Today a boat with seven hundred migrants drown

Last week a boat with four hundred migrants drown

New Year’s Eve a boat with five hundred migrants drown

We do not have the exact figure

Approximately last year three thousand migrants drown

 

Mare Nostrum

Resorts, cosy guest houses and hotels

Bookings are required

Name, address and credit card number

King size beds are tucked with lavender scent bed linen

Dining rooms set with silver polished cutlery and champagne glasses

On coffee tables fresh cut flowers

Smile for guests to arrive

 

Mare Nostrum

Quiet hush keep quiet

People are dying

No names, no faces, no numbers no graves

No trace

They vanish they disappear

 

Mare Nostrum

Talk, politicians talk

Debate, debate debate

Help! European Union help

Election

Vote for me

I will keep you safe from barbaric invasion

 

Mare Nostrum

Blame unscrupulous traffickers

Let’s go after them

The human traffickers are responsible

Let’s have a naval blockade

Point our missiles toward them

 

Mare Nostrum

Got amnesia, no memory of yesterday

we exported civilization

The reality, we conquered, massacred, divided, grabbed resources

Today, we export democracy

We make money selling weaponry

We have drones, we experiment on the ground

 

Mare Nostrum

Silence only a vast blue sea

Silence broken by the noise of crushing waves

Silence, people keep silent

No words

To honour the dead

Get in touch

Migrant Voice
VAI, 200a Pentonville Road,
London
N1 9JP

Phone: +44 (0) 207 832 5824
Email: [email protected]

Registered Charity
Number: 1142963 (England and Wales); SC050970 (Scotland)

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