Broken Dreams
By Thomas Kelly, Garbally College
Away from home
I don’t know where I’ll go.
A totally different environment
Stereotyped by my reluctant new acquaintances.
Waiting for an answer… that mightn’t come.
Nowhere to Go!
By Jennifer Morris, St. Mary’s, Haddington Rd, Dublin
Walking off the boat
Entering a new life
Not knowing anyone
Not being able to speak
Their language
Not understanding what people are saying
Not being able to ask for help
Feeling cold, lonely, scared, lost
Distant.
People running all over the place,
Pushing and shoving:
“Get out of the way, you foreigner!
You’re not welcome here,
Go back to where you came from!”
Someone saying things like that
I don’t understand
Frighteningly angry, eyes red with hate.
Throwing papers at me.
Then taking my bags and searching them.
Taking everything out of them for everyone to see!
Then searching me.
I wanted to leave, to run away
But I don’t know where I am.
Disturbing Feelings
By Michelle Cummins, Coláiste Mhuire, Johnstown, Kilkenny
I was living in a strange house.
It was like I was in a dream.
I felt cold and alone.
I could picture my father,
Standing at the doorway,
Of our old home.
I went inside,
The rooms were empty and dark.
The only untouched room was my bedroom.
The light was on.
It felt strange like I never left.
I could still see my brother.
Frightened, sad and alone.
He looked strange and untouched,
But a shivering feeling went through me,
Leaving me with nightmares and worries.
Last Thoughts
By Eoin Brennan, Coláiste Mhuire, Johnstown, Kilkenny
Ashes to Ashes,
Dust to Dust.
I remember the blessing
From a warm Sunday mass.
What seems like a lost age,
A long time ago.
I recall the sun
And my family home.
Now, a refugee,
Cast-out, alone.
In a dark, dank alley,
I’m huddled and cold.
Ashes to Ashes
Dust to Dust,
All returns to Nothing,
To Nothing I go.
My Worry
By Feidhlim Dervin, Garbally College
I am so safe here.
No war, no violence, no killing.
I am my own, no one controls me.
I feel powerful and peaceful,
Joyful and independent.
But now I’m being pulled back home
I don’t want to go but I must
I have to get refugee status
I just have to.
People laugh and mock me,
Like I’m not there in front of them
I am now “bogus”
And I feel there is no hope in my life again
Hope
By Eileen Delaney, Coláiste Mhuire, Johnstown, Kilkenny
It happened again,
Awoken by bombs, my parents ran in.
It was a dream
But I’m frightened within.
Here I am now
In this rotten old flat
I hate my life
It feels worthless and black.
Reminiscing on days
When we used to play
(now we stay indoors and hide away)
Days when we never
Worried about death;
Not days when we felt
We might take our last breath.
When is this ever going to end?
I can’t go on
Because we can’t defend
Our country, our life, our pride.
I just hope a light will shine
And bring back my mind
To the way it used to be
Before I became a refugee.
How to become a Refugee
By John Barrett, Garbally College
You hear the rumbling sound of a truck approaching
The screech of rubber on road
Shouts and screams filling the streets
You look through your window and see
Men with their weapons drawn
Pulling people from their homes
You panic
Gather your family, some clothes and run.
Things are getting worse
You have to become what you said you’d never have to be
A refugee.
