A poem about life in Calais and how it must’ve felt like before it got dismantled earlier this year and people were transferred to camps / centres in France.
A point near the sea
not where oceans but two countries meet
thousands stranded
human beings, they are just like us
politics inter fear, abandoned thus
where to go? this place is new
a jungle created right out of the blue
are we monkeys, trapped in a zoo?
I don’t see any forest around
so many people in tents on the ground
everybody’s up and have created a small town
try to stay sane as we are EU bound
kitchens, book clubs, our own economy
from Africa to Asia to the Middle-East
we have to survive together same ancestry
sure there’s some squabbles and fights
but we all under the same roof come midnight
there’s very little hope but we still have the light
darkness rules when nobody cares
we just trying to create a better life ain’t fair
maybe big expectations, but for this you cannot prepare
so close to my family, this I cannot bear
years of oppression, war and poverty in a state
I was born in, did not choose, but chose to escape
Did I have a choice, silenced when raising my voice
can you imagine it, can you relate?
go to Europe everyone said
no option to stay here, where you will end up dead
that’s what kept me going even in a sea of red
but this hole is what I found instead
there is water but it’s not running properly
an open sewer so you can just pee
showers forget about it
feces all around, inhumane basically
in amidst all of this, children get lost
yet people in power worry about costs
police arrives when it burns but will they learn
we only try to get warm coming frost
some even attack us, where is the protection
luckily we have volunteers who show affection
help us so much, there’s an instant connection
we are lost but we get some direction
after so much waiting you start to explore alternatives
cannot just stay here, something’s gotta give
should I get on the lorry or stay positive
many have tried but came back
some were less fortunate, lost track
how can we stay sane when we supposed to crack?
every now and then the media comes impressed
and while most carry on, some protest
it’s like talking to a wall, a fence at best
a life ended but the loss of revenue makes the press
together we made it work somehow
through all the grief, we laugh and dance now
because we are in a centre and made it out
where to go? we have to get on a bus
many are left behind, it’s created a fuss
sadly caught in between, staying a must
the jungle is still there, you see
we are stranded where two countries meet
trying to get to the UK
but we aren’t seen as equals unfortunately
politics interfered, stay in France, me?