Human Being

Human being
(Een gedicht van Randa Awad)

I am afraid to die in a strange place
In a strange street
my family can’t pronounce the name of the place correctly
If they told you an asylum seeker died
in the AZC; in the room B114
Don’t panic!
Pronounce the name correctly!
I lived my life as a refugee
And now I became an asylum seeker
no difference…
It’s a matter of names
They call us names
Asylum seekers
Refugees
Workers
Strangers
Outsiders
Newcomers
And Stateless
You can call us stateless
but you can’t call us country less or landless
No one is born without a country, or
Without a land
We didn’t come from the outside space
From Mars or Neptune
we didn’t fall down by mistake
from the milky way
We were born on a land
like plants, we grew up
Like creatures we survived
Eating
Sleeping
Studying
Singing
Dancing
Having sex
Having children
We walk on two just like you
So call us whatever you want
We will remain HUMAN BEING

Randa Awad