White *
(for Suad Aldarra)**
Now they are bombing white people!
with bombs not officially signed off on
by the people who sign off on such things.
Television and internet are laden
with white people fleeing their houses
many of which are no longer technically houses
into any country that’ll have them
which is pretty much any country they want.
The leader of the white people
flashes around the world,
or at least your smart phone,
dressed as a hero.
Elderly white women everywhere
pray he’ll marry their daughters;
a few, even, that he’ll take one
of their bachelor sons as his wife.
White people everywhere race
to register their sorrow for those
whose white bones and even whiter faces
make them ill suited to having
bombs dropped on them.
Those of us who live in half a shed
will happily share our half a shed with
the white people; their children, if needs be,
can rest their heads on our mousetraps
and we’ll all be heroes,
which is well and good
but when will the world get back to
just bombing brown people?
* FFWP has published many of Kevin Higgins' poems and satirical writings and it's safe to say he is our favorite Irish poet and satirist. This was published at the Irish site, Broadsheet.ie
** Suad Aldarra is an Irish/Syrian storyteller and author of the book I don't Want to Talk About Home You can read about her here.
Meanwhile…
The warm welcome given to Ukrainian refugees by the Government proves that the State has been capable of providing a more compassionate support system for asylum seekers, a leading migrant rights activist has said.
Lucky Khambule, co-founder of the Movement of Asylum Seekers in Ireland, said the decision to immediately support Ukrainians fleeing the war while migrants from Middle Eastern and African countries wait years for decisions on their asylum claims reveals a “glaring inequality” in the immigration system.
Mr Khambule said: “We’ve had the Syrian refugee crisis, the Afghan refugee crisis, there’s Yemen, there’s Ethiopia, there’s Libya – all these are conflict zones but we’ve never seen an effort from the Government like this.
“The world is praising Ireland for taking this stance but they need look into the backyard at what is happening to others.”
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