Cheap flights
I doubt anybody will comment on this, but it moves me. I was born in Africa and I admire the courage of people who daily deal with more than we do in a life time. I based it on the this article.
Cheap flight
Here cut-price, last-minute-flight,
self-catering, sun-factored whites
meet salt-caked, sardine-packed,
all-hopes-pinned-on blacks
Here, where Europe stoops to
kiss Africa’s cheek, the right
papers and plastic buy cheap
shots and happy hours, while
no papers find no welcome, just
months behind bars, like dogs in
a pound.
Here on the faultline where the haves,
and some even say chavs, meet
the have-nots, the-not-for-want
-of-trying, the drowned and the dying.
Cheap flight
Here cut-price, last-minute-flight,
self-catering, sun-factored whites
meet salt-caked, sardine-packed,
all-hopes-pinned-on blacks
Here, where Europe stoops to
kiss Africa’s cheek, the right
papers and plastic buy cheap
shots and happy hours, while
no papers find no welcome, just
months behind bars, like dogs in
a pound.
Here on the faultline where the haves,
and some even say chavs, meet
the have-nots, the-not-for-want
-of-trying, the drowned and the dying.
posted by apprentice at
3:12 pm
4 Comments:
I was born in Nigeria and lived a few years there as a child and remember young men always leaving their villages. Then it was to move into larger towns and cities and now it seems the same mentality remains and means they travel further. It's sad that the governments are so corrupt as I'm sure if they weren't lining their own pockets there'd be less suffering throughout the continent. It's also sad that countries like Britain, France etc hadn't prepared African countries for independance, a lot of the blame for what is happening now lies with the British/French governments of the day.
thanks for stopping by.
I was born in Ghana. I agree that colonialism is to blame in part, but years have now passed and good governance has yet to emerge. And the influence of the US/West is waning as other powers flex their newly developed muscles.
More information needs to be spread on the ground that this sort of migration is not a solution. In Senegal they are building boats, not to fish but to carry people on one way trips to the Canaries on huge mountainous seas with little food or water. There's a mothers' group there, who have all lost sons at sea, trying to educate other families not to finance their sons' trips.
Spanish factory trawlers have actually hoovered up much of Senegal's fish stocks, so it's hard for them to call foul on the economic migrants that result from the collapse of the fishing industry on the West Coast of Africa.
Nor do I don't think policy makers have considered how the opening up of Eastern Europe would displace North African migrant workers. We are facing huge global challenges, which require resourceful, pan- world solutions.
Irrespective of the stripe of our governments the people at the bottom of the heap continue to suffer. Some might say it has ever been so, but Clinton was right when he said the staus quo is unsustainable.
I lived in Kumasi for a couple of years, as a nipper.Always remember visiting Kwama n Crumas, if thats how you spell it,palace and noting the electric chair beside the swimming pool. Thats what I was told it was.
Wow! I was born in Takoradi. My father worked for a shipping company in the palm oil trade.
I miss the convection rain storms, and the talking drums at night, they used to lull me to sleep. And being taken to the market, just for the colours.
I've a notion to sail back sometime. We used to come by sea, past the Canaries. In those days they were under-developed dots in the ocean. Boys used to jump off boats to dive for pennies and you could actually buy canaries in cages. All a long time ago now.
My husband ran the London marathon to raise cash for a burns unit in Ghana, that was started by a Scots doctor. Many young girls in Ghana get burnt by hot oil in compound cooking accidents. It also treats disfigurement from tropical flesh-wasting diseases and cleft pallettes etc. People walk for days to be treated there.
I find it helpful to remember ho
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