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Tesnime’s Spoken Word

Brainwashed and blind folded

Hands sawn by the handcuffs

Feet are now numb to the chains and the cold concrete

The body is so bruised and wounded

I can’t even remember what not feeling pain is like

The screams and the thwacks of the whips

Are now background noise

I can’t even remember what silence sounds like

My brain is foggy by the alcohol they force us to drink

My legs are bare because of the scissors that cut through my skirts’ fabric

And here comes another round of torture

I can’t forget the feeling of the metal chair 

They stuck me in to beat me up

Because i am muslim

He is here because they found a Quran hidden underneath his mattress

She is here because she was concealing her hair

He is here because he had a beard and his chin wasn’t bare

She is here because she called her mom abroad to tell her not to drown in despair

So they uprooted us from our homes and took our lives away because to them we are a threat

Because we look different, sound different, and they want people to forget

That we exist. They want us to forget

Who we are

They want to erase us from this planet

And how convenient is it if no one sees the scars

So they put us all in the same cage

Hidden to the eyes

They torture our men

Rape our women and they sterilize

And the children that are already alive

Are scattered around from their family deprived

And sent to orphan camps so they can be

Annihilated before they even start to survive

Pile us up like you wouldn’t even treat a beast

They really hate us, to say the least.

That is not my story.

It’s theirs. Them, millions of stolen lives

It’s not mine to tell, i shouldn’t be here screaming these words

But both the words and the people were left on silent

And how can the world know if we also stay silent

How can we not lend them our vocal cords

They need us to stand by them and unite the hords

And we have failed them for too long.

So today we change the narrative voice

We are not leaving the oppressors spread any more lies

They need to hear our rage they need to hear our chants

Our sisters and brothers need to know our voices are theirs as long as they are voiceless

So let’s yell and screech and howl and shout

Until our lungs run out of air

And our throats turn dry

And our voices tear

The silenced era is over

And we will fight, we swear.

– Tesnime

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