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