Continuing on with Dzaleka poets pt2 – the African Youth Artistic Poetry in Malawi, I’m delighted to have Kenny Mujago, Mirielle Abedi, Eagle, and Harry Rama as my guests today.
‘A lot of my poems are advocating for Africa and refugees.’ – Harry Rama
Kenny Mujago, reads an extract from his story, ‘A Snack From The Corner Street’ about the myriad connections food like chapati creates. Mirielle Abedi reads her poems, ‘Wipe My Tears’, and ‘Woman’, Eagle reads his poem ‘Tears of Innocence’ and Harry Rama recites two of his pieces:
‘Ask yourself why? To us poor, never say I am not me, but say I am me with the confidence without fearing anybody. Today is me. After so many years you. Life changing time, not because I’m wearing these clothes. Then you wanna undermine me, then you wanna laugh at me, but you don’t know my tomorrow.’ – Harry Rama
You can keep up to date with AYAP – the African Youth Artistic Poetry here. Please go and follow them and keep an eye on their publications and events.
Listen to Tumaini BBC World Service documentary from Dzaleka.
Transcript
Dzaleka poets pt2:
[00:00:00] Bairbre Flood: Hi and welcome back to Wander with me, Bairbre Flood, supported by the Arts Council of Ireland. Continuing on from last week with the poets from Dzaleka in Malawi, I’m delighted to have this week Kenny Mujago, Mirelle Abedi, Eagle and Harry Rama as my guests.
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[00:00:19] Harry Rama: A lot of my poems are just advocating for Africa and refugees.
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[00:00:25] Bairbre Flood: First up is Kenny Mujago, reading an extract from his story ‘A Snack from the Corner Street’.
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[00:00:31] Kenny Mujago: Do you know how fun it is watching the art of making a landed flower into a nice sacred piece of snack? I’m always smiling when I’m waiting for the fryer while she is showing me her talent. Turning and squeezing the snack all over the table. It looks like she’s playing with my food, but no. That’s how it works.
This is something that I can never get bored watching when I’m in my area. Placing a snack on the pan to be heated, it is something which happens so fast. When I see my snack on the pan, another blink, I see it on the table waiting for me. This is just the fun of watching her doing her amazing work of producing such an amazing meal.
I bet you can feel fine just like I always do when I’m watching this ad, which makes my stomach smile while I’m having my first taste of the snack. The first taste of this magnificent snack makes me close my eyes always so that I can feel the taste from deep, deep inside my feelings.
Our fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, and kids, all of them at the end of the day, they find themselves are watching the art of preparing their favorite snack. This is the best part of the snack. I’m very proud of you. All the time when I see you, I feel connected to a lot of things. Sometimes I remember my lovely mother preparing some for the family.
She could also prepare some snacks with an African baked cake without yeast for the breakfast. Sometimes I remember my then lover bringing some few snacks she has just made with her little sister Neema for me and my fellow fellas. I’m having a lot of strong memories which I have made with this snack which is found in every street corner of my town.
Even when I’m having a visitor from the other towns, you are the first choice I have when I’m willing to show the visitor how we taste in our town. How the snack tastes shows the people from the other cities the real taste of us in here, saying for real I give you much respect and love you so much chapati.
You are the snack which has been part of my life ever since.
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Kenny Mujago: I wrote this cause also it really like, it meant a lot. There is really a connection for me and chapati, you know? Yeah, and not just me chapati also have contributed a lot for us refugees. At least we have something to offer to the Malawians, you know? They’re like, ‘ah, this guy’s brought chapati, now chapati’s everywhere in town’, you know?
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[00:03:18] Bairbre Flood: That was Kenny Mujago. Next up is Mirelle Abedi, another of the young poets with AYAP, African Youth Artistic Poetry.
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[00:03:28] Mirelle Abedi: The title of the poem is called ‘Wipe My Tears’. Yeah, here it goes.
‘Wipe my tears’. The soul of tired of testing the bitterness of my tears, have been suffering alone until I think I’m done. Many years of crying. With no step to try, I couldn’t have even a force to fly in the sky cause of the sorrows that I have.
Many times in my life, I’ve become for counting years. I couldn’t even hold anyone to wipe my tears. I thought of searching you, but I couldn’t find you. Crying to be heard, but no attention you have made. I’m now homeless and helpless cause my shelter is now far away from me. I’m now living a miserable life.
Maybe it is okay. It is okay has become my melody of the day, but it is not too late. Please wipe my tears and be with me because I’m tired of this life without you. But these are just dreams cause I know it won’t be possible cause you are now invisible but in my sight you are my bright. Forever I’ll remember your face even if it was brought by grace.
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Mirelle Abedi: I can say that being a woman in Dzaleka, it’s, it’s something like terrible cause they are experiencing many situations that are, are unconditionally. You can do this, you can, you won’t do that. These are just for males. You can do this. Like they’re not free to express themselves as human. It’s like we are treated the way cultures say, but not as human beings.
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Mirelle Abedi: Woman is a natural creature who was created by nature, but not a picture that can just be determined by cultures. She’s a unique creature who has a bright future. She can, sometimes she cannot be perfect, but she has an heart. Woman can bring change in her range without any exchange. Women are grateful, Powerful, helpful, and hopeful, but very sorrowful because they are taken as disabilities in the community.
Woman, she may sometimes not be strong because she always thinks she’s strong. Women are not voiceless, but powerless and helpless because they are not given a chance to express themselves. Give her a chance to raise her voice and express her opinion. Thank you.
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Mirelle Abedi: I love to be a doctor and a poetess.
A doctor while being a poetess. Yeah.
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[00:06:35] Bairbre Flood: That was Mirielle Abedi. And next up is Eagle. Just a content warning on this. Eagle talks about rape, war, and it’s a very moving and affecting piece of art, but I just want to prepare you. You might not be in the space to listen to this right now, or you might have smallies listening, so just giving a content warning on this.
This is Eagle.
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[00:07:00] Eagle: Tears of Innocence.
Again. The bad has remained in my memory. Because of these people’s path in unity, they let our tears falling down like they rain in our community. The war has taken our society and left us in a family with no joy. We are having thousands of innocent death, millions of orphans, Christ, people who grew without father or mother.
We’re leaving our countries because of no peace. This name refugee wasn’t my willing, leaving my country wasn’t my willing. I grew as a monkey in the forest, running guns and bombs. Some experienced their parents death, cutting your father’s head in your prisons, raping your mother in your prisons.
This miserable life wasn’t my willing. Miserable people have no peace of heart. Sound of violence become like cocksong. They announce no time to hide yourself. People are living with pains in their hearts for no time to raise cries. Our everyday songs to everyone, tears, Tears of innocents are now like the rain in our community.
Nani, Eta Fareeji Nani. With our bags, running, guns and bombs. The forest is now our home, our place to stay. Girls were abused, mothers the same. Fathers were accused, boys were taken for the war. This name, refugee, wasn’t my willing. The war, the war has left a bad saving in my heart. The war, the war, the war.
If you could be a person, we could take care of you badly. People are now saying better death than this disaster life. We experienced betrayals from human like us, Vita, Asifa, Mugiza. This name, refugee, wasn’t my choice. But tears spilled like the burning oil, shifting from place to place like flies in skies.
At the mid years of my art, my blood was shedding, moaning, and cries of fear for losing the best people to me. Running our villages by, by crying the death of our important people. Growing in the bush as mankind. To fight the fire of donkey. How can we survive without money? We are now having the death king for no time to rest.
Our houses were burnt. Now we have no where to stay. We are living with no joy. They took a lot of boys by forcing them to become young soldiers. Lodima, with more fear, grew without knowing his father’s face. In the bush for his protection like, in the bush like Mongli for his protection. This name refugee wasn’t my willing.
This, leaving my country wasn’t my willing. I say. So fear, with more fear taught by each father, I’m going to defend the land of my ancestors and never come back.
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[00:09:52] Bairbre Flood: A huge thanks to Eagle, another of the poets with the African Youth Artistic Poetry Group.
And finally, for today, our last poet is writer and activist, Harry Rama.
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[00:10:05] Harry Rama: Poverty, lack of money, lack of education.
Is it the problem of my mother? Is it the problem of my father? No, but it’s a part of life. No one to blame. I am born in a poor family, but I am striving myself to become me, not to become another. Being hungry makes me to have a good decision which everybody will never make in this world. For sure we are poor.
Lack of money. Lack of education. But let me thank my God for I am being born in a poor family. Learning more than school teaches. Don’t see somebody’s crying. It doesn’t mean that he is a baby, but struggles are making him to cry more than skies So don’t insult me. Don’t undermine me. But if I ask you one question, you’re not able to respond to me – why Jesus was born in a poor family?
Ask yourself why? To us poor, never say I am not me, but say I am me with the confidence without fearing anybody. Today is me. After so many years you. Life changing time, not because I’m wearing these clothes. Then you wanna undermine me, then you wanna laugh at me, but you don’t know my tomorrow.
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Harry Rama: A lot of my poems are just advocating for Africa and refugees. I’m feeling free to express myself and advocate for other things.
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Harry Rama: Power wants to make you the ruler of the world. You are power. He is love knowledge. He’s here to teach you biology. But you shine like a flower. He is preparing to make you the ruler of the world. Am I right? Yes. You can’t teach me, but I’ll be carrying me like my tights. When my dreams are sad and low, I will get up on the wrong side of the bed like a butter.
He is a crime, but he’s an unjust education without a promotion, which calculation is allowed in any graduation. That is our conclusion. The cardinal point is taking my face to the cross. His fingers are steering me to the court. So how can I take a pause? Power won’t make you pin at a cluster. Education won’t make me master.
The lottery comes to my happy birthday. People love me more than one million, but I don’t know if they will remember my death day. People celebrate, but for me, I’m not appreciated. The book is making people to book to do, to blow bones, that is true. Cause I don’t need to fly on a broom, I need to be on the road like a vroom.
My education is my everything, I don’t need anybody else to think. Shadow people don’t watch me, they watch my dreams to stay in the ink. When you are schooling say, loving give behind. Schooling besides, no stress to make me a part, cause I am here.
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[00:12:40] Bairbre Flood: Huge thanks to writer and activist Harry Rama, who you just heard there. And before him, Eagle, Kenny Mujago and Murielle Abedi. I’ll put some links to their work in the show notes and to AYAP, the African Youth Artistic Poetry Group, which they’re all a part of.
Please go and follow them and keep up to date on their publications and events.
They’re a fantastic group of young people with so much talent and important things to tell us. Keep listening to them.
Next week I’ll be talking to Suad Aldara. The Syrian Irish author of I Don’t Want to Talk About Home. So see you next week and thank you for listening. Thank you to the Arts Council of Ireland for funding this podcast. From me, Bairbre Flood, bye for now.
