Jaber, Rohingya Refugee Camp
As-salam-alaikum everyone,
My name is Jaber RC, and I am 19 years old. I am a Rohingya student from Myanmar, currently living in the largest refugee camp in Bangladesh. I'm also a mini poet and have been writing poetry for three years. My work often reflects the experiences and struggles of my people, the Rohingya.
Of course, I’m excited to be a part of this program and looking forward to gaining much about poetry.
Theme: Miracle Poems
Jaber RC - Miracle Poem
I’m Muhammad Jaber.
I’m a young Rohingya refugee.
I’m a youth walking through an endless journey.
I’m a student searching for light in the dark.
I’m the strength rising in my generation.
I’m the hope that keeps my people going like a candle glowing in the midnight.
I’m a voice resonating in the silence of struggle.
I’m a flame burning in the cold winds of despair.
These hidden miracles inside me give me the courage
To fight for peace, to stand for freedom.
I am a miracle.
Session Two: Colorism
I saw a colorful world
A more beautiful world
In it is black and white
Red and yellow and brown
Another world
Luxurious
Everyone holds each other's hand
No difference between a white angel
Or a black angel
Or what's in between
The beauty of character brought their hearts together
Nothing prevails except what they have
I saw a blooming world
A world with all colors
No one dominates another
All are equal
They share
The same land
The same bright sun
The round moon
The blood in the veins
The heartbeats
The pains and aches
Nothing separates them
No color or race
Like one body
Session Three: Homeland
Homeland
My homeland was never like other homelands
One day
It was a rebel
Dreamer
But it was never
A safe haven for me
It was hungry
Homeless
A land for tents
I am in it like a bird that did not find
A hug to build a nest
The land of my country
Fertile
Drenched in blood
Martyr after martyr is thrown upon it
Mothers are widows
Fathers are crying
Families from the records
Deleted
Children are torn apart
Shrouds are hanging
Fragments of bodies
People are burned
Corpses mixed with other corpses
Gathered with a piece of cloth
Its name or identity is unknown
How can I see my homeland
Full of love
How are homelands built
How can my homeland live
Without bloodshed
Without a racist wall
And barbed wire barriers
I want to walk it
In one piece
From the river to the sea
Theme: Love Letters to Palestine
Jaber’s Love Letter to Palestine
Love Letter to Palestine
Theme: Freedom-Huriye-Azadi
A hail of joyful, luminous cars
Trucks and wagons loaded with joy set off to return
Each to its place
You hear the ululations
The ululations of return and salvation
The ululations of hope and salvation
You see the flags everywhere
Raised and flying
You see hope in the eyes burning
On the first day of freedom
I taste the meaning of joy