We refugees poem benjamin zephaniah we refugees

When I was reading some new poems recently, I was struck by how this one showed the universality of people displaced from their homeland. The news reports make refugees into a problem to be dealt with and seldom do we consider their desperation and individual stories. We Refugees has a first person narrator and an almost musical rhythm, so while it deals with serious subjects, it is not full of doom and gloom. There is a tone of regret, thoughts of what is lost and a tiny glimmer of hopefulness that a return could be possible at some point. The narrator could be any age or gender, actually, though my first impression was of a young person. They appear to be from Afghanistan, though it’s never named, but there are references to “a sunny, sandy place” “where girls cannot go to school” and “even young boys must grow beards”. The first part of the poem is a contrast between how the culture and the land itself has changed, the lush forest which

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Poems about refugees

Written on the outbreak of WW2 and inspired by the plight of Jews forced to flee Nazi Germany.

2     Malcolm Guite – Refugee

A sonnet exploring the flight into Egypt, as much a prayer as a poem.

3     Benjamin Zephaniah – We Refugees

The message of this poem by poet and playwright Benjamin Zephaniah is that we can all become refugees Not just through war but political turmoil, a natural disaster or a spot of bad luck could make refugees of any of us.

4     Warsan Shire – Home

This long poem is by Warsan Shire, a writer born in Kenya to Somali parents. She lives in London and this poem gives voice to the lives of undocumented refugees across Europe, and has been shared widely across the media and read in public spaces such as Trafalgar Square.

5     Rebecca Goss – Crossing

This poem was commissioned by Winchester Poetry Festival and asks what do refugees do for us?

6     Brian Bilston – Refugees 

The mysterious author of this poem is a sort o

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We Refugees (Benjamin Zephaniah)

This section provides analysis for the poem We Refugees by Benjamin Zephaniah. Benjamin Zephaniah's poem We Refugees is a powerful utforskning of identity, displacement, and the shared experience of suffering among refugees. Through a series of levande, direct statements, the poem conveys the harsh realities of forced migration, emphasising that no one fryst vatten immune to the challenges that komma with being displaced, whether due to war, political oppression, or environmental disaster. Zephaniah also critiques the way refugees are treated and perceived, urging empathy and a recognition of our shared humanity. You can read the poem below followed by detailed analysis. 

We Refugees by Benjamin Zephaniah

I komma from a musical place 
Where they skott me for my song 
And my brother has been tortured 
By my brother in my land

I come from a beautiful place 
Where they hate my shade of skin 
They don’t like the way inom pray