Martha Ako wrote her poem “Boat of Destiny” for Refugee Week, before she heard about the terrible sinking of this boat with an estimated 500 lives lost, including 100 children. The passengers were fleeing war, conflict and persecution in Afghanistan, Egypt, Pakistan, Palestine, and Syria, trying to reach Europe.

Boat of Destiny

In the raging storm
The mood so low
That a flapping sail
Still tears the heart

The horizon unseen
And snares of doom
That frenzy afloat
The risk to sail

When anguish looms
And self-reflection is lost
To hope is all
A journey unfolds

The stillness of the night
And flapping of the waters
That cursed reality
Of life on a noose

What prayer resounds
Where pain rebounds
To perish is no tune
Where thoughts go wild

For escape is key
And the future so bleak
When nightmares surface
To venture is to curse

With no safety measures
Nor itinerary to withhold
No tale is fun
For they that venture

No age aligned
No gender defined
For in this expedition
The sailor is self

Lo! the grumbling of the waves
The dance of the boat
The music of flapping waters
And singing seagulls

The raging ocean
And endless waters
The clinging and hugging
The fears and phobias
To surrender to nature
The stripping of man
The gain and the pain
Surpass the threat

by Dr. T. M. Ako
Swansea, 16th June 2023

Pain is like winter, cold and bleak
Immigrant is a bare tree
To survive it shook off
all the leaves of hope leaving only dismay.

Pain is the baby’s toy
Baby throws it for pleasure
Mother keeps picking it up,
putting it back
To keep him entertained.

Pain is a poem
Immigrants need to sing
For listeners it’s a horror
Immigrants are their pain

Pain is rain
The hotel is a broken umbrella
A shelter, but not a shelter
They are soaked and wet anyway

Pain is salt
Sprinkled on immigrant snails
To suck all juices out 
before they reach
their vegetable patch of safety

by Aruni McShane

In her poetry and essays, Aruni shares her own journey towards independence and a renewed sense of identity. Her new publishing, Purity and Hope: The Journey of Aruni McShane is now available for purchase.

SASSY SASS

Engulfed in our meekness
We all strive to redeem
Our lost glories and pain.
Dark shades and memories
Pull us to converge
To heal and to dine.
We share the fruits of mankind
And feel so honoured
That each day’s lightning
Brings forth a rainbow.
We all hope and dream for the best
As we share our challenges and struggles.

In our welcoming symposium
We talk and learn.
We share our successes and tribulations.
We forget our past pain
For the mysteries of life
Are never evenly foretold.
We never regret our bold steps
As we stare at bold faces with hope
Feeling fulfilled and safe
In our home away from home.

SASS is that abode
Where chains of frustration are broken
Where the miserable find love
Where the lonely meet peers
Where humanity is revered 
And life is priceless.
We feel this unimaginable warmth
That each week we crave to converge.
We play, learn and dine.
We receive gifts from samaritans and charities
This great display of love
That knows no bounds.
We learn to share and care
For sharing is a virtue 
Imbibed in humankind
Which even the young acknowledge.

We are grateful for this timeless initiative
That turns our frowns to laughter
That lectures us endlessly 
When all our dreams seemed to fade away.
SASS gives hope to the hopeless
And a haven to the frustrated.
We cannot express enough gratitude
To this selfless initiative
Where staff toil relentlessly
To put smiles on our wrinkled faces and torn lives.

Today we can smile again
We can interact and showcase our talents
Proving that we are not tabula rasa
For we journeyed with our skills and culture.
We can impact our community
And strive for the best in our new Kingdom.
May the doors of our fortress lie bare to us
And usher an olive branch
As we outpour the best of ourselves.

We pray for SASS to grow
Incorporating more social activities
Encouraging more skills development
More outdoor events
To help us discover our country.
We yearn for more recreational activities 
That boost our mental health
And long for opportunities 
To showcase our acting skills.
We long to tell our stories in a movie
For our life is our tale.
Many have been through the furnace 
And cheated death severally.
Many have passed through the eye of a needle
And have spat on the face of death.

We long for more translators at our symposium.
We recognise our individual differences, 
Shades, talents, weaknesses and strengths.
Our trajectories may differ
But our pains are the same.
SASS is the shoulder to lean on.
SASS is the mother that lays bare her chest
To feed with no discrimination.
We remain indebted to this gargantuan project.

Dr. T.M.Ako

Tuesday 16th May 2023

EVENT cancelled on Thursday 26 May – due to clash with Swansea Poetry Slam.

Hafan Books (the publishing project allied with Swansea Bay Asylum Seekers Support Group) will be at the Slam.

All welcome. Entry free. Books for sale!  Recently published:

      

• You and Me Two by Alhaji Sheku Kamara – love poems for Aminata and for all lovers, everywhere, in west African reggae style
• Zola’s Story by Zola Gidi – a few years ago, Zola successfully resisted attempts by the Home Office to deport her to South Africa, with massive popular support in Swansea. Here she tells her story
• Asylum by Eric Ngalle Charles – a disturbing documentary drama: what happens to an asylum seeker whose story is not believed

Also, new poetry pamphlets in the ‘Boiled String’ series:

• Stars by Childe Roland (black on dark grey, limited edition)
• Six of Clubs by Childe Roland (grey on white, limited edition)
• Çekoslovakyalılaştıramadıklarımızdanmısınız or Long Words by Nia Davies: experimental poetry about language, power, gender and violence
• Teint: for the Bièvre / pour la Bièvre by Zoë Skoulding and Jean Portante: experimental poetry about hidden Paris, memory and dreams, with translations into French