Relish the striking images conveyed through the poetic skills of the young poet, Richard Roach, as he beautifully captures in words the joys and sorrows of migration and the challenges migrants face.
Last night at the Making Migration Work event, a joint venture between Union Chapel and TogetherintheUK, we were honoured that Richard Roach wrote a poem especially for the occasion. It beautifully captures the joys and sorrows of migration and we were privileged to hear him speak it.
I was born here in England – by Richard Roach
I was born here in England
Right here in the thick of it
Freezing cold winters
Fry ups, fish and chips
I’m a British citizen
And growing up I always wondered why my nan and grandad spoke a little different
Was so oblivious until they started pointing fingers
Go back to your own country! I thought I was from here in England?
Told me an a African, I started looking inwards
That’s when I met my ancestors
The doors flew of the hinges.
Yes I’m an immigrant
We’ve travelled here from the Gambian villages
Now were here in east London
My neighbours are Indian, eastern European or African Caribbean
Everybody’s over here, were all just tryna make a living
In the inner cities, working or fleeing war torn conditions
We’re all here trying to work our way around the system
Some of the mandem got hurled inside a prison
Were all on a mission, we faced criticism
That’s why were so thick skinned and resilient
Mothers looking for a safe space to raise the children
So many multi-talented men and women, Skilled
Spiritual, Strong Willed
A traveller out in here in the field!
Its real out here, ever so real
I feel blessed to have lived through the storms
Soldiers and survivors of wars
Of course, it has been an obstacle course
Prayers for everyone who has resettled abroad
The tongues ten times mightier than the sword
So spread messages, share your intelligence
Connect with other tribes, friendships form
I met from people from all over the world in school
Its all love no matter where in the world you were born
I was taught to read and write
My grandma couldn’t read or write at all
She’s 75 now and still stands tall
Made many sacrifices’ so I can live as I do
I’m the grandson of someone who migrated from Banjul
And made migration work
We’ve all made huge contributions
After the war who do you think helped build back Britain
Yes, immigrants, alongside the English
We’ve done lots of things to be proud of lets sing and dance
Even though its been overlooked
You’ve got Scholars who came here and wrote books
We’re now Politicians, and we know great Mathematicians
And we’ve brought so many different Religions
Physicians, Musicians so many Role Models
We made the place lit fam
We’ve had our ups and downs but could never take away our richness
I was born here in London but I feel like an immigrant
My name’s Ibrahim but over here they call me Richard.
