Bekele D. Woyecha

Biography: Bekele Woyecha is a Human Rights Activist currently living in Wales. He is originally from Ethiopia and fell in love with writing during his high school and university days in Addis Ababa in late 80s and early 90s. He has written on a range of issues and relishes writing.

That Day


You flee your home country,
So as to seek sanctuary,
Then you reach the host country.
You are either detained or dispersed, 
Lucky you if dispersed,
Very unlucky if you are detained.
If your are the one who is dispersed,
You live in accommodation that is shared.
Expected to integrate,
With people of your type,
From different walks of life,
Background, language, culture,
Religion and even common sense.
You may worry or the reverse,
About the cleanliness of the kitchen,
The bathroom and the toilet,
Which you are meant to share.
And confused how to locate
The one stop shop that is nearest,
And the office where you should report.
You are neither the boss nor the servant,
Accept what is given and live as it is.
And wait for what tomorrow holds.
If you are the one who is detained,
You are by now who has despaired,
And started losing your confidence,
Still suffering from the trauma you faced,
Confused about your present,
And unsure of your future.
Forced to live in contemplation,
As you have to see the other version.
You live it man as it is your destiny,
That takes you from country to country.
But have the faith and the strengths,
And expect for better days.
Never despair and pursue the fight,
And you need to be an optimist.
Have the patience to see that day,
When you could speak loudly.

Prepared for Kent refugee help
Writing workshop
June 14, 2008

What do they mean?

The stranger is to travel,
To move around in big city.
With no experience how to make it,
Taken by his deep thoughts.
How do I go to this place,
Train or bus should I use,
What do they mean when they say zones,
Are there cities within city,
Locating places and zones,
Knowing the price,
Buying the card
The Oyster,
From the machine or the office.
Checking the line,
The platform,
Boarding the tube,
Getting off the tube or changing,
Listening to the announcements
And reading same,
This is station X,
Change for line A,
The announcements come once again,
Attention please, attention please,
This is a security announcement.
The stranger is awakened,
His ears stand like nothing.
As he gets more vigilant and worried.
There goes the announcement again,
Please keep you luggage with you,
And report unattended items,
And suspicious behaviour,
He recalls the announcements.
What do they mean when they say that,
Poses the question to himself. 
As he gets more confused,
And contemplates to get off,
Yet he recalls the announcement,
Suspicious behaviour, as he recalls,
What do they mean when they say that,
The stranger looks around,
As he is more confused,
But no body looks that scared,
Different or Worried,
Is it only him who is scared,
Most are busy, busy reading,
Newspaper, book, magazine.
There come announcements once again,
This is station Y,
What a relief to reach at Y
He finally gets relived,
And awakened from his thoughts,
Before he even went to ask,
As to whether he should get off,
Or what do they mean when they say that,
Not knowing that the man next
Is a stranger Like himself.

Rush and run

Everybody runs,
Run, run, run.
Nobody says hi,
Or expects same.
They still run,
Rush and run,
Push and pass,
Run on stairs,
On escalators,
In the streets.
Some run down,
Others run up.
Some run in, 
Others run out,
Some run east,
While others west.
Still others run
South or north
They all run,
Rush and run
The beauty of rush hours,
The beauty of busyness.
Run, run, run
Always run.