Alpha, you have indeed touched the very soul of this
issue and brought forth our pain as only music and
poetry can.  As I read the poem I could not control my
tears.  It definitely summed up everything that I
could not put into words.  Thank you for it.

--- Alpha Robinson <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:
> This poem is dedicated to the parents, especially
> the mothers, relatives
> and friends of the victims of the massacre. I am
> aware that nothing can
> replace their beloved ones who are now gone, but as
> I search my mind for
> answers, these thoughts keep coming up and I thought
> I should write them
> down for you. If these demonstrations had taken
> place during my school
> days, I might have been one of the victims. So I
> have been thinking of
> how my family would have felt and how I would have
> liked them to feel.
> My heart goes out to you all.
>
> Cry not Mama
>
> Trying to make sense
> Out of the senseless
> Turning around in circles
> Sleepless and restless
> Trying to feel your pain
>
> Mothers and fathers of the matyres
> Young lives taken away
> From earth to earth
> Living in our hearts
> Forever Forever and Forever
>
> Mothers we mourn by your side
> You have carried that baby for eight months
> The ninth month demanding your breath
> The joy you felt after the birth pains
> Hoping and dreaming
> That your baby will one day be someone
>
> You gave that baby solid food and love
> Toiling under the sun
> Nothing you would not do
> To give that child a future
>
> Fathers we mourn by your side
> You work this earth with bare feet
> You deny yourself pleasures
> To give that child a future
> How anxious you were
> Waiting to hear from the maternity ward
> Or was it from the home
> News about your baby
>
> You two took that child to school
> With high expectations
> To acquire knowledge
> For a better future
>
> Then came the gunman
> The neighbour’s child he was
> No stranger to you
> He calls you mother and father
> Yet he turned that gun on your children
> And took them away from you
> Forever Forever and Forever
>
> But cry not Mama
> That child is in eternal peace
>
> How can I tell you
> How can I make you understand
> That your pain is not in vain
> That your pain is mine
>
> Some give their lives for others
> In their own way
> And live forever
>
> Look at me Mama
> I am your child
> For what your child died for
> Will live in me forever
> So they all live in me Mama
> All those courageous children
> And I am not alone Mama
> We are all your children
>
> As you dry your tears
> Gripped by grief
> Your legs feeling numb and heavy
> Trying to make sense out of the senseless
> Seek consolation in us
> We who will carry your child in us
> Until we take our last breath
>
> No they did not die in vain!
> For what they died for
> Cannot be killed Mama
> Justice must come
> Freedom must come
> A new Gambia will be born
> It’s only a matter of time
>
>
> By Alpha Robinson
>
>
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=====
"NO ONE CAN MAKE YOU FEEL INFERIOR WITHOUT YOUR PERMISSION"

                       ALSO

"NOTHING IS UNACHIEVABLE, THE ONLY QUESTION IS, WHETHER ONE IS WILLING TO DO WHAT IT TAKES TO ACHIEVE WHAT IS DESIRED"

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