Afghans Bear The Pain Of Getting Away From Their Native Homeland Poem by Bernedita Rosinha Pinto

Born here were the Afghans and their children,
but in distress and anxiety they wake up at dawn,
in fear and apprehension they pass their days
as people keep running looking for safety and protection.

No one knows what will be the next occurrence
no one is certain who will be the next victim of aggression,
so helplessly they keep running to airports and borders
to escape the terror and the violence that is so impulsive.

And as children wait hoping to get food and sleep
mothers keep looking for safety and peace,
women keep hiding from abuse and exploitation,
families keep praying for safety from a global virus.

And as the corona virus keeps looming everywhere,
silently they face the brunt and dare every injustice
whether it is the violence that causes the damage
or whether it is the virus that harms their existence.

Forced to go on with life and their situation, they move on,
tomorrow knows not who will survive or who will be abused;
yet the young and the old hold together their fortitude
and face the hardships and struggles they cannot escape.

Can our eyes overlook their sufferings and pains
or will God show mercy and enlighten the world to help them
as the war and the virus is tilting their lives
yet in the honor of survival, they breathe to go on.

And as the years of war have turned into decades
they ask themselves - is this a reward or a punishment
to be born in Afghanistan where terror reigns
and families keep running away from their native land.

And while families get dis-united by deaths
or by running away as refugees to another land,
they keep asking -will they ever get to return back home and find their loved ones or will they have to live in tears and pain.