Resilience, by Alhaji

Resilience, by Alhaji Kamara, who sought sanctuary in Swansea in 2003 from the civil war in Sierra Leone, and currently lives in Birmingham.

Some of the lines in this poem are in Krio an English based Creole language that is spoken throughout Sierra Leone. After the rebels burnt down parts of Kono people salvaged what was left. Some built shelter with zinc while others use local materials.

Glossary:

Tie we belt: to be determined, to work hard.

Win de fet: win the fight/succeed

Grase ose: grass house is a house that is roofed with long grass (image with straw roof)

Pan body: this is house built with roofing zinc (image attached)

Up-n-garet: a multi-storey house or tall building

Bio:

My name is Alhaj Kamara I’m from the Kono District Sierra Leone.I came to Swansea in 2003 to seek sanctuary from the civil war. I’m currently living in Birmingham.I have a degree in public services and PGCE in education. I write mainly about peace and love. I also write to inspire people in a positive way.

In these tough times, I’ve been writing lots of poems. Staying positive!

We were bombarded
Bombed to the ground
But we refused to stay down

They tried to keep us down
But still we refused to stay down
We never drowned
Never let go our crown

We were chased out
Made displaced and refugees
Still we return
We rebuild our villages, cities and towns
We can never be knocked out and down
We are resilience

Our houses were burnt down to ashes
We rebuild from grass ose, pan body now to up-n-garet
We tie we belt
N win de fet

We got hit harder
But like rubber ball we bounced higher
Now we are flying high
Like a bird in the sky

We are shining star
Look how we de glitter
We are diamond stars
Look how Koidu de glitter
Very pretty city

Kono we are resilience
They can’t take away our ambiance
Despite the excruciating experience
We are still welcoming and giving everyone chance

But we are clever
We are wiser
We are using our experience
To rebuild
No time for grievance
We are people of high resilience

by Alhaji Kamara (A S Kay)