FanStory.com - Refugeesby Pamusart
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Refugees are turned away
Refugees by Pamusart

Nine hundred refugees came here;
were turned away and left in fear.
The freedom statue dimmed her lamps.
Two hundred fifty died in camps.
The Jews on board were full of cheer.
They thought that they'd be welcome here.
The town, Miami, was the place
where all had smiles upon their face.

The news back then was far and wide;
just not about the genocide.
There was no way that we could know
that kids on board might never grow.
We do the same with refugees;
their only choice; to die or flee.
We know that people soon will die.
that men will wail and mothers cry.

Our hardened hearts don't seem to care
Our thoughts can't face what's over there
This tale is sad; we still repeat.
We tend to let our souls retreat.
But, people die because of us.
We can't be bothered with the fuss.
A child of war once tried to flee
along with fam'ly 'cross the sea

For him, his freedom's out of reach;
his body washed up on the beach.
We still reject these refugees;
ignoring all their desp'rate pleas.
And, now the cycle will repeat.
Our inhumanity's complete.

Recognized

Author Notes
The photo is of a three year old Syrian boy who fled with his family on a boat. He drowned and his body washed up on a Turkish beach.

In 1939 a ship carrying 900 Jewish refugees fleeing the holocaust were turned away after reaching Miami. FDR blocked US newspapers from reporting on the holocaust. So the Miami authorities knew nothing about it. The ship returned to the Netherlands. Two hundred fifty of the passengers later died in concentration camps. Here is the article.

https://www.google.com/amp/amp.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/national/article129147134.html

Are we doing the exact same thing today? In the US we are.

Thank you for reading my poem

I found the photo on the internet

     

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