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To the rest of the world, they are merely statistics of persons drowned at sea while trying to reach Europe in illegal voyages. But these are real human beings, with complex lives, pursuing a dream.

On the hazy open road
migrant’s journey under one sky
clasping suitcases
full of unspoken longings
inner complexities
memories and dreams,

And in the orphaned life
making the best out of burdens
in spite of the dead
whose absence trail the living
in spite of events that split open the sky
and crack the grounds
resiliently spirited
migrants survive
under weeping clouds
through rough terrains
of xenophobic attacks
ruffled skirts and names
with hopes of unfurling tongues
unraveling fears
holding onto faith that one day

they
we
all
will chant:

"We know you. We see you.
I am in you like you are in me.
I am you like you are me.”