Sabrin Ahmed is a 17 year old Somali girl currently held in Australian Immigration Detention. She has published in The Arrivalists. Her work has been read at poetry gatherings. She is currently writing her life story. She is an honorary member of PEN International.
  

surroundings of sadness

i see nothing but a fence of tears
young and old are a shadow of life
i can’t go back to the world i once lived in
where bullets and bombs were shared
where many mothers lost their first born
and last born
where many girls were raped
by several men
where many children become orphans
where i lost my dear mother
where my life was threatened
where days and nights my tears came pouring
like rain
where i didn’t have a choice but to run away
with out any guidance
where I put my self in a humble boat
my life at risk again
where i thought i was heading to the right place
at the right time
where my thoughts were full of hopes
and happiness was knocking at my heart
i did not know that i would be locked up in detention
for so long
what have i done to deserve this situation?
is seeking asylum a crime?
what i was looking for is peace and freedom
but now it is far from me
it is like the distance between earth and sky.

Dear Bird Send My Message

Send my humble greetings and love
to people who are struggling
days and night,
who are in every street
protesting,
who are moving earth and heaven
just to help us.

Dear bird send my message.

Send an image of my eyes-
to Abbott-
where tears
are rolling like a river,
send my heart
full of sorrow,
send my mind
full of thoughts,
send him images
of why I came.

Dear bird send my message.

Send my emotions
to Morrison
who is enjoying my pain,
who does not think
that I am a human being
like him,
who thinks
that i am just a number
the waste of population.

Dear bird send my message.

Send my appreciation
and gratitude
to lawyers who fight
for my freedom,
who give me hope
that someday
I will be able
to sleep.