In the wake of the anti-immigrant and -refugee executive order put into effect by President Trump on Friday, many have responded with an outpouring of love for their immigrant families, friends and communities.
Poet Kaveh Akbar responded to the unconstitutional order, which blocks refugees from Syria and temporarily blocks travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States, by sharing poems from writers who have roots in Libya, Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Somalia, Yemen and Syria on Twitter.
Just gonna post poems today by poets from nations banned by the immigration block:
— Kaveh Akbar (@KavehAkbar) January 30, 2017
“When you read a poem by a poet who is living in Syria, you are granted access to an experience that is absolutely nothing like your experience living in Duluth or Montpelier,” Akbar said in an interview with PBS News Hour. “So I think that engaging in that work is one of the most empathetic things we can do right now.”
Despite the White House’s attempts to paint immigrants and refugees as terrorists and criminals, with a simple gesture Akbar made abundantly clear just who Trump’s executive order will keep off American soil: poets; artists; living, breathing, loving human beings.
Read their words and see into their worlds below.
Mohsen Emadi, translated by Lyn Coffin. Iran. pic.twitter.com/sTJkT37VUE
— Kaveh Akbar (@KavehAkbar) January 30, 2017
"Filled with grief bordering happiness, / I didn’t care if I was safe" - Khaled Mattawa. Libya. https://t.co/sa8Fn4jTD1 pic.twitter.com/DtBuuKgtZE
— Kaveh Akbar (@KavehAkbar) January 30, 2017
"In the caverns of its death / my country neither dies / nor recovers" - Abdullah Al-Baradoun. Yemen. https://t.co/wD0hNR3bDn
— Kaveh Akbar (@KavehAkbar) January 30, 2017
"We are the kings of the world: / Their homes are buried in bills and accounts / Our homes are buried in autumn" -Muhammad al-Maghut. Syria. pic.twitter.com/HZgobXj5BP
— Kaveh Akbar (@KavehAkbar) January 30, 2017
"i think i am a tough girl because i smoked / my first cigarette & don’t love my boyfriend" - Safia Elhillo. Sudan. https://t.co/Da3HaKm8gN pic.twitter.com/DsIG3J7OEs
— Kaveh Akbar (@KavehAkbar) January 30, 2017
"Then, bird songs were not ominous. / Danger did not orbit like a gang of gnats." - Ladan Osman. Somalia. https://t.co/vVyn6iL6CS pic.twitter.com/IaCyclbZ8Y
— Kaveh Akbar (@KavehAkbar) January 30, 2017
"Who are the real men? / No one knows" - Amal Al-Jubouri, translated by Rebecca Gayle Howell and Husam Qaisi. Iraq. pic.twitter.com/THAD2aePK7
— Kaveh Akbar (@KavehAkbar) January 30, 2017
"Clap with flowers in your hand for America, her wall" - Amal Al-Jubouri, translated by Rebecca Gayle Howell and Husam Qaisi. Iraq. pic.twitter.com/2hn9fkJcjJ
— Kaveh Akbar (@KavehAkbar) January 30, 2017
"I among fields of speech, / a knight on a horse made of dirt." - Adonis, translated by Khaled Mattawa. Syria. https://t.co/SPCBPu9YLz pic.twitter.com/cicehShubV
— Kaveh Akbar (@KavehAkbar) January 30, 2017
"He suffers pain / And the world becomes small for him." - Majid Naficy, translated by Majid Naficy and Harriet Tannenbaum. Iran. pic.twitter.com/sF65tUFiNF
— Kaveh Akbar (@KavehAkbar) January 30, 2017
"Seven girls inside a flute. The ghoul twirls and / twirls and eats one of the girls. / Six girls inside a flute." -Kamal Ben Hameda. Libya. pic.twitter.com/vCwM8kxAOc
— Kaveh Akbar (@KavehAkbar) January 30, 2017
"A graceful doe supports me in exile / And here in her bosom she’ll lodge me." - Shalom Shabazi. Yemen. https://t.co/vzyMFp4OPV pic.twitter.com/RxNveoeJPu
— Kaveh Akbar (@KavehAkbar) January 30, 2017
"Whoever lights up the past / sets the future ablaze" - Al-Saddiq Al-Raddi. Sudan. https://t.co/Bjhn2ofyJI pic.twitter.com/weCe2MxEbe
— Kaveh Akbar (@KavehAkbar) January 30, 2017
"no one puts their children in a boat / unless the water is safer than the land" - Warsan Shire. Somalia. https://t.co/PIawzfSgLe
— Kaveh Akbar (@KavehAkbar) January 30, 2017
"The creatures / are gentler there, / and the governments / have no secrets." - Dunya Mikhail. Iraq. https://t.co/DLNPgISEVc pic.twitter.com/v8dafn0Wk4
— Kaveh Akbar (@KavehAkbar) January 30, 2017
"When a man is in love / how can he use old words?" - Nizar Qabbani. Syria. https://t.co/hRNqglSIuT pic.twitter.com/pTcco9fBrR
— Kaveh Akbar (@KavehAkbar) January 30, 2017
"No, I haven't outgrown / my tongue. It's a coat / your mother gives you" - Khaled Mattawa. Libya. https://t.co/b7HssPBVtH pic.twitter.com/kpQvpHN7Gm
— Kaveh Akbar (@KavehAkbar) January 30, 2017
"The poet who was alone with his corpse / in a room full of his corpse..." - Shawqi Shafiq. Yemen. https://t.co/Z57PMl79BD pic.twitter.com/kye6aBD0Lm
— Kaveh Akbar (@KavehAkbar) January 30, 2017
"forgive me / i cannot teach you to say my name / i am from / anywhere halved by water" - Safia Elhillo. Sudan. https://t.co/eGs4jQtSWX pic.twitter.com/9DdsTCsomZ
— Kaveh Akbar (@KavehAkbar) January 30, 2017
"'Do you know me?' the old sadness asks. // She ignores it" - Ladan Osman. Somalia. pic.twitter.com/Oo9xMdlHuD
— Kaveh Akbar (@KavehAkbar) January 30, 2017
"We are the kings of the world: / Their homes are buried in bills and accounts / Our homes are buried in autumn" -Muhammad al-Maghut. Syria. pic.twitter.com/HZgobXj5BP
— Kaveh Akbar (@KavehAkbar) January 30, 2017
"We are the kings of the world: / Their homes are buried in bills and accounts / Our homes are buried in autumn" -Muhammad al-Maghut. Syria. pic.twitter.com/HZgobXj5BP
— Kaveh Akbar (@KavehAkbar) January 30, 2017
Okay, I think that's at least three from each country (plus more if you click thru the links). Thanks for reading along with me, friends.
— Kaveh Akbar (@KavehAkbar) January 30, 2017
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Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
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