Caitlin Anderson from Monifieth High School

Міста більше не розмовляють ії мовою.
Далеко від дому вона чує лише свою
мову, вона більше не ходить на уроки
української, її єдиний варіант-французька
та іспанська .їй доводилося їхати два дні
на на машині щоб покинути рідну країну.
Але в цьому не було потреби, окрім
жадібності старого.І коли вона прибуває
на наші береги, немає гарантії
безпечного житла і навіть там, де є
допомога “помічники” Є її ворогами. А
ми сидимо тут, нас не турбують скоєні
звірства,
ми практично мовчимо, Росія чує лише
шепіт, нічого не зміниться і ми дозволено
цим монстрам красти невинні життя без
видимої причини. Вона не може битися з
армією сама ,але разом ми можемо,
тож ми стоїмо поруч та кричимо: Слава
Україні.

 

ENGLISH TRANSLATION

Cities no longer speak her language,
She hears only hers away from home.
She no longer goes to her Ukrainian classes,
Her only options are French and Spanish.
She has to travel two days by car,
To leave her own country
Yet there is no need for this,
Other than an old man’s greed.

And when she arrives on our shores,
There is no guarantee of safe housing.
And even back where help is there ‘helpers’ are her
enemies.

And we sit here,
unbothered by the atrocities committed
We are practically silent,
Russia can hear but a whisper.
Nothing will change and we’ll let these monsters
continue,
To steal innocent lives,
For no apparent reason.

She can’t fight an army on her own,
But together we can.
So, we stand next to each other and shout: Glory To
Ukraine

More about this poem

Mother Tongue Other Tongue is a celebration of poetry written by young people in the languages they speak as a first language or at ...

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About Caitlin Anderson from Monifieth High School

This poem is about my good friend Veronika. She came to Scotland just before the summer holidays. I hadn’t really enjoyed learning languages up until then, but I knew if I were to make moving to Scotland a bit easier for Veronika, I needed to make the effort. I have now been doing frequent practice since the start of the new school year, so when this competition came up, I knew this would be a good time to not only bond better with Veronika, but to also use my Ukrainian knowledge. When I told her about this competition, she was excited and willing to help me not only submit my poem, but to learn more about her experiences and culture. I had never really asked her about her experience with leaving her country until I heard about this competition.

We had decided that I would interview her before I would write the poem and what she had told me angered me beyond anything I could ever imagine. These following facts are referenced in the poem:
*When she was leaving, instead of getting a bus, everyone had to rent a car themselves as the army was preventing even buses from entering her area. After two days in the car she finally got to safety, although it was an hour wait at the border to get into Poland. At present, for people trying to leave Ukraine, it is now over a two week wait.
*She explained her friend in Glasgow had been put in a flat which was in unliveable conditions, unsafe and dirty. Scotland is supposed to be a safe place for Ukrainian refugees.
*She explained that back home, where her dad is in Ukraine, volunteers who are supposed to be helping and giving supplies, are taking the donations for themselves.

I put this poem together to spread awareness about these atrocities, and also to show what an amazing, inspirational and brave girl Veronika really is.

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