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5 million screams falling on deaf ears Fatherless children fathered by foreign soldiers Homes with no husbands Husbands with no honor Rape as a tool for much more than power Pregnant women’s legs spread Aborted by their own community Thus another rape committed Another violation unforgiven Another lifeless life lived by abandoned women But on behalf of men worldwide I ask you to stand with pride Because your screams were never silent We were never compliant in these acts so violent Across oceans we cried for you when you ran out of tears Incapable of international intervention to assuage your fears Your stories became our poems Your horrors inhabited our homes But now you must hear that we are here for you I implore you to forgive the world for having ignored you As they raped you they said “today you will have husbands …” But as we embrace you I say “today you will have brothers” For all of my Congolese sisters, daughters, and mothers Your perseverance is appreciated Your persistence respected Though human interest has depreciated I’ll ensure you’re no longer neglected Let the world be your pillow to comfort your despair And let the love of this one man show you that men do care
Africa, my Africa Africa of proud warriors in ancestral savannahs Africa of whom my grandmother sings On the banks of the distant river I have never known you But your blood flows in my veins Your beautiful black blood that irrigates the fields The blood of your sweat The sweat of your work The work of your slavery Africa, tell me Africa Is this you, this back that is bent This back that breaks Under the weight of humiliation This back trembling with red scars And saying yes to the whip under the midday sun But a grave voice answers me Impetuous child that tree, young and strong That tree over there Splendidly alone amidst white and faded flowers That is your Africa springing up anew Springing up patiently, obstinately Whose fruit bit by bit acquires The bitter taste of liberty.
