My life, my destiny
Has been so painful, so don’t call me refugee.
My heart aches, my eyes cry,
I beg of you, please don’t call me “refugee”. It feels like I don’t even exist in the world,
As if I’m a migrant bird far away from my land
Turning back to look at my village.
I beg of you, please don’t call me “refugee”.
Oh, the things I’ve seen during these painful years,
The most beautiful days I’ve seen in my land,
I’ve dreamed only about our house.
I beg of you, please don’t call me “refugee”.
The reason why I write these sad things
Is that living a meaningless life is like hell.
What I really want to say is:
I beg of you, please don’t call me “refugee”.
Lamiya Safarova (Baku, 1982 -)
Cover: Parker Ito, A Lil’ Taste of Cheeto in the Night, 2015, HD Video, 6.33 minutes. Image courtesy of the artist, Château Shatto and YARAT, where the artwork is on show until January 9, 2016 in the exhibition My Heart is a Lonely Hunter