It is estimated that there are about 119,700 asylum seekers in Greece at the moment. The restrictive conditions that these people live under, as well as the enormous problems they face, can sometimes lead to alcohol and drug abuse and addiction. In the camp where I live, a lot of young people are suffering. I watch them sinking deeper and deeper into a black hole. They look for ways to become invisible, they even try to hide from themselves, and this poem expresses their feelings very candidly.
When my pain nails me down
And the ropes you tied hold me tight
Nothing is bright, not a single light
is found in my dismal, scary night
This pain engulfs me high
There hasn’t been a light in my night
Inject me, make this pain sleep inside
Let my mind rest on this pillow
Wet with my tears, every night
Let me sleep day and night, without light
Inject more drugs, they kill my pain
Let them run in my veins, quiet me down
Don’t ask me to stay strong, under such pain
Turn off the artificial lights, don’t cheat me
Draw the curtains, the sun harms my eyes
Can’t find hope, neither here, nor there
I searched for it everywhere, but it is hidden
Call me…
Call me damaged, addicted, cursed
Don’t you know why it is so?
Call me prisoner, held in a self-constructed cage
Don’t you know why it is so?
Cry for me, pray for me …No!!
Stop mourning, I can still breathe
If you want me back, stand behind me
Give me back my name, my hopes
Those hopes can bring me back to life
Don’t avert your eyes, look at me!
I am that lulled mind in a young body
The ink of your pen smacks of our blood
When you sign the contracts, stamping our lives
Look at the blood streaming from your mouths
Admit your repeated promises were but lies
Shout it loud and clear, confess your past crimes
I’m feeling this pain, so deep
In my bones, in my skin, in my soul
The pain that wounds my heart
Uncertainty, inequality, injustice,
repression, suppression, humiliation
Your silence overwhelms me
My mind is crowded yet alert, intent
Against your heartless indifference
I will escape this addiction…
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