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Forced evictions of refugee camps are becoming all too common around the world. This particular incident describes a forced eviction of a Roma refugee camp on the outskirts of Rome. All refugees are welcome. All people fleeing persecution deserve our support and solidarity.

lyrics

THE EVICTION

First we hear the ominous rumble of bulldozers.
Then the telltale crunch of steel against wood.
Neighbours yelling, screaming.
Babies, children crying.
Orders barked through a megaphone.
‘Get out! Everyone out! Now!’
We stumble outside into the blinding glare of police flashlights.
In the chilly, damp, early morning blackness
we shiver and hold each other tightly.
A light drizzle is falling. Frightened shadows run everywhere.
My brother and sister are sobbing.
Sheer terror reigns
Here, on the outskirts of the city, in our refugee camp,
we once thought we were safe
Now officers yank people out of their huts, swear at them, push them,
jab them with clubs.
Bulldozers attack shacks with people still inside refusing to leave.
A merciless iron fist of destruction.

We run through the wreckage,
across muddy ground
crouching, turning, to avoid being snatched by the police.
Someone kicks me hard from behind.
I land on my hands and knees in the mud cursing.
A policeman clubs me on the shoulder. I scream.
He hisses: “Dirty gypsies! Filthy dogs! Get out!’


In the confusion and the dark, we scramble up
a rocky hill and half run, half walk away from the camp
our home for the past two months.
To think, 30 families lived here peacefully in 30 shacks bothering no one
We planted flowers and gardens
Now we flee with the clothes on our back
I’ve lost track of how many times
we’ve been forced to move from temporary camps like this one
since we fled our country and arrived here
We’d find a neglected piece of land.
On the edge of a dump
Where no respectful local would go
We’d scrounge the garbage for scrap wood, metal and junk
to build a small shelter.
Add a plastic sheet for a roof. Home.
No electricity, heating, plumbing or toilets. We use plastic bags.
Now we’re exhausted. Hungry. Unsure where to go.

We hope for shelter somewhere in the darkness ahead.
My people, the Roma, call these walks ‘death marches.’
Our elders say, in the past, the Germans used
gas chambers and ovens.
Today others use the cold, starvation and disease.
I call it ‘ethnic cleansing.’

credits

from DISPLACED​/​MISPLACED, track released February 14, 2017
Words, vocals, cello & violin: Norman Nawrocki.
Drums: Aidan Girt.

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Norman Nawrocki Montreal, Québec

Norman Nawrocki is a Canadian Polish/Ukrainian violinist & composer based in Montreal, Quebec. A veteran of the city’s underground music scene & also tours internationally. Since 1986, he's released 33 albums (solo & with his many bands like Rhythm Activism, DaZoque!, Bakunin’s Bum, SANN, Wild Plains, Crocodile!) & has 35 compilations. He's also an author & a playwright. ... more

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