Dear Great Britain,
Has it been nearly a decade
since I swapped my beautiful country
for your lovely streets;
left behind opportunities back home
to be transformed by you?
I came to you to be stretched,
to widen my horizon,
to be changed by your people,
but it was never easy
to leave everything familiar behind.
Don’t think we found happiness
because of your wealth and greatness.
It was in the giving of ourselves,
investing in your people and society,
that we became better-off.
It was you who taught us
that when you let go
of what is comfortable,
you are changed in the process
and gain so much in return.
Oh dear Great Britain,
don’t you realise
that protecting what is yours;
keeping things to yourself
will not make you any richer?
It is in the awkwardness,
in the letting go,
in the opening up,
in the giving out,
that you will find your blessings.
Tonight I am walking your streets with a heavy heart;
I worry about my future,
but even more about yours.
As I prepare myself
to give up my comfort once more
I see you holding on tightly to what is yours
and fear you might be losing out
more than you could ever imagine…
EU-Immigrant
—
by Mirjam Ngoy-Verhage
For my Dutch readers, you can listen to an interview with me on Dutch Radio about Brexit the day after the referendum results came out (see the right of this page: ‘Midden-Nederlandse Ngoy vanuit Engeland over de brexit’).
A Little Courage 