When the thunder clattered and the rain lashed the ground, the power went off and SOAS library’s computer network ceased to function. There was no rain in Tanzania, the power went off, but it was more than the computers that suffered. Michael Franti of Spearhead fame, the hiphopster on a mission of musical literation, would …
Tim. This is Mimi. Um. I came across a quote today that I think, I think you should hear. And the quote is, “In a world of comparisons and conformity, make your own statements, honour your own truths, have the courage to be yourself, risk speaking your own thoughts and claiming your own emotions. Share …
There were lines in the palms of my hands. I have to be careful from now on; in what I do, I mean. People want to find out what’s inside my head, but I never find out what’s in theirs. I’ve made mistakes telling people things that are too private, too personal. Things I shouldn’t …
If you’re with your other friends, Will you deny my existence? If the time is right, Will you laugh at me? If the pressure is on, Will you reject me? If the sky is blue, Is the sea blue too? If you want power, Will you reach out to me? If you’re feeling vulnerable, Will …
What if I wanted my life to be private? Would you let me be silent? Would you let me hide away and stay away? On days when I do not want the world to see me, I wear a black hat to hide my head and my long coat. I know that it does not …
I wanted to hide away And be anonymous. I wanted to hide away: Delete my face. I wanted to be hidden, I wanted a private world, I wanted to be in my world. I wanted to hide away. I wore a black hat, Though the sun was hot, For it covered my head And I …
Two years ago, I sat in a concert hall in Grenay, northern France, while the mayor of the town used our performance as a backdrop for his political speech. According to him, our orchestra was ‘a fine example of how the youth of today were the people who would break down barriers and share their …
I read the graffiti on the wall. In big, bold letters, scrawled a foot high, it said “APNI MARZI KARDHI!” I didn’t understand. Next to it, written in white correction fluid, the words, “THE POOR CAN TAKE NO MORE: RESIGN”. My conscience was jolted and I took a pen from my pocket and wrote, “The …
It is when you feel down that you really realise that the friends you have are worth more than anyone else in the world. It should be obvious that the friends you have are worth more than the ones you don’t. I was so, so down one evening; I had hurt someone in a desperate …
I don’t deserve you, but I want you. I’ve done nothing for you, but I want you. I’ve done nothing for the world, But I want the world. I’ve taken all my life and I’ve never given back. I don’t deserve you, but I want you. I’ve had everything I wanted And I threw most …
I wanted to hate her because she made me feel like nothing. I wanted to make her feel small because she made me feel small. I wanted to hurt her because she hurt me. I thought of a hundred ways to hate. Now I am reduced to a mad, psychotic idiot, crying, lying down in …
The war was over, but the scars remained. Pushed together, the people lived in compounds scattered across the vast landscape. It was better like this; not much better, but better than the urban squalor that faced the returning refugees. The compounds were a sanctory from the ever threatening outside world: The minefield hell holes. The …
I offend my friends in what I say I offend my friends in what I write But they never tell me, But I know. I offend them because I write too much I offend them because I pour my anger out I write everything down Like the Blues Only it’s more like purple, Because my …
I am not one of you because I cannot find my feet. I want to stand proud, but I’m too quick to admit defeat. I want to be just like you; you’re so self-assured, Thinking about my own life, I can tell you, I just get bored. I hate my selfish, self-centred ways. I hate …
I looked him in the eye and he said no. Good. I needed that. I asked him why and he just smiled and winked his eye. That wasn’t an answer. I wanted an answer, not a smile and a wink. I turned around and saw a hole in reality. A huge gap. A gap where …
