‘Refugees’

All about ‘Refugees’

Brian Bilston is a British poet who has become known as ‘the Poet Laureate of Twitter’. He tweets his humorous and topical poetry to his followers. Brian Bilston is an alias; the real identity of the poet remains a mystery. When Brian Bilston tweeted his poem ‘Refugees’, it was retweeted tens of thousands of times and reprinted in newspapers and magazines all over the world. This poem is a palindrome poem: a poem that can be read both forwards and backwards. ‘Refugees’ by Brain Bilston They have no need of our help So do not tell me These haggard faces could belong to you or me Should life have dealt a different hand We need to see them for who they really are Chancers and scroungers Layabouts and loungers With bombs up their sleeves Cut-throats and thieves They are not Welcome here We should make them Go back to where they came from They cannot Share our food Share our homes Share our countries Instead let us Build a wall to keep them out It is not okay to say These are people just like us A place should only belong to those who are born there Do not be so stupid to think that The world can be looked at another way (now read from bottom to top) ©The Educational Company of Ireland

READING

ACT IVITY

1 In one sentence, summarise the poem read forwards. Then summarise the poem read backwards in another sentence. 2 Practise your annotation skills in your activity book (see page 28), using the prompt boxes to guide you. 3 What is the difference between the speaker of the poem read fowards and the speaker of the poem read backwards? 4 How did you feel at the end of the poem read forwards and at the end of the poem read backwards? 5 What do you think the poet is trying to teach us by structuring the poem as a palindrome? 6 What do you notice about this poem’s rhythm and rhyme? 7 The poet uses a variety of stereotypical slang words in the poem. List these words. Why do you think the poet chose to use these informal slang words? 8 List all the adjectives used to describe the refugees. What picture does this list of adjectives paint? 9 Choose a line in the poem and upgrade one of the words. Rewrite the line of the poem using your new word. Explain why you think it is a better choice of word. 10 Does this poem link to any other text you have studied? (It could link because of the theme, subject, tone, language used or for any other reason.) WRITING Often when refugees leave their homes, they can only bring what they can carry in a backpack. Imagine you have to leave your home and have packed a bag. Write a paragraph where you describe what you have packed in your bag and explain why you have included these items. Writing Tips Think about what you would need if you were going to travel thousands of miles, through dangerous territories. What might be important to bring and what might not be important? You could start your paragraph with the sentence: ‘Today, I packed my bag and left my home’.©The Educational Company of Ireland