Real Pain

We are the world we are the activists.We are Poets, Models and Painters. We use this blogg solely for   Exhibition purposes organized by Mobile Museum and participated by three Somalis namely: Ifrah Ahmed, a Model in Ireland, a Medical Doctor and a painter in the USA, Dr. Mohamed Osman Buwe and a writer and poet in Sweden, Abdi-Noor Mohamed. We are intending to post 20 fgm poems, 20 fgm paintings and 30 FGM Fashion Show Photos. This the first posting

FGM POEM FROM SOMALIA

By Abdi-Noor H. Mohamed 

Birth of a baby must be a blessed event 

But mine was nothing short of a curse

Daddy's face didn't shine. Drums didn't make noise 

No shots were fired. No ceremony was held 

The new born was me. I am a girl 

In my culture, gender counts most. 

A girl is not as welcome as a baby boy 

Raising camel in the rangeland 

Is family's highest priority 

They believe a girl has no hands for that 

Harsh combat against the enemies

Is family's highest priority 

They believe a girl has no heart for that

Reconciliation in the aftermath of a clash 

Is family's highest priority 

They believe a girl has no head for that 

At five I had to face the worst 

A knife cut across my genitals 

A midwife circumcised me 

Stitched me. Infibulated me 

Where I used to have a clitoris 

I have a black scar now 

Why inflict me with this pain? 

This real pain of primitive cultures

In tears I am, at every stage of my life 

Mom and Dad, am I not a daughter?

Dear Brother, am I not a sister? 

Dear mankind, wherever you are 

Am I not a human being? 

Tears, Tears, Tears