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By Abeer Sikder, Class of 2014
On the night of January 23, the Center for Asian Democracy at the University of Louisville hosted Harry Wu as their annual speaker. I had the great fortune of hearing his sad and moving words about all the suffering he went through and his current human rights campaign. His speech motivated me to write a poem for him, and for all the people who have suffered and are still suffering around the world.
Laogai
“Reform through labor” – that’s what they call it
But the inhabitants there know its true name.
Chained and suffering in this blackened pit
A lifetime of death, torture, and pain.
They gave us flowers for the revolution
So a new socialist garden could bloom.
But it grew into a vast human contusion
Nothing but lies, sentenced with doom.
Now, barely anyone knows the truth
We cover our eyes with opaque veils.
Intentionally blind to the global abuse,
We waste our time on pointless trails.
He says he is no hero, just a survivor
Victim to a history of violence unsoothed.
The past is over and the present is brighter
Let’s pray for a future without forgotten truth.
Abeer Sikder is a junior McConnell Scholar at the University of Louisville. He is studying economics and political science.