Girmitiyas

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They traveled far,

Over vast oceans

Nestled at the bottom belly

Of oversized ships in undersized cavities

They were the first

To settle on foreign lands

With golden sands

On lush plantations

Promises of wealth

Promises of freedom

Promises of a free man

From coolie belles

To girmits

Our ancestors bore the names

And the fate

We today could not fathom

Where we stand today

Is an ode to them

Je'nae Singh

Je'nae is a recent graduate from San Francisco State University where she wrote for her school's newspaper. After, she spent some time in video games journalism before turning to freelance writing.