Mumbo Jumbo

They came from the land of Jumbo,

Crossed the sea in their little boats,

Carried their wives and children here

In anything that would float,

They wanted the sort of freedoms we

Had always had for our own,

Would we be able to squeeze them in

And welcome them into our home?

 

They brought all their bags and baggage,

A thousand years of despair,

When life had been such a hardship

In the jungles of  - 'Out there!'

We offered the hand of friendship,

They took it, and came right in,

Along with their prophet Mumbo

Who they carried right under their skin!

 

They settled in little pockets,

They kept themselves to their own,

Objected to learning the language that

Was spoken in their new home,

The women were covered from head to foot

And walked three feet behind,

Freedom for them was just a word -

They could search, but couldn't find!

 

They brought their own witch doctors

And scorned the likes of ours,

They told them we were an evil race

With our wealth, beliefs and powers,

They prayed to the prophet Mumbo

Said his word should be the law,

Ignored the law of the nation that

Had welcomed them to its shore.

 

They hated our celebrations,

And tried to get us to stop,

And we, like the village idiots

Accepted the culture shock,

We tried so hard to please them,

That we lost what once we had,

The freedom to criticize them

Or their customs, good or bad.

 

Our laws have turned against us,

We tread on tippy-toe,

We might not like how it's going

But we wouldn't want them to know.

The tension here is building

As our freedoms run like sand,

In this land of Mumbo Jumbo,

We have got to make a stand!

 

David Lewis Paget

Reviews

[roarke]

There more in the title mumbo jumbo. Seems the planetary crust has shifted, yet though the continents have changed, the people haven't. Human's are an odd, dissatisfied species. I think in the end, whenever, however that shall be, those humans will probably end up where they started and get what they deserve.

[Desert Dreamer]

Interesting topic and well written poem. I have two main thoughts. One is that when people immigrate, they should learn the language and accept the new culture even while keeping some of their own (my ancestors did this)...otherwise the immigrants should have stayed where they were. I would be expected to follow their ways if I moved to their country and there is nothing wrong with that, I would do so. The second thought is that we benefit from immigrants, we learn new ways...I enjoy meeting people from other cultures. I do have a few muslim friends and they are the most kind and honest people I know, they don't have any hatred for the U.S., but I know others do. I greatly enjoyed this poem.

[Linda Marie Van Tassell]

Wow! This is important and very prevalent to what is happening both in Europe and the United States of America. Cultural diversity has been turned into cultural perversity. We are the ones who need training. We need to accept the massive immigration of those who do not arrive to assimilate but to change. Seriously! Why do you think the implementation of so-called cultural diversity training was started? While other nations protect their borders and have strict requirements about who may be allowed to enter, we are called racists if we dare to do the same.

I think it's shameful how our governments are changing the cultural demographics of our nations, while the people are supposed to sit idly by and accept it.

I have actually been in cultural diversity training where a white man pontificated about how offensivie the white man is to other races. When I dared to contradict his own statements, I was basically toldto either sit there and shut up or leave.

I bit my tongue for all of thirty seconds, stood up, turned around and faced a room of some 30 people and declared, "If you want to spend your days tiptoeing through life worrying about whether or not you are offending someone, you go right ahead. I'm not living my life that way," and I stormed out of the room. I then proceeded to write a three page letter to the top executives in my company specifically stating the offensive nature of the class and how they couldn't preach cultural diversity while telling one race they are offensive to everyone else and giving them no opportunity to speak different.

Sort of sounds like attempted forced submission (acceptance) don't you think?

Anyway, now that I've come down off my soapbox, great job! You certainly wrote a politically-laced poem just rife for sparking debate.

Love ya!

Linda Marie

P.S.: What's up with this stupid review screen? I get to a certain point and then it keeps toggling up and down so that I can't see what I'm typing.

[R J Askew]

Yes. We have it wrong. It is very hight minded to be tolerant and welcoming. But when those you welcome hate your ways, freedoms, attitudes, everything about you ... plot your downfall, conspire, strap explosives to themselves, get on your trains, travel into the midst of your capital city and then kill you ...

[Valentine]

This sounds like the U.S. and now with Haiti having that earthquake they are afraid many will try to flee in unsafe boats that are home made and not make it to safety..No food , no water, thousand dead, but when in another country..so many want what they had at home..Impossible drreams..You are a superb story teller mate..love to Lun..God bless..Kathie

[Norma J. Jessee]

A fascinating subject.
If we think of our country as our home and those who come into our country as visitors to our home, that scenerio itself should show what happens. Every home has its own unique way of doing things, their own rules, eating habits, sleeping habits etc. When someone comes into our home ( even if it is a relative ) it upsets the ballance and the home and if they try to change things the whole household is put into turmoil, the same thing with a country.
I won't go into all the possible outcomes or what ifs, This is a brilliant piece David.
Very thought provoking.

[Mark]

Pity we can't seem willing to find a happy medium, somewhere between,
"Assimilate! Become exactly like us!", and, "We hate everything about your culture, but you have jobs! Leave us alone!" I have read several editorials by your Prime Minister, decreeing, in essence, that if you hate everything about Australia so much, A., "Why'd you come here in the first place?" and B., "Where do you want to go; we won't stop you!" I hate to think what America would have been like without the thrifty Swedes, the engineering prowess of the Germans, and the hard-working Irish. While all nationalities carry their negatives right along with their positives, the trend lately is to import the entire oppressive nation into a less impoverished, less oppressive region of the world, and resenting the necessity of that bitterly. I can only say that if I went to live in a foreign nation, I would not for an instant expect the entire culture to stand on it's head to accomodate me, with polylingual signage and services. My gratitude to that nation for permitting me to enter would presuppose that I would strive to accomodate myself to their culture, WITHOUT, however, utterly sacrificing my identity; again, homogeneity is NOT required, but some measure of respect is! A most thought proviking work, David!

[Holly]

he he I couldn't help but grin as this poem seemed comical to me in it's honesty and reflection of our own situation. Now, down to the nitty gritty so to speak:

"That we lost what once we had," it only felt natural to read this as:

That we lost what we once had.
for it seemed better suited to the natural flow set by your poem. Next:

"The freedom to criticize them
Or their customs, good or bad."

From an objective stance as a reader, I found this stopped me up too. What if you tried:
The freedom to criticize,
Whether good or bad

[Ferg]

You speak the truth my friend. Insidiously they impinge upon our freedoms and soon threaten to remove them entirely through a subtle transformation of culture and religion.....well written.....a bit shorter than your usual.......and more a call to action than creepy as per usual :) Nicely done.

[emmajoy]

Hmmm a very difficult poem to accept at face value. I agree with much of what you say, visitors to our shore are apt to live in pockets but, sometimes for safety and the need to feel less alone in a new environment; many don't accept a country's culture or behaviour because their history, creed and such are so deeply rooted - as it should be, that they would be denying their existence.

To assimilate these pockets of visitors there has to be - surely, a welcome sign .. BUT with certain guidelines laid down as in say Australia .. current work prospects, housing and finances must be confirmed before someone is accepted.

There needs to be stricter but respectful controls. Surely we need to accept also that many visitors are willing to do jobs that many of our unemployed won't even contemplate such is their willigness to accept benefits!

Having read Social History at uni, I'm aware that certain countries would have lost out without their immigrant population .. eg. the British Underground railiway system and our hospitals in the 50s was manned by West Indians and would have collapsed without them. Plus, present curry houses are frequented more than our national fish and chip shops!

Oh dear.. I'm going on and on .. just trying to put in my two pennyworth to what is a wonderfully metered and thought-provoking write.