Land of Immigrants

First-Person Tales of Living in America

Story and photography by Rachel Rinehart.

Published: Saturday, July 19, 2008

Bits of songs and broken drums
Are all he could recall
So he spoke to me
In a bastard tongue
Carried on the silence of the guns

"It's been a long long time
since they first came
And marched through our village
They taught U.S. to forget our past
And live the future in their image"

They said
'You should learn to speak a little bit of English
Maybe practise birth control
Keep away from controversial politics
So to save my third world soul

They said
'You should learn to speak a little bit of English
Don't be scared of a suit and tie.
Learn to walk in the dreams of the foreigner
-- I am a Third World Child

Johnny Clegg and Savuka’s "Third World Child"