Analyzing Karen Press's 'Hope for Refugees' as Social Commentary

This essay looks at Karen Press's poem "Hope for Refugees". First, we'll define what a refugee is and talk about some current issues asylum-seekers face. After that, we'll explain what we mean by place, space, land, and landscape and use these ideas to dig into the poem. Finally, we'll analyze the poem as a social comment on the refugee issue.

The UN Refugee Agency says a refugee is 'someone who has been forced to flee his or her country because of persecution, war or violence.' [https://www.unrefugees.org/refugee-facts/what-is-a-refugee/]. A real-world example is South Americans trying to get into the USA. Over 20,000 migrants or refugees get kidnapped in NTCA countries. These folks can't go back to their countries because it's too violent. Plus, they can't find safety in the US because they'll get in trouble if they cross the border. America has a policy of separating refugee kids from their parents. (https://www.msf.org/mexico-unsafe-country-thousands-refugees-fleeing-violence-central-america). Zimbabweans are also leaving home because of their oppressive government and trying to get into South Africa. Those who enter illegally face xenophobia and hate. (Guadiana, 2016) [https://borgenproject.org/10-facts-about-zimbabwe-refugees/]

To get what the poem's saying about society, we need to define ‘place, space, land, and landscape’. 'Place is a meaningful site that combines location, locale, and a sense of place'. (book) Location is where the place is physically. Locale is 'the material setting for social relations', or how the place looks. Sense of place is 'the feelings and emotions a place evokes.' (book) Space is just an area where someone feels out of place. But, what starts as just space turns into a place when we give it value. (book) Land is an area within space. Land can turn from space into place when someone gives it a specific location, emotion, or memory. Landscape is an area with significance and identifiable characteristics. Land and landscape are tangible expressions of the abstract space and place. (book)

Using these ideas, we can analyze the poem. We see place and space in the poem with the words “you can go back” (poem). This line shows a place, the refugee's home. This is where their life started. The line says the refugee can go back to see the past and the bad things that happened. This line captures the idea of place. In the first line, it refers to space. But as the poem goes on, the space gains value and becomes a meaningful place for the refugees. It becomes a place because it's about going back to their roots. The author shows us what that place was and how it existed. “in your heart” and “in the child’s heart” (poem) are examples of place because they are familiar to the refugees. But their homes are changing from space to place and back again. What was once familiar is now strange, and they have to leave.

Talking more about space, look at the line “remember the step down in the dark, avoid the dark” (poem). This clearly refers to space. The dark is strange, scary, and foreign. These are all traits of space and show how the speaker feels weird in the 'dark'. The speaker is saying the 'dark' is a place to avoid, a space outside of our comfort zone. The word “avoid” is a warning. When you avoid something, you stay away. The speaker warns that it's an empty space without emotion. Once you enter that space, there's no hope. The speaker feels no connection to this 'dark'. The dark is the 'other', it's something not part of the speaker.

The word “yard” brings up the idea of land in the poem. But by itself, it’s a general description of a place in space. The yard isn’t tied to a specific place or dear to the speaker. A yard can be a prison yard or the yard behind a house. But the poem uses the words “front garden” (poem). This gives more detail to the place and moves it slightly out of space. It brings in the idea of landscape. Landscape is a specific area; a place that can be visualized with something personal and familiar.

From the start, the poem has no punctuation. For example, it doesn’t have commas or periods. This shows that the refugees' struggles are endless. It’s a never-ending fight without a break. Just like the poem has no commas for pauses, refugees don’t get a chance to stop and breathe. They are always on the run.

The lack of capital letters gives a sense of messiness and disorder. This matches the struggle of the refugees. Refugees aren’t worried about following rules. Often, a country’s border policies force refugees to enter illegally. Fleeing their home and entering new space is described as ‘messy’. Original plans rarely work out. The refugee is just trying to survive, and the lack of capitals makes the reader feel that urgency.

The poem starts with the idea of moving backward. It’s about going back and revisiting the past. In the second stanza, this idea of “going back” (poem) becomes more vivid and raw. “wipe off the blood” (poem) and “scrub off the blood” (poem) make this idea more real. The repetition plants a raw, real idea in the reader’s mind. It’s more real now that the person is facing their issues.

The idea of the future and hope comes later in the poem, “plant seeds” (poem). It’s about taking the past, understanding the horrors, and accepting it. Let what happened flow through you and not define you. “plant seeds” is about growth. It means growing from your past to build a better future and having children who live happy lives. The idea is emphasized by “lock the door” (poem). This means leaving the past behind and moving on.

“work hard and give thanks to god”. (poem) You, the refugee, are still here. God has a plan for you. And that plan is not to dwell on the past but to see this as a chance to grow and become who you were meant to be.