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Topic | Warsan Shire

Home Quotations

1. “No one leaves home unless home is the mouth of a shark.”

Explanation: It means people never leave home unless it becomes deadly and full of danger.

It speaks for all refugees in the world who are forced to escape.

2. “You only leave home when home won’t let you stay.”
Explanation: This line shows that people do not choose to leave. They are pushed out by war, violence, or fear. It reminds the world that migration is not a choice but a need.
3. “No one puts their children in a boat unless the water is safer than the land.”
Explanation: This line expresses a parent’s deep love and pain. It shows that parents risk their children’s lives only when land becomes more dangerous than the sea. It is a universal message about sorrow and protection.
4. “I am unwelcome. / My beauty is not beauty here.”
Explanation: These lines show rejection and identity crisis. The speaker feels unwanted in a foreign land. It is a global experience for migrants facing racism and discrimination.
5. “I am the sin of memory and the absence of memory.”
Explanation: This line shows the pain of remembering and forgetting at the same time. It means the past hurts, but losing it hurts too. It reflects the emotional struggle of refugees everywhere.

 

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Warsan Shire
Literary Writer
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