Zita Gloria INEZA TETA, Grade 12
UWCEA Moshi

Buried deep down in doubt,
Hidden under the names on our graves,
Silenced underwater, we can’t breathe,
Sent home to do daily chores,
We still shine through, we rise!

Taken away from our rights,
Undermined, enslaved in these chains-
Our mouths are shut, shut dead
Shut dead to rot deep down
With no say on the judgement
But we shine bright like we rise from the dead

We shine, we rise, we conquer
We conquer with babies in our right hand
Saucepans in our left
Jerrycans on our heads
We still rise, we rise with pride

We rise through blood, sweat and tears,
We conquer with no say on our education 
We shine with broken hearts, broken bones
Bleeding skin, all white and confident 
We shine over every obstacle, like fighters

We fight for every opportunity, 
We fight for school, fight for STEM
Fight for everything that belongs to us
We fight for job positions, we fight…
But we still conquer and shine, like Christ 

With broken ribs, holes in our legs, 
Crashed palms, thorns on our heads,
We rise in a repressing society
Stereotypes written on our foreheads 
The sentence of death right over us
We rise, like queens with crowns 
Wrapped in white clothes like Lazarus

We rise with fewer salaries for the same jobs
Fewer liberties, multiple sacrifices 
We rise through sexual harassment at work
We conquer, even with the education system 
We still shine through, we rise!

We take our lives in our own hands
We innovate, we integrate
We do well in society that judges us
Twice better than men
We rise, and eat them like air

We don’t complain
Even when it’s twice as hard
Fighting with those who already judge us
They judge our abilities 
But we still conquer with pride!

We rise like Lazarus
We rise like jesus
With new perspectives
New objectives, new dreams
Straight from the dead, we rise!