Nine years ago, sophomore Luna Tarakji immigrated to the U.S. fleeing the Syrian War on the night that President Donald Trump was elected. After extensive vetting and six interviews in the U.S. Embassy, her family was approved to stay in the U.S. as refugees.
Now, she stands on a podium facing nearly 400 people, reading a poem titled “From Refugee to Citizen” narrating her experiences.
On March 9, also marking International Women’s Day, the Morristown Rally for Our Rights welcomed advocates from across New Jersey to protest policies implemented by the Trump administration.
While Luna has participated in protests before, this was her first time speaking at one. She was invited to present her poem by the Refugee Assistance Morris Partners (RAMP), a volunteer organization that helped her family adjust and transition after immigrating.
“Being in the crowd, yes, you do have your sign, you do have that kind of voice, but speaking to a crowd, you have a different voice,” she said. “You have the same power to make a change. But you’re actually elaborating on that, and you give a point.”
“I’m finally in a group of people who know what I’m talking about. It’s not me being the only one in the crowd. They know the struggle. They know what’s going on in this country, and they understand how hard it is.”
Her poem, written within a week, reflects Luna’s experiences in Syria during the war, followed by Turkey, where she felt persecuted and unwelcome, and eventually the U.S., where she has found safety and freedom. The poem narrates her journey, addressing the horrors her family encountered and raising awareness about her refugee experience.
“I just wanted to be sincere and put my heart out there and [convey] the things I’ve been going through, so I put all of that and mushed it into a poem. I just wanted people to know the truth,” she said.
“Some things aren’t always told in refugee stories, or they’re not conveyed correctly. So I just wanted to put my experience out there, and I think it resonates with a lot of people that I did read it to.”
Below is Luna’s poem, “From Refugee to Citizen”:
I am
From Syria, a Middle Eastern Muslim country,
ruled for decades by a dictator with a closed mind
My birth country,full of hijabis, extended family close by, my first home
Where parents struggled to keep their children alive
No opportunity in a world of beige and gray smoke
Teachers in Turkey, who ignored students from Syria,
my mind stunted in a classroom full of words I did not understand
A seven year old, with a passion to learn,
deprived of the outside world
I am now
In a first world democratic nation,
learning the American culture,
while trying to share mine in the midst ofislamophobia
In schools with teachers happy to challenge and inspire me
A seventeen year old with high honors
Yet still a stranger trying to reach out,
one of only five hijabis in a sea of 1,100 high school students
Guided by a mentor who opens doors of unknown possibilities
An abundance of new experiences,
a world full of brilliant hopeful colors
As a United States Citizen, I now have rights,
to be educated,
to practice my religion freely,
and in a few years to vote.
I am safe
I am grateful
I am full of dreams