The Question Beneath Our Skin

Whether it’s racism, Islamophobia, antisemitism, or anti-refugee hatred, the message is the same – ‘You don’t belong.’

Many of us know what it’s like to be judged for our colour, accent, headscarf, or history.

This poem is for those who carry the burden of proving their humanity in spaces where silence lets hate grow.

Afifa Khanam

They ask us where we’re really from—

As if our roots could not be home.

Our accents mark us, calm and clear,

A hint, we’ve journeyed far to here.

They smile too wide, they speak too loud,

Assume we’re lost inside the crowd.

They nod as if we’ve just begun

To speak in ways that count as “one.”

Our names are paused, then brushed aside,

As though they’re something wrong to hide.

We see the doubt beneath the cheer—

That quiet sense: you’re not from here.

The headlines shout, the labels sting,

They fear the strength our voices bring.

A scarf, a shade, a story told—

Becomes the threat that hate will hold.

We walk with grace, we hold our ground,

Yet still, suspicion wraps us round.

We smile, but carry deep within

The question pressed beneath our skin.

We learn to pause, we learn to bend,

To prove we’re more than means or trend.

But still we rise, with truth and will—

A quiet power, standing still.

So if you see us near, take care—

Our pride and pain walk everywhere.

No Other: Creating Schools Where Everyone Belongs includes nearly 50 different voices sharing their work around diversity, inclusion and belonging in schools and colleges across the UK and further afield.

It wil be published by Routledge as part of our new Independent Thinking Series later this year. [ITL]

Afifa Khanam