Where are the children

Of Papua, New Guinea?

It was a holiday

The children home to play

We had our evening meal

And then it came

We heard the tremble in the jungle

At first it sounded like an airplane

Just like the hum of an airplane

And then it came

A 23-foot wall of water

Washed away my son and daughter

But what about me?

Why not me?

They said be grateful for small mercies

Bur can you tell me where’s the mercy

I lost my father and my mother

Buried my sister and my own brother

And now they’re burning down my village

Cause there’s just too many bodies

And they say the schools won’t open

Cause we lost so many children

Why not me?

Where are the children

Of Papua, New Guinea?

I was a fisherman

I had a simple life

It was a paradise

Until it came

A 23-foot wall of water

Washed away our sons and daughters

What about me, why not me?

where are the children

I can’t live without the children

Maybe they’re swimming in the ocean

Maybe they found another island

Maybe they’re walking on the water

Maybe they’re playing with the dolphins

Why not me?

Where are the children

Of Papua, of Bosnia

Nicaragua, America?

A town’s no good without the children Karen Brooks (c) 1998