Ein Gedicht an den Westen

The "Poem for the West" has surfaced on Internet and the Media in Spring 2008, it has even been printed in prestigious newspapers, but nobody knows who wrote it. I can only say that it corresponds very well to the various opinions expressed by Chinese people about the West and Western media which I have heard during my stays in China.

 

There is also a PowerPoint version of the poem, which you can download for example at the following address: http://ishare.iask.sina.com.cn/f/12247073.html. If the link does not work, just look for "?????.pps" in any search engine.

 

Otto Kölbl

A Poem for the West 

Anonymous 

When We were called Sick man of Asia, We were called The Yellow Peril.

When We are billed to be the next Superpower, We are called The threat.

 

When We were closed our doors, You smuggled Drugs to Open Markets.

When We Embrace Freed Trade, You blame us for Taking away your jobs.

When We were falling apart, You marched in your troops and wanted your "fair share".

When We were putting the broken pieces together again, "Free Tibet" you screamed, "it was an invasion!"

So, We Tried Communism, You hated us for being Communists

When We embrace Capitalism, You hate us for being Capitalist.

When We have a Billion People, you said we were destroying the planet.

When We are tried limited our numbers, you said It was human rights abuse.

 

When We were Poor, You think we are dogs.

When We Loan you cash, You blame us for your debts.

When We build our industries, You called us Polluters.

When we sell you goods, You blame us for global warming.

When We buy oil, You called that exploitation and Genocide.

When You fight for oil, You called that Liberation.

When We were lost in Chaos and rampage, You wanted Rules of Law for us.

When We uphold law and order against Violence, You called that Violating Human Rights.

 

When We were silent, You said you want us to have Free Speech.

When We were silent no more, You say we were Brainwashed-Xenophobics.

Why do you hate us so much? We asked.

"No," You Answered, "We don't hate You."

We don't Hate You either,

But Do you understand us?

"Of course We do," You said,

"We have AFP, CNN and BBCs..."

What do you really want from us?

Think Hard first, then Answer...

Because you only get so many chances,

Enough is Enough, Enough Hypocrisy for this one world.

We want One World, One Dream, And Peace On Earth.

- This Big Blue Earth is Big Enough for all of Us.