Take Me Home took me back to interviews from my first masters degree when I was researching how migrant women used food to transition to a new country. The women I spoke with recounted incredible journeys of strength and perseverance as they uprooted their families to come to Canada for education, and “better opportunities”. We shared moments of joy, laughter, and sorrow.

One story that really stuck with me was when one woman, Helen, described her experience in her first job in Canada at a Tim Horton’s.

Here is the extended clip of the interview used on the I’m Who I Am album:


All the women were highly educated in their home countries and their education and professional credentials were not recognized in Canada. They all shared discrimination they faced in this country.

* Sourced from Abdel-Malek Neil, M. (2017). Affective migration: Using a visceral approach to access emotion and affect of Egyptian migrant women settling in the Region of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, Emotion, Space and Society, 25: 37-43, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emospa.2017.10.005.

Lyrics

I have come here alone
Left all that I’ve known
Seeking a better life
Despite hardship and strife
Reaching for the sky
Under watchful eyes

CHORUS:

When will this be home x 4
You haven’t walked in my shoes
Don’t judge me, I won’t judge you
Are you so different from me?
Really different from me?

Value not recognized
Scrapping to get by
Called “fresh off the boat”
Insults challenge hope
Is it my skin or hair?
Or what I choose to wear?

CHORUS

What makes you think you are better than me? 
You choose to exclude based on what you can see 
Aren’t we all part of one human race?
Let’s get together with compassion and grace

REPRISED CHORUS:

Will you take me home? x4
You haven’t walked in my shoes
Don’t judge me, I won’t judge you
Are you so different from me?
Really different from me?

Lyrics By: Mary Abdel-Malek Neil
Music By: Mary Abdel-Malek Neil and Len McCarthy
Performers: Mary Abdel-Malek Neil (vocals), Len McCarthy (piano)
Co-Produced By: Jeff Cowell, Mary Abdel-Malek Neil

*Photo credit: Katie Moum from Unsplash.com

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