Amharic script
የሃገር ውስጥ ኑሮ አልሞላ ሲለን
ሰርተን እንድንኖር ተሰደን መጣን
እንጀራ ፍለጋ ከሃገር ከወገን በግድ ተለይተን
አይናችን ባዘነ የሃገር ሰው ፍለጋ
ይሆን መስሎን ነበር ሁሉም አልጋ ባልጋ
እጃችንን ሰጠን ማረፊያ ሰጡን
ጠበቃ ፍለጋ እላይ እታች ደከምን
ስንጠብቅ ውጤቱን በጭንቅ ሰቀቀን
ያደለው ያገኛል ያጣ እድሉን
ድጋሚ ይጠይቃል ፍሬሽ አፒሉን
ልመለስ ልቅር ብሎ ያስብና
ባዶ እጅ መመለስ ሆኖበት ፈተና
የሰው ፊት ማየት አንገት ያስደፋል
ቆይ ዛሬ ቆይ ነገ ትንሽ ልቆይ ሲል
እንደወጡ መቅረት ምን ይዤ? እያልን
ዓመታት ያልፋሉ በጭንቅ በሃዘን
ባለ ብዙ እቅድ አላማያለው
ያልፍልኛል ብሎ ካገር የወጣው
ብዙ በመድከም ተቋቋምን ያሉት
ያስቀመጡት ገንዘብ ምንም ሳይበሉት
ስንት ሰው ረገፈ በመሰቃየት
ሰርቼ እኖራለሁ ብለው አልመው
እቅዱ ሁሉ ቀርቶ ሞት ቀደማቸው
በጥሞና ሆነን ብናሰላስል
ክፉ ይሁን ደግ በአገር ይሻላል
Transliteration
yehager wust nuro almola seelen
seriten inidininor teseden met’an
inijera filega kehager kewegeni yegidi teleyiten
ayinachin bazene yehager sew filega
yihon mesilon neber hulum alga balga
ijachinini set’en marefīya set’un
t’ebek’a filega ilay itach dekemin
sinit’ebik wut’etun bech’ink sek’ek’eni
yadelew yagenyal yat’a idilun
digami yit’eyik’al fresh apealuni
limeles lik’ir bilo yasibina
bado iji memeles honobet fetena
yesewi feet mayet aniget yasidefal
k’oy zarey k’oy nege tinish lik’oy seel
inidewet’u mek’ret min yizhe? iyalin
ametati yalifalu bech’ink behazen
bale bizu ik’id alama yalew
yalifilinyal bilo kager yewet’aw
bizu bemedikem tek’wak’wamin yalut
yask’emet’ut genzeb minim sayibelut
sinit sew regefe bemesek’ayet
seriche inoralehu bilew alimew
ik’idu hulu k’erito mot k’edemachew
bet’imona honen binaselasili
kifu yihun deg bager yishalal
Extended English translation
Living in our homeland was no longer possible
So we fled for somewhere to live and work, blind to all the trouble
separated from our kin and land,
We fled seeking bread
Barren quests for kinfolk in foreign lands, saddened our eyes
We naively hoped it would be an easy ride
We claimed asylum they provided accommodation
Drained in search for a solicitor to assist with our applications
With much mental disruption
We waited for an asylum decision
Lucky ones get granted refugee identifications
The unlucky must start fresh applications
Should I stay, or should I return? Split between the lesser of two evils
The temptation to return empty-handed was horrible
The yoke of misery and the dependence on others bowed our necks and crushed our souls
Wait today, as I will be a little better tomorrow, we liked to imagine
But years pass by sadly in depression
With no profit to show for time fleeting by in suffering
With many dreams and aspiration, we left our dear country
Meanwhile, the evil oppressors who forced us into this condition
Boast of false efforts and amass wealth in an unfair proportion
But unhappily, they too die without relishing this
It is sad how many have been killed in torments like this
And if finally allowed to work we rekindle our dreams of ‘living.’
But with none of our many plans accomplished death catches up to us too soon
Sometimes when I contemplate what all of this is worth
I dare to sometimes say maybe it is better to die in one’s own land of birth
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