I stand, full of pride and confidence, among the symbols of purity and love in my wounded homeland…
Oh, how pure they are. How humble and silent. Their kindness can melt mountains. Their beauty knows no bounds.
They are the ones who give us dignified life with strength—a life free from disease, a life cleansed of all pollution.
They are the creators of beauty, the builders of the nation, partners in development, and pillars of progress and civilization.
With their fragile bodies, they heal heaps of ignorance between houses. With their noble arms, they demolish the piles of wrongdoing from the eyes of the people.
They eagerly collect the remains of backwardness from alleys and streets, tirelessly picking up the waste of fools every single day.
Every day, ignorance is renewed. Every day, neglect continues. And every day, they rescue our streets from filth and danger.
With great honor, they collect dirt. With their bare hands, they gather the trash. Their hands are torn by shards of a juice bottle discarded carelessly by some fool.
Their wounds burn like their hearts. In summer, the sun strikes them without mercy. In winter, they freeze from the cold.
Syringes filled with disease, spoiled food, shattered glass, and sharp hazardous tools—all piled up in torn bags—
Their duty is to remove all of it far from residential areas, without any real protective gear.
They may be hurt by the sight of others in clean clothes, or by the pitiful glances, the hurtful words, the painful behavior.
They work in silence, pulling their carts—sometimes with horses, sometimes with donkeys—quietly carrying all the refuse,
While they themselves carry the burdens of years, the fear of the unknown, and the hardships of life on their backs.
Shouldn’t we love and respect them as they deserve?
They are our sons, our brothers, the finest among us. Without them, we would live in hell.
They deserve all our love, appreciation, and respect.
And may God bless their chaste hands—hands that refused theft and looting and instead chose to collect waste with dignity.
