They took away my land, I said:

Thank you for building the railroad.

They took away my wealth, I said:

Thank you for giving me loans.

They took away my language, I said:

Thank you for teaching me to speak.

They took away my traditions, I said:

Thank you for giving me culture.

They took away my wisdom, I said:

Thank you for building us schools.

They took away my values, I said:

Thank you for making me civilised.

They took away my honour, I said:

Thank you for being so kind.

They took away my people, I said:

Thank you for giving us jobs.

They took away my life, I said:

Thank you, you have saved my life.

Ahmar Mahboob is a Linguist. Currently, he is Associate Professor at the Department of Linguistics at the University of Sydney.