Berlin – Exile, Transit, Emergency Shelter
Chapters 7
On the Need to Shape the Arab Exile Body in Berlin
Journeys from the Abyss: Constructing the Migrant as Illegal
Urban Citizenship: A Right to the City?
From the 20th Century as ‘the Century of the nation-States’ to the 21st Century as ‘the Century of Cities’
Rethinking and Thinking Beyond Arendt: On the Lost Right to Have Rights
The Local Turn in the Migration Debate
Archive
“I was allowed to leave for the funeral of my aunt and decided not to return.”
Benno Simoni’s life in partitioned Berlin
Benno Simoni describes how he grew up and lived as a Jew in the GDR and – until the building of the Berlin Wall…
“For somebody without documents, the system is empty.”
The Berlin “OPlatz” movement
An interview with refugee activist Bashir Zakaria on Berlin Oranienplatz conducted in 2013, in which he tells the story of his flight and arrival…
“It has always been important for me to have a good knowledge of German history and politics.”
İsa Artar’s perspective on Berlin, German politics and history
Because of his political and journalistic activities, İsa Artar came under state pressure and police observation in Turkey. Before he was sentenced to a…
“These people want to silence me and that will not happen.”
Nazeeha Saeed about how her journalistic activism changed after coming to Europe
Nazeeha Saeed, a journalist from Bahrain who lives in Paris and Berlin in exile since 2016, speaks about her journalistic work in Bahrain and…
“Life taught me that everything will change – to the worse or to the better – but it will change.”
Nazeeha Saeed about her openness for changes and her visions
Nazeeha Saeed, a journalist from Bahrain who lives in Paris and Berlin in exile since 2016, speaks about her visions for the future: As…
“Through his name he becomes conspicuous.”
“Through his name he becomes conspicuous.”
Ilija Trojanow, who fled with his parents from Bulgaria to Germany in 1971 and whose life is marked by experiences of migration, deals in…
“What I want to forget becomes present, the past brings me back and my country pulls at me.”
The Syrian coast in the nose
Kefah Ali Deeb came to Berlin in 2014 and spent six years writing a taz column about her old home country Syria and her…
“What are you going to do next? Are you going to arrest me?”
Nazeeha Saeed’s persecution as a critical journalist in Bahrain
Nazeeha Saeed was harassed by state authorities because of her journalistic activities in Bahrain. In this excerpt she describes how she arrived at the…
“We do not give up hope and confidence so that we can continue to live.”
Good Morning, Berlin
Kefah Ali Deeb came to Berlin in 2014 and spent six years writing a taz column about her old home country Syria and her…
“I would describe myself as a strong person.”
Mahdi A. on Life Experience and Making Friends in Berlin
Mahdi A. talks in an interview about the initial difficulties in meeting his classmates in Berlin and how he dealt with the experience of…
“I have to list my curriculum vitae so that by the title ‘refugee’ I do not erase everything I have achieved.”
Alaa Muhrez: Refugee is Only a Word
On an unusually bright morning in Berlin I was sitting alone, sipping a cup of coffee and hesitating over a loud noise. This word…
“This asylum status was also important for me because I always felt a lack of identity.”
İsa Artar on the loss and reconstruction of his identity after flight
Because of his political and journalistic activities, İsa Artar came under state pressure and police observation in Turkey. Before he was sentenced to a…
“I never thought that there could be a lawsuit against me because of this news portal. But it happened.”
İsa Artar on his political and journalistic activism in Turkey
İsa Artar was politically active in Turkey, among other things with the Gezi protests and as editor-in-chief of a critical online platform. When, after…
“I no longer wait for anything in the future.”
“Home are memories”
In an interview, Widad Nabi describes what the words home and future mean to her.
“I don’t know how many governments became right-wing since I moved to Europe.”
Nazeeha Saeed’s worries about Europe’s shift to the right
Nazeeha Saeed, a journalist from Bahrain who lives in Paris and Berlin in exile since 2016, tells about her worries in face of Europe’s…
“I faced discrimination as a journalist and as a woman […] But it was natural for me.”
Nazeeha Saeed about discrimination against minorities in the Gulf and in Europe
Nazeeha Saeed, a journalist from Bahrain who lives in exile in Paris and Berlin since 2016, speaks about the discrimination against minorities and the…
“Nobody gives up their cities voluntarily, cities are robbed”
Seven Reasons to Fall in Love with Berlin
Literary “love letter” by Widad Nabi to Berlin
“My German teacher’s grandparents were Jews. She had this whole idea of escape, of how to live in a foreign country.”
Mahdi on Support
Mahdi, who decided to flee Iran at the age of fourteen and has been living in Berlin ever since, tells where and from whom…
“Berlin has open spaces.”
Berlin: It’s a Consolation
In an interview, the writer Widad Nabi speaks about what Berlin means to her.
“Stop stirring up hatred against refugees!”
Your reservations do not help me
Kefah Ali Deeb came to Berlin in 2014 and spent six years writing a taz column about her old home country Syria and her…
“He believed that he knew everything and that we were refugees who knew nothing.”
Alaa on the German job centre
Alaa Muhrez talks about her experiences in searching a job in Berlin.
“I have often been asked the question: ‘Yes, when everything is over, do you want to go back to Turkey and live there?'”
İsa Artar about subliminal prejudices
Because of his political and journalistic activities, İsa Artar came under state pressure and police observation in Turkey. Before he was sentenced to a…
“I don’t want to fit in any of these boxes.”
Nazeeha Saeed about the Attribution “Refugee,” “Asylum,” and “Exile”
Nazeeha Saeed, a journalist from Bahrain who lives in Paris and Berlin since 2016, talks about how she came to call herself a “journalist…
“I smelled the Euphrates while I was standing on the bridge near Potsdamer Platz. […] I was cut in half.”
On the Frontline: Walking While Cut in Half
In his poetic essay, Karam Alhamad describes his thoughts about belonging and feelings to Berlin. He feels as a Syrian in Berlin only in…
“There is life after the flight. But the flight acts upon
oneself for a lifetime.”
oneself for a lifetime.”
“There is life after the flight. But the flight acts upon oneself for a lifetime.”
Ilija Trojanow, who fled with his parents from Bulgaria to Germany in 1971 and whose life is marked by experiences of migration, deals in…
“Whether I can stay and how things will continue for me is completely open.”
Here in Berlin?
Somayeh Rasouli, who fled to Berlin from Afghanistan, reports on the difficulties that arise with “little prospect to remain” in building a new life…
“The refugees are guilty until proven innocent.”
Why ‘refugee’ makes me think of success. A commentary
Hussam Al Zaher, founder and editor-in-chief of kohero magazine, on public discourse around refugees in Germany, self-determination and external perceptions. The article was originally…
“Our neighborhood also held together. No matter what nationality.”
Selafet Hizarçi on family and neighborhood support structures
Selafet Hizarçi came to Germany from Turkey in 1969, where she immediatly began to work, learn the language and lateron started a family. Within…
“My German failed because of the ‘integration dilemma’: I had a job, but was missing from the language course”
Please explain to me what integration is
Kefah Ali Deeb came to Berlin in 2014 and spent six years writing a taz column about her old home country Syria and her…
“It’s great when we as refugees pass on even very small pieces of information and share this knowledge and thus help each other.”
New Friendships
Alaa Muhrez talks about the new friendships she has made in Berlin and about the potential as well as difficulty when it comes to…
“In a year’s time I might be a Berliner.”
Mahdi A. on Berlin
Mahdi A. describes his initial helplessness after his arrival in Berlin, what the city means to him now and his plans for the future.
My home – an unfulfilled dream
My home – an unfulfilled dream
Khatereh Rahmani describes her attempt, despite separation from her family and uncertainty about the future, to build her new life and everyday life in…
“All great things are made in Germany. That’s why we thought there would be perfect work here.”
Alaa on arriving in Berlin
Alaa Muhrez on the reasons for her flight from Syria and Egypt, the decision for Germany and what she learned to appreciate about Berlin.
“But I’m always afraid that something will happen to my mother and I can’t be there.”
İsa Artar’s trial in exile and the (in)possibility of return
Because of his political and journalistic activities, İsa Artar came under state pressure and police observation in Turkey. Before he was sentenced to a…
“This is Istanbul, but nicer.”
İsa Artar about Istanbul and Berlin
Because of his political and journalistic activities, İsa Artar came under state pressure and police observation in Turkey. Before he was sentenced to a…
“I don’t always like to play this role: The role of the victim”
Alaa Muhrez’s Experience of Discrimination in Working Life
First Alaa Muhrez and her husband moved to a village near Leipzig, then they moved to Berlin. Alaa describes experiences of discrimination that she…
“When I approached her, she said that the seat was hers because she was German.”
Selafet Hizarçi about experiences of discrimination
Selafet Hizarçi came to Germany from Turkey in 1969, where she immediately began to work, learn the language and started a family. As part…
“I erased my house from my memory and also removed all memories that stood in my way”
This is Berlin.
The expectations of refugees who come to Germany are high: they should integrate, learn the language, build a new life for themselves and at…
“The unfortunate is that when I came here, Corona came and I didn’t have a lot of chances to be a normal Berliner.”
Nazeeha Saeed about settling in in Paris and Berlin
Nazeeha Saeed was harassed by state authorities because of her journalistic activities in Bahrain. In this interview excerpt she speaks about how she settled…
“You had to make the decision: Either you live, so go on, or turn around and have a shitty life again.”
Mahdi’s Flight to Berlin
At the age of 14, Mahdi A. decided to leave Iran and flee to Europe. He tells why he decided to flee, about the…