Category: In Germany

My name is Marwa, I am 42 years old and come from Syria. I’ve lived in Germany for two years. My husband fled before me to Germany, I still lived in Aleppo when the war started. In Syria I managed a kindergarten, in the afternoon I taught English to adults and younger people. I studied English in my country. I never wanted to leave my homeland, we lived well in Syria, I always took care of myself.

Continue reading “I’m not a refugee, I’m Marwa”

My name is Ghait Al Theban, I am 23 years old and come from Syria. I was born in Damascus, everyone who has seen it once thinks it is beautiful. Damascus is a paradise for me, of course. I lived and studied there, my family and friends are there. I carry my home within me wherever I am. That I am Syrian fills me with great joy. We didn’t have much, we didn’t need that either. Money, cars, wealth, these things don’t make a home. Being at home, feeling at home, that’s home. In Germany I am a stranger, in my homeland everything was familiar to me. Living as a refugee in a foreign country or as a citizen in his country are two very different things. In my country, I know everything, every street, every place. I’m a stranger here. Syria is the most beautiful country in the world for me. Here I had to learn everything anew, it was difficult for me as a Syrian to arrive in a new culture. Continue reading “Fleeing death”

My name is Milad Georges, I am 27 years old and come from Syria. Before the war I went to university, I was in the third semester when the conflicts began and started to spread everywhere. I come from a city called Hassaka, in Hassaka live different peoples, a colorful place, almost like Cologne. Kurds, Arabs, Armenians, Assyrians, all nations lived together. A place of diversity.

We have not seen the kind of destruction that the people of Homs, Aleppo or Damascus have seen. In our town, conscription was a big problem. Every boy over 14 had to go to the military, carry a gun and kill without a specific target. I was still a student and very active in aid organisations. I didn’t want to be a soldier and kill people, neither for myself nor for my siblings. I didn’t want to kill someone I don’t know for a reason I don’t know. Continue reading “In search of a place of love”

My name is Majid, I am 23 years old and come from Qamishli, Syria. My village is located at the border between Syria and Iraq, many different peoples live there, with different languages. It is a beautiful village, people helped each other in difficult times. I was one of the Kurds in the village, our people suffered problems in the past, which still shapes us today. When the conflicts arrived in our village, we were afraid, afraid that the past would happen again. We had a good life, loved and respected each other. Continue reading “Velvet-soft thorns”