Identity: Now, are you German or Turkish?

When I was little, people used to ask me the whole time, whether I felt more German or Turkish. Back then I didn’t know what to answer, because I neither felt 100% German nor Turkish. This question has accompanied me throughout my whole life and became part of me. 

There are a lot of reasons why I feel German and Turkish. One of the reasons is that I was born and raised in Germany, went from kinder to middle school in Germany, that’s why I also had German friends and acquaintances. Now, on the other hand, my parents are Turkish. Not only do I look Turkish, but I am also raised Turkish, my family is Turkish and so my two first languages are German and Turkish. 

Now to the question of why I lived in Germany. My grandparents migrated to Germany in the seventies for better job opportunities and a better life. Germany was then looking for skilled workers in foreign countries. That’s why many Turkish families moved to and feel at home in Germany.

And to our question: Do I feel German or Turkish? Both! I feel the “German discipline” and the “Turkish humor” in me, I prefer the German quality but the Turkish diversity. I think Turkish and act German, I love German food and the Turkish kitchen. 

Never forget, growing up in two cultures is not a disadvantage, but an enrichment and big bonus.

Skypeinterview mit Hamed (Namen geändert)

Hamed ist ein Geflüchteter der mit seiner ganzen Familie, seinen Eltern, zwei Brüdern und zwei Schwestern von Afghanistan bis nach Deutschland geflohen ist. Der 16-jährige Junge war 21 Tage durch den Iran, die Türkei, Griechenland, Mazedonien, Serbien, Slowakei und Österreich unterwegs. 

Hamed fand es sehr schwer sein Haus zu verlassen und würde trotzdem nur dorthin zurückgehen, wenn der Krieg beendet sein würde. 

Jedes Mitglied seiner Familie konnte für die Flucht nur einen Rucksack mitnehmen und darin fanden nur der Pass, Papiere und andere kleine Sachen Platz. In Griechenland ging alles verloren.

Am Anfang fand Hamed es richtig schwer, sich in Deutschland zu adaptieren, denn er konnte kein Deutsch sprechen und deswegen konnte er weder lesen noch schreiben, außerdem konnte er keine Freunde finden. 

Von der Schule hat er Nachhilfe bekommen und alle waren nett zu ihm, deshalb hat er heute viele Freunde und sogar eine Freundin. Er wohnt mit seiner Familie in Deutschland und verbringt Zeit mit afghanischen Leuten. Das Essen hat er nicht so gern und deshalb isst er nur afghanisches Essen, das seine Mutter kocht. In seiner Freizeit spielt er gerne Fußball oder klettert. Hamed möchte gerne eine Sozialarbeiter-Ausbildung machen und so lange in Deutschland bleiben. 

Er hat die afghanischen Geschäfte als einen wichtigen Ort ausgesucht, da Hamed diese Geschäfte mit seiner Heimat und Deutschland verbindet.

Flucht

One would think that walking with these worn out shoes, carrying all your belongings in a backpack and not knowing where exactly you are heading to, is most definitely not something anyone would ever want to do, but I try to see this whole „thing“ as a journey.

While walking you realize a lot of things about yourself, you start understanding that the limits you had before were just a mere illusion, that any possible physical and psychological limitation you thought you had, were nothing compared to what was coming your way. You comprehend that all those little things you complained about were just silly problems with such an easy solution, easier to be fixed than to be complained about; that if you were to know the real problems you would have in the future you probably wouldn’t have complained as much. But most importantly, you start counting your blessings, even the few you have right now, and you resent yourself for not being thankful enough, for not grasping in that stupid head of yours that the small house we had was perfect, that the food mom used to make was the best in the whole world and that your family was the motor of life, because they loved you more than anyone you have ever met or are to meet.

While walking you also realize a lot of things about humans, about all these people you don´t know, yet coexist with and start noticing how different they all are from one another. Sadly, you conceive what a hateful species the human race can be and what it’s capable of: hate, war, death.

Walking with all these people though, you start seeing what we humans are capable of giving: love. There are people here who would give up everything they posses for the ones they love, who will help you even if they don’t know you and people who give you their water even if they are thirsty. You start comprehending that love is the one feeling that has driven humans to where they are now, that the amount of love we can give is bigger than the hate we receive, that love is what´s worth living for.

While walking you come to understand the world we live in, this beautiful rotating humongous thing and you grasp that we are all part of it; that going further than nations, religion, skin color, gender, size, age, we are all the same. We all live here, we all love here, we all die here.

There are people who need a lifetime to realize all the things I´ve learned during my so-called journey and even though it was not easy, it was definitely beautiful and you see, that´s the thing about life. Life´s definitely not easy but it sure is beautiful, it sure is worth it.

In this journey I learned not only about myself, but also about the world and all I have to say is that it all happened while I was walking.

Mi Abuelo - Mein Großvater

Ramón de la Cuesta, mi abuelo materno, nació en Santander, España en el año 1934. Venía de una familia grande que siempre tuvo justo lo necesario para mantenerse. Siempre fue la obeja negra de su familia y se metía mucho en problemas, así que cuando cumplió 18 años fue mandado a México en un barco con el boleto más barato posible. Su fmilia esperaba que a Ramón le fuera bien económicamente en México para que así regresara en algún momento para apoyar a sus papás y a sus hermanos. Empezando de ceros, mi abuelo estudió ingeniería mecánica y finalmente abrió una fábrica de piezas para camiones diseñando y construyendo cada una de las máquinas él mismo. A pesar de que le fue muy bien en México, nunca regresóa a España, mantuvo su negocio hasta su muerte en el año 2014.