We move from space to space, from one point to another. We decide where to spend next holidays, we visit friends and families in different countries and enjoy all benefits of freedom of movement. But some people have to escape – they have to leave their countries, and not for a short period of time but FOREVER.
Yesterday I met G. (I can’t reveal his name), a beautiful, cute and very shy guy. We chatted on Gay Romeo and I asked him if I could come over, he said yes but warned me that he speaks very little English. That didn’t matter to me. I took my bike – I rode very quickly. I was supposed to call him once I got to the entrance, and once I did, he opened a door for me. G. was very tall skinny guy, and I would have guessed that his mature look would make him at least 29 – but he revealed he was just 22. I gave him my hand and he touched mine. His palms were soft and wet, which turned me on since I could feel his fresh energy. I didn’t know anything about his political situation – he revealed his story only in private while we were sitting on the couch. G. is from Turkey, he was studying Greek language and literature, now he paints and is writing a book. Five months ago he came to Germany, first as a political refugee. He was placed into a general asylum camp in Chemnitz (Saxony), then he moved to Pirna and just a few months ago he ended up here in Berlin. The process of the all formal documentation went apparently pretty smooth because he had received all of his necessary papers now. I should note that this very rare in Germany. A German lawyer explained to me once that only 2 % of the queer asylum requests are successful.
Back in Turkey he came out to his parents and his siblings. They didn’t want to understand or accept him. They tried to make him marry a girl in order to heal their son. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get more information about him as G. doesn’t speak German yet and only knows a little bit English. But what I heard was enough for me to look into his eyes and to see his suffering and pain. I hugged him so strong and we stayed like this for a while. I was so happy that he is Germany, that he is in Berlin, that he was there with me. I felt so much responsibility for him and all other refugees that are coming to Germany. At the same time, I recalled all the recent news about PEGIDA and other racist, chauvinistic and xenophobic movements that are gaining traction in Germany. I mean -everybody knows that there are racists and other intolerant people, but the fact that they are gaining influence and support from thousands of others makes me both worried and a bit sad. One of the main points of PEGIDA is abundance of refugees that are living on the benefits of the Germans that work hard and pay taxes. They are fighting openly against them and try to stop building of an asylum house in Berlin.
My close friend and photographer Andrea Linss is one of the most brave people I know. She has a full time job, two children and other projects but she goes every Monday to protest against PEGIDA. Her weapon is pretty simple – it is a photography. She works as a civil photographer and provides information to the activists about Nazis and other racist activists. I admire her energy and her power tremendously. I think that if everyone of us could invest a little bit of time into this protest we could barely see the BRAUNKACKSSCHEIßE ( irreplaceable world in German could be translated as BROWN SHITY SHIT ) which I would say perfectly describes Nazis.
On the another hand ,Andrea told me that her own sister is racist. Actually, she volunteers for the Doctors Without Borders and helps a lot of people abroad. However, when it comes to help local people in her own neighborhood, she doesn’t want anything to do with it. The City Council decided to build some asylum houses in the south of Berlin, which would be exactly next to her house. Once she found out this she sold her house and move to another district to avoid any refugees. I was shocked by this story. It is unbelievable and hypocritcal – pretending to be open and helping others through the volunteer job with Doctors Without Borders. but at the same time not giving a hand to people that are next you. It’s even worse to try to escape from them or being scared of them. It makes me really furious.
The best way to understand the feelings of the refugees is to share their experiences and their lifestlye. We can not even imagine how bad is it here in Germany – one of the richest countries in Europe. People are living in boxes like rats and they can not move from there, they are not allowed to work and they can not decide which kind of food they prefer to eat.
Through my SAVE THE DATE project, I would like to put together a new performance piece by applying for a political asylum in Germany. I have enough reasons to do it as I have been attacked by Neonazis last Christmas and I still have a embarrassing video they made which caused the loss of almost all my friends back in Russia. It would be a good way to get to know the whole system from inside and reveal everything to the public and of course to try to change the whole situation.
We have to move in spaces by free choice and not by forced situations of war, hunger, discrimination and violence.
PIC OF THE WEEK
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