Paraya, born in Conakry, Guinea (Photo: Zanda Liepina)
In April 2023, I came to Berlin as a musician with my wife. I discovered a lot of new things here: I love Berlin for the fact that people from all countries in the world live together here, unlike in my country of birth. I enjoy exchanging ideas with people. In the short time I've lived here, I've met many artists and come to appreciate the diversity, openness and creativity in Berlin.
As a child, I grew up with my grandmother in a small village and absorbed from her the deep love and connection with nature and being human. As an adult, I lived in the capital Conakry: a beautiful city surrounded by the sea. My country, Guinea, was the first African state to declare independence from the colonial power France on 2 October 1958. It is a country of great wealth – mineral resources, agriculture and culture – and unfortunately the population lives in extreme poverty. I have learned how to take good care of myself with what is there, even if the circumstances are very complicated.
So, I am also fascinated by all the things that people have created here in Berlin. My focus is on what is there and not primary what is missing: What a great work and achievement to build a subway, as well as S-Bahn and tram, even if it is not always on time, but it exists! There are publicly maintained parks, artificial lakes where we can swim because the water is clean. There are many cultural venues and neighborhood houses where people can host interesting things. Here all children go to school because there are enough schools, unfortunately this is not the case in Guinea: There exists villages where there are no or not enough schools. I am also impressed that children at school have music and physical education lessons here in Berlin. I didn't know that.
I am grateful that I live now in a city where we humans are safe and everyone can express themselves and that Berlin is the capital of a democratic country.
I'm in the middle of an integration course and I'm putting a lot of effort into German. This is not easy, because the language is difficult. Luckily, in addition to school, I have a wonderful neighbor who also helps me practice the language, she is a wise and funny German lady! In my school, I also see people who have to learn German, who find it very difficult. Some ofthem are wise and elderly people who have already experienced a lot in their life. It is not easy to put a new language in their heads, especially if they have a lot of existential problems. That touches me very much. For me, however, it is clear that I want to learn German so that I can communicate well with the people here. But also, for me, the migration process to Germany was not only easy. I had to wait a long time for my visa and I even had a lawyer sent to my place of living to ask the boss of the neighborhood and some random neighbors about my living conditions. That was a bit bizarre!
Thanks to Berlin and all the people who live here!
I contribute to our being together by my music and love.
www.parayadiallo.com | www.youtube.com/@ParayaDiallo | www.facebook.com/m.parayadiallo | linktr.ee/parayadiallo
Majid, born in Srinagar, Kashmir, India (Photo: Zanda Liepina)
I come from Kashmir. I was 8 years old when my father died. I had to cope with my mother alone from an early age. I guided tourists around Kashmir and ran a small food and beverage shop. In 1987 I met a woman from Germany and in 1989 I visited Berlin for the first time. I found Berlin very exciting. But my shop in Kashmir was doing well at the time and over time I started to trade also other goods, such as cloth and brass. Then there was an armed conflict between Pakistan, Kashmir and the rest of India. Kashmir wanted to remain autonomous. I closed my shop and went to Germany. It was the time when the Berlin Wall fell and I saw how people came together, how two countries became one. People were happy, the atmosphere was very moving. My wife and I had a Muslim wedding and then again in Germany at the registry office. In 1990 I came here for the third time. I worked in construction, for cleaning companies, then started an apprenticeship as a carpenter. But the theory was too difficult, so I dropped out of the training and became unemployed. I sold little things at the flea market at Oranienburg Gate. I met a lot of people there and met my second wife. We were together for 11 years. For 20 years I have had a shop where I sell handmade scarves made of wool and cashmere. Each scarf tells its own story with its colors and ornaments. This craft was brought to India by the Persians and is still men's work today. I have never had any problems here, even when going out at night. The war in Syria has changed a lot. For a few years now, people have been looking at me differently because I have a long beard. Sometimes they even cross the street. They probably think I'm a Taliban. In Islam, a beard is part of a man. Some men shave it or wear a moustache, as is common in India. I have had a beard my whole life.
I met a lot of special people in Berlin. The city is great and international. But Kashmir is also beautiful and in a few years I will decide whether I will return there.
Roberto, born in St. Gallen, Switzerland (Photo: Sibylle Rüstig)
I came to Berlin in 1995, to study performing arts at the Academy "Ernst Busch". Everybody wanted to live in in the Easter part of the city at that time. But I chose a flat in Charlottenburg. The Swiss inside me seemingly wanted it a bit more contemplative. The biggest challenge for me was clarity. Again and again it was requested from me. Even if you want to buy a bread roll it's an advatange to place an order fast and clearly. If someone is taking time to look for something in Berlin, one is confronted with the infamous "Berliner Schnauze" (Berlin`s blunt attitude). I remember how, after a year in Berlin, I was back in Switzerland, bought a newspaper at a kiosk, and the saleswoman kindly asked "Shall I roll it up for you?". I love Berlin because the city offers me the possibility to try out myself and my desires in various ways and to find out what I like and what I don’t. Being clear about that actually creates a lot of space for freedom.
Sarah, born in Accra, Ghana (Photo: Pit Bisinger)
I have been in Germany for 5 years now. I live in a small village.
In Ghana I was a nanny for a German woman for 5 years; she was married to a black man. It was somewhat problematic for them to send their children to a suitable school in Ghana. That's why she moved back to Germany. In Ghana we had lived together like a family. Later, when she needed care for her elderly mother in Germany, she asked me to come to Germany and work for her as a carer. It wasn't always easy as a black woman to do this job.
In Ghana I took German courses and received the A2 certificate. This was the prerequisite for entry into Germany, and it took a total of three years. Now we live together again as a family on a beautiful farm. The old lady has since died. However, my son Patrick stayed in Ghana, he was 10 years old when I came to Germany and now lives with my family. We would need a signature from the father that Patrick could come with us - but I haven't found the father, we weren't a married couple. I first left Patrick with my brother when I went to Germany. Since then I have been to Ghana twice to visit him. Of course we have regular contact via Skype.
If my son wants to come, our village wouldn't be the right place for him. In Ghana, even in a small town, we always had a lot of friends and contacts; here it would be very difficult for him in the village as a black boy without knowledge of the language. I myself was a bit sad at first in Germany and it is sometimes lonely in the country. It's ok for me now.
At the moment I don't want to move to the city, I work in the city now and take the regional train every day. But the family connection with my chosen family is important to me. I had another nursing job for two years before I started my.new job as a housekeeper. Now I feel very comfortable in my new position, the human contact is great. For me there is a good life in Germany, Ghana is completely different. Everyone does what they want and rules are not always followed. When the police come, small offenses can be settled with money - corruption is a problem. The gap between rich and poor is much greater than here. In Germany the standard of living and security is much better. Ghana is a beautiful country, there is great food - but life is difficult without a lot of money.
Berlin is a beautiful city for me - but I don't want to live here. I like to come here and visit the great sites. And then I'm happy to get out of the city again. I had to have my passport from Ghana renewed here at the embassy; this is only possible in Berlin. I have to update my German residence permit and work permit every year, but this is also possible in smaller cities.
Adhimiharja, born in Bandung, West Java, Indonesia (Photo: Pit Bisinger)
In September 2012 I moved to Berlin to officially complete my design studies. I got my master's degree in 2020. Since then I've had a job at a Berlin fashion label. At the same time, we launched our own label “Adhimiharja”. Since than I have a non-stop double job.
Shortly before the Corona lockdown, I and my business partner Detlef founded this Label. Detlef takes care of the administrative part of our company. We both learn from each other, Detlef becomes more and more familiar with the details of fashion design and I learn to organize and plan better.
In fashion, it's these little details that make the difference. This may not always be visible to laypeople. We will then discuss the feasibility of new ideas together, it has to remain affordable and the time frame has to be right.
I have felt at home in Berlin since day one. Sometimes I feel ashamed when I being asked: “Don’t you miss your homeland?” Of course I miss Indonesia, but that does not mean that I have to fly back to Indonesia immediately. At first I consciously didn't look for contact with the Indonesian community in Berlin for a year, I wanted to learn German language quickly.
It was also good networking while studying in the design and fashion industry and in Berlin by looking for many international contacts. Several times a year we're doing a come together event here in the store at Behaimstrasse 4, bringing people together who would otherwise only have lose contact with each other.
Before 2012 I was in Berlin twice as a tourist with my partner, and I wanted to live in Berlin since then. In West Java I already worked 7 years in the fashion industry and also spent two years in Bali (I studied biology before - now I have two degrees). But it was almost impossible to move to Berlin and find the right job. The only option was to come as a student.
When I come back to Berlin from my vacation in Indonesia with the family, I want to eat currywurst and schnitzel and then go for a bike ride. I enjoy the “I don’t care attitude” of Berliners. It also has a tolerant side. In Indonesia the neighbor always seems too have an ear next to the wall, we live there for our neighbors. Here in Berlin I can live the way I want.
Contact via kindregards@gmx.com or insta@adhimiharja, www.adhimiharja-shop.com
Kadek, born in Buleleng, Bali, Indonesia (Photo: Pit Bisinger)
In November 2004 - 20 years ago, I met my husband Bernd in Bali. Bernd was actually in Bali to dive. He then made himself useful in our company with his computer skills and as a result we saw each other more often and fell in love. Bernd came to visit me more often - back then, out of respect, I had to ask my father if I could pick him up from the airport. It wasn't easy with my family and then I said to Bernd. “We have to change something!” And then we said “yes”, that’s how it should be. Bernd was initially hesitant about moving to Germany with me because I didn't speak any German and the culture and life is so different in Germany.
In Bali I was the managing director of an Austrian company. He was really angry that I wanted to emigrate. After we applied for the visa for Germany, we asked my parents what would be the best time for a wedding. It then became a huge party that was completely organized for us. I got a great hairstyle, a makeup artist styled me, I got a beautiful dress and a music orchestra was hired. And I thought, oh dear, I don't cook well yet. Usually, the Balinese bride learns to cook from her mother-in-law so that she prepares the dishes in the same way that the future husband is used to from his mother.
I hadn't thought about life in Germany at all, I thought that when you're married you'll always go out and have coffee with the other women dressed nicely. And then I come to Germany and don't know anyone there and can't speak the language. I had never lived anywhere other than with my parents. That was difficult. Bernd was active in helping me. In Bali the family cohesion was much stronger, here I felt isolated at the beginning. I later made many friends in the German course; there were people there with the same fate, uprooted from their old culture. I then wanted a baby and we had our son Markus. I also started dancing again - I was a very good dancer in Bali. My dance teacher was also my neighbor and now friend and came from the same place as me in Bali. It's so important to have a good friend who understands you in a foreign environment. We are a Balinese dance group and have regular events. There is a women's meeting every month. I was lucky to find my community here in Berlin.
I trained as a nursing assistant and then worked as a leasing worker in various facilities. The immigration authorities then required me to take further German courses. Before Corona I had worked in the wellness area again like in Bali, but due to the pandemic I lost my job - I was terminated by email.
Why have I been here for so long even though it is such a foreign culture to me? Of course also because of Markus, our son. He goes to school here and Asia would be very foreign to him. Otherwise I would wish to live in Bali again. But I don't have a job there. Bernd could emigrate now - but it wouldn't be good for Markus now. Otherwise, Berlin is boring for me - even though you can do so much here. Winter is the worst here. These are very dark times. Berlin has deteriorated, people are in such a bad mood. When we have visitors and take the subway, I always warn my guests in advance.
When we visit Bali again, many Balinese people think that we must be very rich in Germany: wear expensive clothes, have our lips sprayed, etc. They are always surprised that I remained completely normal. Some Balinese attend a school in Bali to train as crew for cruise ships and pay a lot of money for it. After that, they traveled on cruise ships for many years - my cousin for 17 years. I prefer to live and work in Berlin.
I'm currently working in nursing again - in a shared apartment for grandma and grandpa. I enjoy being there, I am
the good soul there, we spend a lot of time with the 8 seniors who live there. We have a lot of time for activities and cooking together. There are also beautiful sides to Berlin: The Gardens of the World with the Balinese temple. There are many music events. I do yoga and Pilates. I love it here in summer. We do a lot and meet up with friends. We're doing well in Berlin now.
Windu, born in Jakarta, Indonesia (Photo: Pit Bisinger)
I had been working abroad in different countries for a long time. After the tsunami in the Indian Ocean in December 2004, I initially moved to Aceh (a province on the island of Sumatra) for three years to work with the EU in humanitarian aid. I then spent two years in Kabul, Afghanistan, where I worked for Caritas Germany. Other stops included Montenegro, Kurdistan Province in Iraq, Lebanon and Turkey. I have lived and worked with my husband in most of these countries.
I have been living in Berlin since November 2019 and working in the General Secretariat of the German Red Cross. Here I am responsible for project billing for foreign projects in the finance department. Here in the DRK General Secretariat we check the expenditure of the individual DRK projects abroad and prepare the reports for the donors. It is a responsible task because it involves public money or private donations. Additional external auditors then confirm the accuracy. I am currently responsible for the Middle East and North Africa, which is why I travel to Beirut once a year to train local colleagues there.
For us, me and my husband, life in Berlin is completely normal. This city is so diverse and open. In Indonesia this would be much more difficult. In the area where we live in Berlin, we feel absolutely safe. That's not the case everywhere. A friend of mine lives with his husband in Neukölln and is sometimes exposed to homophobic or racist hostility there. I myself have not had any negative experiences as a gay man in Berlin. We live in Lankwitz and have a good neighborhood. I also come out to my colleagues in the office, and there are no problems there either.
How do I like it here in Berlin? I of course compare with my homeland Indonesia, especially with Jakarta. In Berlin there are many museums, interesting venues, many different cultural institutions and events. The character of some German people is sometimes a bit annoying for me, I'm used to friendlier interaction in Indonesia. It's easy to complain here.
Every year we visit my home and my family in Jakarta, my mother and siblings live there. I also met my German husband in Indonesia when he was also working in the humanitarian sector there.
Inna, born in Sukabumi, Indonesia (Photo: Pit Bisinger)
Here in Berlin Mitte at the Humboldt University I studied Asia-Africa Science and completed a bachelor's and master's degree in religion and culture at the theological faculty near Hackescher Markt. I also live near here, I can reach everything on foot or by bike. I have been in Berlin for 25 years. Before that, I lived in the Viersen district in North Rhine-Westphalia for 7 years. We always went to the Netherlands to buy Indonesian goods. Because of the colonial history of the Netherlands, almost everything from my homeland could be bought there. I was born in Java, in the city of Sukabumi in West Java. My parents are also from there. Because of my father's employment as a civil servant, we always had to move around a lot, even outside of Java. We were in Aceh in northern Sumatra. However, I grew up mostly in Jakarta, a city with around 12 million inhabitants, from the fourth grade onwards. Berlin is quieter in comparison, but in terms of area it is similar in size to Jakarta. I came to Germany because of love. I am married to a German man. In Jakarta I worked in marketing. I started my studies after further training as a foreign language secretary and working as a clerk in North Rhine-Westphalia. At that time we also had our son, he is now 30 years old and also works in Berlin. He got to know both cultures. Our son grew up bilingual. My son also lived in Indonesia for 1.5 years as a school student. Together we collected Indonesian and German proverbs and sayings and compared them in a book “Other meadows, other grasshoppers...or other countries, other customs”. Reconciling the two cultures is important to me in my family and also in society. It is important to me that my son feels at home in both countries; May he stand firmly on his two feet, with one leg in each culture. As a co-author, I published an information publication “Indonesia in Berlin” for the Senate. I worked for Deutsche Welle for seven years as a correspondent in the areas of culture, politics, economics and bilateral projects. I am in contact with many Indonesian communities throughout Germany and also throughout Europe. I also founded an association in the field of culture and education for Indonesian-German exchange. The association is intended to mature into a German-Indonesian network for young people. For example, I placed German students at Indonesian universities for research work. I also recently helped organize an event in Berlin as part of the city partnership with Jakarta. Digital content creators from Jakarta were in Berlin with the help of the association. (Instagram: @indo.hub) My work also stands for the integration of Southeast Asian workers in German companies. Both sides can learn to understand each other in our seminars. Integration takes place from both sides, it's not just the migrants who have to learn. The locals can also learn to understand the behavior of Asians. For example, in Asia, smiling can have many meanings: not only happiness or cheerfulness, but also asking for forgiveness or apologizing. I really like Berlin. Each district has its own character. At the Ku-Damm Fancy, in Neukölln or Prenzlauer Berg, however, things look completely different. There is a lot of creativity here with a lot of young people. So many cultures and nationalities live side by side. I keep discovering new areas in Berlin; for 25 years I have been able to discover something new like a tourist. As a person, I did not experience discrimination as something that particularly offended me. In comparison, my home in Jakarta is more chaotic and lively. For me both are home: Berlin and Jakarta. This is an enrichment for me. I love having contact with lots of different interesting people.
Eden, born in Kougnohou, Togo (Photo: Zanda Liepina)
The most beautiful thing that has happened to me in Berlin is this community of artists, this new artistic family that has welcomed me with open arms since I first set foot in Berlin when I was invited by the Thikwa theater to work as a choreographer and dancer on the dance piece "Dave" in August 2017. After that, many opportunities came my way, either as a choreographer or a dancer through Coaching and performances in theaters, galleries, independent stages and festivals. An opportunity that made me meet a lot of people in such a short time, more precisely TeamRecycled (in which I am an active member), a national urban dance company from Germany often in collaboration with Flying Steps Ent. And me, having a multidimensional base in dance (HipHop, Contemporary, Neo-Classical and African Dance ...), I knew how to adapt to all these colors that each opportunity offered me. Berlin's uniqueness comes from the ethnic mix and diversity of cultures that the city has to offer.
I don't have any particular story, apart from my career, my artistic family and my little family. A wife I love very much who supports me in everything I do, and an adorable little 2-year-old girl who waits for me every evening outside the gate of our house when I come home from work. It's the most beautiful grace that God can offer me. Berlin is for me the place to be. I think Berlin is full of opportunities, now it's up to us to know how to take advantage of them.
Towfeg, born in Agordat, Eritrea (Photo: Pit Bisinger)
When I was ten years old (1985), I came to Germany with my family from Eritrea. We moved to Berlin in 1989 - before the wall came down. We have seen the huge change in Germany up close. I am now 50 years old and have spent most of my life in Germany.
In our homeland there was war between Ethiopia and Eritrea, which only gained independence in 1993. There was catastrophic famine in many parts of Africa. Some may also remember the legendary Live Aid concert from 1985 as a way to help the suffering people in Africa.
I currently live in a shared apartment with support from Caritas. Finding a room on the housing market in Berlin is not easy. I'm currently looking for accommodation again, a room would be sufficient.
It's not always easy as a foreigner in Germany. The neighbors sometimes have prejudices against our shared apartment. I see myself as a friendly and open-minded person. And dealing with the authorities is always difficult - especially if you don't have a lot of money and can't prove a secure income.
Otherwise, I like living in Berlin, there are lots of nice people and such different cultures here. My brother works right next door and I have a lot of friends here.
Abdulfattah, born in Ibb, Jemen (Photo: Zanda Lipiena)
I completed my studies in political science and economics at the LMU Munich and then moved straight to Berlin. In Berlin I was able to develop both politically and socially. I became politically active through active membership in a major party and took part in many political, cultural and social projects. Berlin is a multicultural city, where different cultures meet and live togethr harmoniously. These different cultures have made Berlin a colorful, diverse and open city. No one feels like a stranger in Berlin, no matter which country they come from. This makes Berlin a unique city. The famous quote "I am a berliner" from former US President John F Kennedy is still true after 60 years and remains contemporary. In other words, the word is welcome in Berlin. The diverse and colorful city of Berlin has not only influenced and shaped its residents, but the weather in Berlin has also become colorful, so you can rely on the fact that sometimes you only have to wear different and colorful clothes on one day. Berlin is beautiful and diverse, but has some challenges that make life here difficult. Like living, for example. Finding an apartment in Berlin is now an achievement and the result of a lot of effort. Many years ago, after a long search by a friend of mine, I was able to find an apartment. And only because you happened to know someone, their friend, who was renting out an apartment. Here too, the famous quote from the former mayor of berlin Klaus Wowereit, "Berlin is poor, but sexy" found its new definition.
Moses, born in Jerusalem, Israel (Photo: Pit Bisinger)
My grandfather was born in Krakow as a Polish Jew. The official language in Krakow and Prague was German, he spoke German with a Polish accent. For the Germans he was a Pole, for the Poles he was a German.
Before the war he met my grandmother in Berlin, a German Jewish girl. She played Chopin and Beethoven, read Goethe and Schiller. She was rejected by her German family because she married an Eastern Jew.
In order to get a job with the government back then, my grandma had to convert from Jewish to Protestant faith. For the Nazis you were still a Jew.
My family then fled via Switzerland. My father was born in the USA - in Brooklyn New York. There is a large Jewish community there.
Later, my father met my mother in Venezuela, a Sephardic (Judeo-Spanish) Jew. So I'm half Ashkenazi (coming from Central and Eastern Europe through my father), half Sephardic. Later we went to Israel. I was born in Jerusalem. When I was 3 years old we moved to Argentina. In Argentina, most people were of Italian descent (like the Pope), Jewish - or Nazis. After the war, many German Nazis received passports for Argentina and Chile from the Vatican.
After a stint in London, I came to Berlin in 2001. Nine/Eleven was a trauma for me, I cried so much and was on the phone with my father in Brooklyn. A friend (Cinti - also Jewish) saw the Twin Towers fall. That is so bad.
And now Hamas - October 7, 2023. I haven't sung here for three months. Relatives died in the attack. I prayed to God: Protect my family anywhere in the world. Now the sirens are constantly wailing in Israel, you have 60 seconds to get into the bunker. Who can do that with small children at that time?
I have Asperger's, I speak eight languages. Sometimes I can't talk, but I can sing. I'm alone, people like me as I am and God made me this way. I often sing here at the intersection of Uhlandstrasse and Berliner Strasse.
Sung: “Don’t cry for me, Argentina”
I now feel comfortable in Berlin, the police also know me and protect me when I sing in public here. Thanks to the police chief! I started singing during Corona because people were scared. People are always afraid, fear is not good. For me, singing is music therapy.
I trained as an ex-in (experience expert) at Pinel, a social agency. Mentally impaired people are better able to help other people with mental health problems. I was a carer in assisted living for 5 years.
Polina, born in Moscow, Russia (Photo: Sibylle. Rüstig)
Though I lived in Berlin only for several months, from the beginning it felt like it wasn't my conscious decision, but I was always meant to go here. Ironically, my first time coming to Berlin was only days before the COVID-19 pandemic started in 2020. One of the evenings the police just came to the bar we were sitting in and announced first restriction rules, subsequently closing the bar right away. A couple of days later I boarded a so-called "rescue plane" to fly back to Moscow, not knowing, that exactly a year later I would come back as a student (and a pandemic would still be raging). I only applied for one master program, after looking through all European universities, I only wanted to go to Berlin.
The society and the people here turned out to be more open and vibrant than anything that I could have asked for. I was also lucky enough to have friends already waiting for me here, so I never really felt alone. And yet the hardest thing was to realise that I underestimated how "easy-going" most people are, especially among younger people. Easy going to a point of giving an impression of being indifferent and pretentious. Honesty is rude and any connection a little to intimate. But as I learned, making friends just takes a little more time here. It was the biggest cultural shock, even worse then moving to a city without learning the language first. In Berlin somehow two worlds collide: a lot of people speak English in every corner and on every street, all generations have progressive views and are in touch with technology, and yet I had to mail a hand-written letter in German to get a necessary bureaucratic paper, because no online service was available. Future wrapped up in the past. Anything is possible, but for every step you have to apply by post and wait for 4 to 6 weeks. It's slow paced and it's accelerating. This is Berlin for me.
Farida, born in Buffalo, USA (Photo: Pit Bisinger)
Accidental American
Trinationality: my “natural national identity”
Mother: Germany
Father: Libya
Since I was born in America, I automatically am an US citizen, and because of my father‘s + mother‘s nationalities I also am Libyan and German.
I: Grew up internationally – was exposed to different cultures and perspectives on life – am not easy to overlook - take my space – am often said to be acting, moving and living like “male”, something that is not always well received - my self-determined way of acting in society often generates rejection – basically am a happy child, not of sorrow - am annoyed by the US tax obligation, even though I neither live nor work there - it is a psychological-economical, very disturbing disruption of my life – it hinders and paralyzes my positive and joyful outlook on life and any type of future life goals - I perceive the atavistic development of misogynistic manners extremely annoying
My consciousness: Mainly shaped by my life experience as a tri-national than by “being a woman” - I will not allow myself to be forced into stereotypical roles, just as I will not be forced into a corset - primarily a German - Arab - American individual - a person unwilling to bow to the pressure to conform
Professional environment: social psychological area - still characterized by very vivid, inappropriate images of women
Berlin's atmosphere: is becoming more misogynistic again – life in general is not as free and fantastic anymore as is often portrayed - Berlin, poor but sexy? I often find everyday life excessively sexualized – and the majority of people have endless FOMO
Main advantage of Berlin: Lots of greenery + parks + city life is the best chance for financial independence - working artistically - teaching languages - chimney sweep - construction worker - lecturer - teacher - try out different lifestyles - extensive public transport system - many opportunities to cycle, walk dogs, feel the vastness when life doesn't allow for a breather
Elisabeth, born in Innsbruck, Austria (Photo: Sibylle Rüstig)
The smell of rubber and dust from the underground is the first thing that brings me back when I've been away from Berlin. For me, that's the big city. I grew up in the Alps, with the Nordkette mountain range right under my nose, in a city as big as Berlin-Mitte and smaller than the district I live in now: Pankow. Berlin is my second home, or third home, because I also love Mexico City very much. Some people may say that the comparison is a little off, or are surprised when I tell them that. What runs through it all is my search for cultural life, music, melting pots, pulse and rhythm. In Berlin, I find music, theatre and literature on every corner. I pulsate with the city when I want to. If not, I retreat to the green north and let the grumpy Berliners be Berliners. What I have also found: a new identity as a Tyrolean. After all, it's easier to identify as a "Bergvolk" when you're far away than in your first homeland. If only because everyone finds the dialect "so cute". It amuses me and I also feel proud that my homeland is categorised here as a holiday resort, a paradise. I also like to give the Berliner Schnauze a smile. Because I think they're cute.
Emanuel, born in Athens, Greece (Photo: Sibylle Rüstig)
Berlin is always new; every time I use the underground, I feel like I’m exploring a new city. It has never felt like home in my few months living here. It has been relaxing and welcoming but never familiar. Yet it is also ordinary. Many friends were excited about me being here and reacted like I’m living in a very special place.
I didn’t experience that vibe. I would lie if I said I don‘t enjoy its diverse food vendors or the occasionalnight-time activity but I also did the usual things (going to the supermarket, doing laundry, and with those things I experienced a real city). I like Berlin because it is one of those places that people can make out of it what they want. It is just a bunch of buildings or a whole new world depending on the mood.
Angelica, born in Bogotá, Colombia (Photo: Zanda Liepina)
I arrived in Berlin in 2017, before living here I lived in several European countries, I have been a migrant for almost 23 years. I arrived with a suitcase, two boxes and no plan. I started again from scratch and it was not easy. What I found moust difficult in Berlin is to deal with the culture shock and the weather, I am too tropical for this cold! I have gone through a lot of difficulties, a lot of loneliness, but today I can say that I feel much closer to my dreams. I have an artistic project that I love amt that makes me very happy called Lila Papaya, I finished my studies in life coaching for women and I work in an intercultural association for migrant women. Today I feel that in a way here in Berlin everything is passible. Berlin is Berlin its love and hate because as soon as it angers you, it makes you fall in love with it again.
Yuya, born in Sapporo, Japan (Photo: Sibylle Rüstig)
I have moved to Berlin five years ago for my doctoral study. To study in Berlin/Germany is my second experiment abroad but it was my first challenge for a longterm stay. Compared with other cities Berlin is a special city in Germany due to the coexistance of nature and the urban area, traditional and new cultures and a lot of international people. So I'm happy with my choice to stay in Berlin.
Living in Berlin often shows me glimpses of European history - for example why can you see the black bird in the logo of the Federal coat of arms of Germany? Why is the horn used in the logo of the post office? Looking into everyday life offers me new discoveries.
Ligia, born in Florianopolis, Brazil (Photo Pit Bisinger)
Since 2011, I've called Berlin my home, and it holds a special place in my heart. In fact, I've even commemorated my love for this city with a tattoo of the "Berlin Fernsehturm" on my arm. You could say I'm a "Wahlberlinerin," as I moved here with my husband when he was invited to work in this vibrant city.
Berlin is a lively and cosmopolitan place with lots of green spaces, museums, and a rich history. What I love most is the feeling of safety here – it's quite different from Brazil, where inequality often leads to violence.
Speaking of Brazil, it faces significant challenges stemming from inequality. The vast divide between the rich and the poor has led to elevated levels of violence. In contrast, Germany presents a more equitable society, with most people falling into the middle-income bracket.
Learning the German language has been an interesting journey for me. While I've become adept at reading in German, conversing in the language remains a challenge. On a creative note, I host a weekly podcast titled "Minha Estante Colorida" (Portuguese for "My Colourful Bookshelf"), where I review books in various languages, including English, German, Portuguese, and Spanish, covering a wide range of genres from fiction to science and design.
In Brazil, I used to be a speaker and lecturer, teaching about leadership and design innovation. Nowadays, I speak at online events for companies and have written nine books on leadership. Before all this, I was an electrical engineer, working with robots, drones, and automation control. I also earned a doctorate in design management and an MBA in marketing.
Recently, I started a new career as a UX/UI designer (www.ligiafascioni-ux.com), working on the user experience of apps and websites. I'm always eager to learn, and I'm grateful to the Berlin government for supporting part of my training in this field.
I also run an illustration studio (www.studioligiafascioni.com) where I mix graffiti from the Berlin Wall and torn street posters with digital drawings.
Adapting to Berlin was easier because my husband speaks German well, even though he's Brazilian with German heritage. We were fortunate to buy an apartment here ten years ago, something that's become more challenging due to rising property prices.
Berlin isn't perfect, but it has so many positives – diversity, art, and interesting weather (though the winters can be long). My husband works happily for an American company, and we're both content calling Berlin our home.
Kumar, born in Delhi, India (Photo: Pit Bisinger)
Kumar is my last name, but my friends call me Kumar, which in India means an unmarried man. I was born in New Delhi, a bustling and sizable city. I equally appreciate Delhi and Berlin; both are cosmopolitan cities. Berlin boasts a rich diversity, and I value the people here. My German friends are truly remarkable. I work as a fitness trainer and also offer freelance yoga instruction.
I used to be a boxer in India, but now in Berlin, I focus on personal training for exercise, not boxing. I train individuals ranging from 18 to 80 on achieving and maintaining fitness. Your body is your ultimate ally; maintaining fitness means preserving health and heeding your body's signals before falling ill.
In India, I worked as an economics teacher with a focus on renewable energies such as wind and solar power. I earned bachelor's degrees in political science and environmental science. Currently, I'm pursuing a master's degree here on a student visa.
I've been here for 8 months, and people are friendly because I approach them with friendliness. Contrary to what I had heard, making friends here is difficult. Punctuality is highly valued among Germans; they are known for their timeliness, which I consider more professional than being late. I maintain discipline in my life, always keeping my apartment clean, rising early, starting the day with yoga, providing fitness training, attending university, and dedicating time to my studies.
In Delhi, I achieved success with my IT startup. I also worked as a web developer and designer, earning a substantial income. Now, I earn less with my part-time job, but my motivation for change was not driven by money; I sought a fresh start. While I appreciate Delhi, it grapples with numerous issues, especially pollution. I found it challenging to endure the pollution; I needed access to fresh air. Berlin offers a significantly better environment for your lungs. Delhi's pollution can have severe health implications as one ages.
Another reason for choosing Germany is its resilience. Germany has overcome decline twice before, and I aspire to learn this resilience. I also have a keen interest in German history. Coming here posed a challenge, but life's obstacles give it meaning.
Finding an apartment in Berlin has been a nightmare; I moved four times in 8 months. Currently, I have a ten-month contract and obtained my WBS, making it possible to find a more affordable flat. I met an incredible lady in Berlin who assured me: "In a few days or sometimes, it will work out; don't worry, you won't be without a Wohnung (apartment)."
I'm eager to learn the German language. I've heard that some schools (unknown) have teachers who propagate propaganda like Neo-Nazism, but my personal experience has been different. My teacher is excellent and impartial. Propaganda exists globally, including in the United States and India, driven by political agendas and sometimes the misuse of religion. My belief lies in humanity; I was raised as a Hindu but now consider myself agnostic. I place my faith in spirituality, which involves finding inner peace in this chaotic world, and that's what I'm striving for.
Maria Conchita, born in Managua, Nicaragua (Photo: Jan Radtke)
I've been in Berlin since 2018, but I've already been there once before for three months as part of an exchange in 2013. At that time I interrupted my studies but that was not a problem because I gained many new linguistic and cultural experiences. In 2018, I had finished my studies in philology and communication and I really wanted to go back. Then I was lucky and with the help of the Verein zur Förderung der Städtepartnerschaft Kreuzberg - San Rafael del Sur e.V. I was able to come to Germany for another year. I had already worked as a journalist in TV and news. I enjoyed that a lot, but Nicaragua is a dictatorship, which makes the work difficult and poorly paid. In Germany, I got the opportunity to train as an educator. At first I didn't know what to expect, but then I liked the training very much. The training is like a look back into my childhood: how did my parents raise me, what were my first words, when did I start walking. Now I observe this with 'my' children and I enjoy it a lot. Some things were difficult, for example the German language, other things develop over time, like friendships. You have to be patient. What I like about Berlin is that it is so multicultural. I can not only learn and speak German, but also English, Italian or Turkish, for example. At the beginning you don't have so many friends, but the friends you have are real. In Latin America you have more acquaintances. I have some good friends here and they always help when you need something. But it takes time, especially when you come from a different culture. What I like about my training is that we not only take care of the children, but we also work with them. They learn things about the world, for example how plants feed themselves and also self-confidence or just being curious. What I don't like is the bureaucracy. Germany is a rich country but I don't like it when some people just ask for money from the state and don't work. And of course the weather, but with vitamin C and vitamin D I can stand it. My parents live separately. My mother is a nurse and respects my decisions and supports me. My father lives in Cuba and we get along well, maybe because he has also lived in different countries. He also understands me when I feel Heimweh - a very nice word in the German language - it's my favorite word.
Truc, Vietnamese born in Shanghai, China (Photo: Pit Bisinger)
I grew up in Vietnam but was born in Shanghai, China. My father is Chinese and my mother is Vietnamese. From the age of 2 to 13 I lived with my grandmother in the beautiful Halong Bay in Vietnam. My mother had moved to Germany 10 years earlier to work in Leipzig. We now see each other a lot via Face-Time or Whats-App.
It wasn't easy for my mother back then to get the papers that allowed me to come to Germany as a daughter, it took years. That's very difficult in Germany. Now I have a permanent residence permit. I was asked after high school if I wanted a German passport. I didn't want that at the moment, I am and will remain Vietnamese. I need the Vietnamese passport if I want to do something in Vietnam again.
My father studied in Germany 30 years ago and now has a large international GmbH, he lives in Shanghai and is currently visiting Germany.
I'm not a Berliner. I went to school and graduated from high school in Leipzig. After school I came to Berlin, I didn't want to continue going to school, training or university. Here I can work in the Vietnamese restaurant "Jayden", I'm even the manager of our branch. My mother and my teacher tried to persuade me to study, but I don't want to at the moment. I really like living and working here in Berlin.
I wanted to go to a really big city, Leipzig is pretty, but it was too quiet for me. I like my job very much, I can earn my own money. My boss helped me a lot to get on well in Berlin. I work six days a week. This is normal in gastronomy due to the lack of staff.
At first it was difficult for me in Germany, especially with the language, it was difficult to get by and to find friends. Now in gastronomy it is very varied to work as a manager and in service. An office job - sitting at the computer all day: I can't do it, it's so boring.
I have now found an apartment in Charlottenburg with my boyfriend, it was so difficult in Berlin! Here I'm mostly with the Vietnamese community, that's a more familiar mentality to me. I don't have much free time outside of work. I'm going to do my driver's license first, to be a little more independent.
Berlin is very mixed with the many cultures that can be found here. This is very important for foreigners like me. In Leipzig I was the only foreigner in the school class. I've heard it said: "You're not from here, go away!". So many Vietnamese and people from other countries live here in Berlin, that's great!
Claudia, 53 years, born in Brasilia, Brasil (Photo: Pit Bisinger)
Rio de Janeiro was my home. I worked there for over 25 years as coordinator of the photography studio at the Pontifical Catholic University (PUC). This was a stable job. We started there with analogue photography and changed later to digital techniques. I also taught courses for fashion and product design pictures. The students came to me with their ideas and I arranged the photographic implementation for their design projects. When my daughter was still very small - she is now 17 years old - I took her as a model for my studio photos, she always liked to be there. She loved the atmosphere, the fashion.
Moving to another country made me leave my comfort zone. 2017 I came to Berlin with my daughter, she is half german. Her father was studying in Brasil and returned to germany after 10 years, but i didn`t want to go to germany than because of my nice job and the friends and the family. When we moved to Berlin later it was particularly difficult for my daughter to give up her home and friends in Rio, the start in Berlin was not easy for her: find new friends, the different mentality.
In Berlin I work as a professional photographer. In addition to my work with commissioned photos in which i respond to the wishes of clients, I have developed artistic research with my own language and it is my goal from this year on to dedicate myself to that as well. This will be an artistic practice, artistic research and a developed artistic approach that i want to show beyond the public from my clients but to a greater public that would want to know a genuine artwork of contempeporary artistic photography.
What was the main reason to come here? The security! Security is very important since i have a 17 years old daughter who is fulfilling her dream of studying at a design school ( Lette Verein). At Prenzlauer Berg i am not afraid if she comes home at night – that has totally changed over the last few years in Brazil, it has become dangerous.
What I find great about Berlin is the plurality of people: You can be the person you want, you can dress how you want and you can change in every way and live your own style.
In other words, I had to invent myself again as an artist and, above all, not to take the german mood bad for me. I wasn't used to the way peoble behave and talk to each other here. Now I learned that it`s not directly about me but something about the persons individuality.
Moumin, born in Thessaloniki, Greece (Photo: Pit Bisinger)
I was born in Thessaloniki, Greece. I came to Germany when I was 13. My father had moved to Germany seven years earlier to work here. In Greece, the financial crisis was so bad at the time that you could hardly earn enough money to live there. Some people hardly had any bread at home back then. My father then sent us money from Germany every month so that my mother, my little brother and I could live and feed ourselves there. During these seven years he came to Greece for 2 weeks a year so that he could see us.
Then my parents finally decided and managed to let us live together as a family again. Actually, we didn't want to come to Berlin, but we had no other choice, my father had a job here.
In Berlin it was a bit strange at first, a different culture and religion. I have to say that I belong to a minority of Turkish origin from Greece. That also explains my Arabic name Moumin, we traditionally take our grandfather's name. As a result, many of us have names that still date back to the Ottoman Empire.
Even then it was difficult to get an apartment in Berlin. That's why we lived with my aunt for 11 months, which then became too cramped with all the people in one apartment. Even the neighbors started complaining.
I then went to school and was supposed to learn German quickly. We also had to arrange everything with the police with our papers. After six months I was able to communicate well and started to like it here. Then I also found friends, I get along well with many people.
The first apartment as a family was a one-room apartment for two years. My parents put up a bed in the hallway and we brothers on the sofa in the living room. My parents had the attitude: "If our sons are doing well, then we are doing well too." We now have a larger apartment, each of us has a room. We don't move out until we get married.
On the one hand, Berlin is much better for me than Greece. It's about the schools, the state, the opportunities to earn money. I also feel somewhat comfortable with that. Unfortunately, we have also met many racists here who say xenophobic things like: "We don't want you here!" All foreigners have experienced that at some point. In Tegel-Süd, where I live, this seems to be even more common. You can hear that every day. There are good reasons for many of us to come here, problems such as the financial crisis or other like wars at home.
I feel comfortable here now, I have adjusted well with my friends here and my work. On the other hand, I would also like to live again at some point - perhaps after studying - where my roots are, where my relatives still live: in Greece.
It's like this in Berlin: as soon as you're well dressed and have some money in your pocket, you'll be treated well here. I recently observed this on Friedrichstrasse, I went out to eat with a couple of my friends, the weather was nice and we sat outside. Then a foreign family came and wanted to sit down, maybe they weren't dressed very smartly. Already clean, but with jogging pants. The waiters sent them away, “it was reserved”. But that wasn't true at all. Everything was free, these people didn't want them there, they wouldn't consume enough anyway. When I asked, I was told that the other guests wouldn't like foreigners wearing sweatpants sitting there. That's sad. We don't have that in Greece. People are generally more generous and friendly there. Of course there are good and bad people everywhere. But in a big city like Berlin, some people don't care how they meet other people. They think to themselves, I will never see them again among 3 million people; it's all more anonymous.
Amy, born in Tegucigalpa, Honduras (Photo: Jan Radtke)
I moved to Berlin in September 2014, with my then seven-year-old daughter. My daughter’s father, who is from Venezuela, but whose grandfather was German had moved to Germany. We were not together anymore, but when he visited to meet his daughter, he said we should come to Germany too. I love my beautiful country full of nature and kind people, but at that time I was uncertain about my future, especially when the country doesn´t provide a quality of life. In my professional area, I did my bachelor and master degree however the good opportunities are not easy to get. So, when my daughter`s father went to visit, I was ready to move. To be honest I was a bit uncertain but my dad said: “You know, just go, don’t worry. Think of it as a vacation and if things go wrong, know that you have a home here.” For me, that was liberating. In six months later I was in Germany with my daughter. My first year in Berlin, I remember it as one of the best years in my life. Even though everything was new for me and I had to go through some difficult moments, I could recognize the unknown blessings people can have but are not aware of because of the circumstances, perspective and perception of life. For example, thanks to the financial aid system I had the opportunity to learn the language, leveled my professional degree and could study without the need of working even though the financial stability wasn`t the best. However, this helped me to be where I am today. Germany is one of the few countries in the world that would offer this to their citizens as well as people like me. I am grateful for this country and their people for giving me this opportunity and for bringing amazing people in my life.
One thing I really love about Berlin is, that it has so many different places. It is one city, but every part of it is different. When I think about the history of Berlin, the divided history defines the architecture and is life if the area where people live also defines their preferences and styles. The other thing I love is how multicultural Berlin is in every aspect. Talking about food, art, culture, experiences. For someone who didn’t have that coming here it is beautiful and mind blowing.
Gerhild, born in Ottignies, Belgium (Photo: Pit Bisinger)
I grew up in a suburb of Brussels, Wezembeek-Oppem, which is a Flemish speaking community. My father was the head of the EU language department and passed his love of languages on to us children. It is true that my parents are German, I attended the German School in Brussels and our family moved mainly in German circles. Nevertheless, one was constantly surrounded by foreign languages, so I learned several languages early on: one national language, Flemish (Dutch), e.g. with my flute teacher, and the other national language, Walloon (French) with the scouts. English was added at school and because of our vacation trips and my love for Italy, the Italian language.
In 1988, at the age of 19, I came to Berlin to start an apprenticeship as a hotel manager. I hadn't given it much thought because it was normal for us children of diplomats to go “back” to Germany after graduating from high school – although in my case it wasn't a return because I had never lived in Germany. I had applied in many German cities and also in Austria, and fate chose Berlin for me. I can still remember standing at the Memorial Church for the first time and thinking "Whoa, that's really cool here, I'm staying here".
However, I overwhelmed myself by taking the step of going to Berlin on my own: After the sheltered school years, the first real job, starting at 5 a.m. and all that, and then the foreign city and the country that was foreign to me. The hotel industry is the best school for getting to know life properly, and I landed pretty hard on the ground of facts. I didn't know what life was like in a big city either, because my place of residence in Belgium was more like a village. At that time, West Berlin was still rather manageable and an "island" - nevertheless, a completely different wind was blowing here than in my home in Belgium. The very first night there was a traffic accident in front of my balcony in Kreuzberg - I actually wanted to leave right away. But I still managed to get used to it, and Berlin has been my home for 35 years now. My favorite neighborhood has become Wilmersdorf, where I've lived for a long time and where my three daughters grew up.
Originally I wanted to go to Berlin to become a famous singer here; this has always been my dream. But I had underestimated how much the "serious side of life" - training, starting a family, earning money - can capture you. Despite this, I never completely lost sight of my dream. I've always made a lot of music and also written my own songs. The turning point came about 10 years ago - I found my way back to music out of a serious life crisis. I quit my job as a legal secretary and I decided, "I'm a singer, I'll go and take money." It was a process, of course, but now singing is my job and I'm very proud of it. So Berlin made it after all – or did I in Berlin?
The competition is big in Berlin. It's hard to make yourself known - but I'm becoming more and more successful. My best strategy here is: always have the guitar with you, sing everywhere and have your business cards ready at all times. My friend says: If you were woken up in the middle of the night, the first thing you would know is where your flyers are.
Since 2017 I started organizing music sessions. Then one of them told the other and it became more and more popular in musician circles. I'm talented for this kind of networking, I have to pull myself together not to get to know people. It's super fun to bring people together, I think it's so cool when the sessions keep getting bigger. The Corona period was tough, but it also brought me back together with great musicians. For the last two years, the "Brücken-Mucke" has been playing every Friday afternoon on the Carl-Zuckmayer Bridge in the Wilmersdorf/Schoeneberg public park. Many people still come by who don't know us yet. On the other hand, there is always a new audience and sometimes we have a real music party.
I didn't think I would be stuck in Berlin before, but somehow the city won't let me go. My second partner was also born in West Berlin - they don't like to leave. If you want to stay together, you usually have to stay in Berlin. The city has really become my home. But my heart is still connected to my home country of Belgium. At the World Cup, for example, I always have my Belgium flag with me!
Berlin has changed a lot in the last 35 years. I really ended up here after the fall of the wall. Experiencing that was incredible. I sat on the wall and sang, and they stood below with the lighters. I sang and celebrated with hundreds of strangers on Ku'damm. Goose flesh! This is where I found my identity as a German.
This city has conquered my heart again and again. For me, Berlin means life, freedom! You can be anything you want here. As a "creative ball" I'm exactly right here.
Metini, born in Chiangmai, Thailand (Photo: Zanda Liepina)
What was the most beautiful I saw in Berlin? People sing and dance in public space and its just their purpose of doing so. It signifies a sense of freedom and acceptance here.They are safe to do whatever they want as long as there is no disturbance to others. Berlin hold a space of "coming and being as you are". And the dirtiness makes it cooler and real. Thai culture is quite conservative and highly hierarchical. Starting my Bachelor, I started thinking to live somewhere else. Not until 26 years old I moved to Mannheim for attending the language course, later in Dessau for a master degrees. In 2017 I moved to Berlin because of a job. It was coincidental. Berlin is not only my residence but also my employer. I work for Federal State of Berlin for subsidary programs of artistic studios. It's cool to work on a daily basis helping the city being diverse, cultural and solidary. Berlin is the most diverse. So just look around.
Altynai, born in Bishek, Kyrgyzstan (Photo: Jan Radtke)
I was very excited to move to Berlin back in 2018. It was spring and everyone kept telling me that it was the best time to move to this city. And indeed it was, after a couple of days I already found myself in the middle of a loudly partying crowd surrounded by policemen in the middle of Kreuzberg on the 1st of May. There I already started to realize that this city was special and not like any other city I lived before.
This city is about freedom and because of it, it is also about forgotten responsibilities, dirty streets, drugs and weekend-long parties and lost connections. The experiences in this city can be very raw, like a techno music that is loved by almost everyone here. People can be direct and rude, a polite smile during an eye contact with a stranger is not a common habit here. But Berlin will always remain a very special place for me personally, as I met here one of my best friends and had my so far longest relationship of three years. So this city gave me a lot of valuable and amazing experiences.
To the question, why did I move to Berlin. Well, I wanted to experience this multifaceted city. Due to its history, it is just interesting to think that East Berlin (where I also live right now) used to be culturally and politically close to the same country my parents were born in, that is the Soviet Union. And the past of this place can be seen in its buildings here in the East part, which remind me of my own city where I was born. So Berlin has a lot of sides to explore, history, museums, parties and clubs, big parks and lakes and so much more. I am quite happy in Berlin, I studied at one of its universities and am working right now as a software developer. I love it here and am very grateful I had to choose to live in this one of a kind city.
Mahdi, born in Ghazni, Afghanistan (Photo: Pit Bisinger)
At the age of 14 I had to leave Pakistan, alone - without a family. I was born in Afghanistan
I had moved to Pakistan with my family as a child. After travelling the way from Pakistan to Europe as a refugee I ended up in the Moria prison / camp on Lesbos. I was in the Moria camp for 6 months at first. We weren't allowed to go outside. After 6 months I was released. I went to Athens. Then the police caught me again and I landed again for 6 months in prison. The refugee policy in 2014 was tough there, you weren't allowed to move freely. I was only released after the change of government. It wasn't a "Welcome Culture" back then. In 2017 I finally managed to come to Berlin, and I've been living ever since here.
Berlin has now become my intellectual home. As a child, I was “at home” in Pakistan. A real home – I don't have a feeling yet. At first I thought it was the language. Now I speak German well and it hasn't changed, maybe it's my attitude or me needing a little more time. At the beginning I had a real culture shock, you are here very direct, "Berlin snout". Everything here is very individual, everyone has to get along alone.
It wasn't like that in my culture, we had more togetherness with the family, with the friends, with the whole society. I had to learn to deal with the elbow society here first. I've been walking my own path since I was 14, and I live here alone too. So early caring for myself has also empowered me and made me grow up. I learned to be responsible for my decisions and actions.
I haven't seen my family since 2014. We're on the phone but the family can't come here. Sometimes when I'm angry I say, 'We're not so privileged, we can not just travel anywhere in the world like someone with a German passport.”
What is Berlin for me? The freedom to think! I've always had "why" questions in the Head". Here in Berlin I am looking for many answers. Here you can think freely, here you can ask everything and I also lost my god here. I grew up religious, but here in I saw many religions and gods and people in Berlin. I rather believe in a force but not in the spiritual sense of "my God" or "your God".
Ana, born in Tirana, Albania (Photo: Jan Radtke)
I moved to Berlin around six years ago for a new job. I have not been to Berlin before and initially was a bit insecure because I didn't want to go outside of my comfort zone and jump into a new and unknown world for me. But then I decided to go for this job and now that I look back, I am glad that I took this decision that changed my life. I arrived in March and still found it to be very cold, in Albania we have much more sunny days and it is relatively warmer in winter.
Initially, I found Berlin different in many ways from my hometown and had to get used to the new life. It felt a bit like living in this cultural duality, jumping from one world to another, trying to switch languages and adapt to the new culture and lifestyle. I was working for an international company and this helped me meet other people from different countries and even continents who have just moved to Berlin as well.
Although before moving I thought I would always feel like a foreigner in the city, I really appreciate it, that Berlin has been always giving me a sense of freedom and belonging since day one. I think that no matter who you are and where you come from, the city gives you the space to bring your experiences and culture with you, while it also helps you gain new ones and become the person that you are meant to be, eventually.
I definitely don't like the weather in Berlin, but I try to escape whenever I can in winter. I don't like some areas which don’t feel safe and I try to not go there often. Then there is the fact that sometimes it feels a bit crazy and overwhelming. But there are a lot of plusses as well. Berlin has a lot to offer like lots of events, restaurants of different cuisines, museums, concerts of my favorite bands who are performing live, the relaxed parks in summer and Christmas markets in winter.
Kevin, born in Manila, Philippines (Photo: Jan Radtke)
I moved to Berlin in December 2019 so almost three years ago. I've been to the city several times before but only on business trips. In the Philippines I was working for a company which has their tech hub in Berlin. When they decided that all the tech people will be transferred to Berlin, I was offered a choice to move. My only condition was that if they wanted me in Berlin, they'd have to bring my family as well - my wife was pregnant at that time. When we arrived, it was the winter holiday season. The Christmas Markets brought more light and color to the otherwise dark and gray surroundings. It was difficult for us, especially for my pregnant wife. The weather is a stark contrast with what we were used to living with. It was a bit depressing because of the cold and the limited amount of sunlight during the day. That was one of the challenges we had to deal with but we have settled here way better than we expected. We easily got familiar with things like public transportation, postal services and the different assortment of groceries. A week after our son was born, the lockdown started. So yeah, it was not really the best timing. Lucky for us, we have good neighbors with kids his age so despite being a pandemic baby, he still has friends that he's growing together with. Eventually we were able to secure a spot in the Kita. As you see, it wasn't easy to establish ourselves here but I have heard worse stories so I still feel grateful.
One thing that surprised us are the people. There is a stereotype that people in Germany are grumpy and very serious, they don't joke around. This is actually not our experience. We met a lot of people here, all kinds of people. A lot of them were really funny and relaxed, quite the opposite of that stereotype. They always have good stories to tell and I never really felt like an outsider. We like it here. There is this cliché statement that describes Berlin: Live and let live. When you experience living here, you'd feel that statement in the atmosphere. The people are straightforward but very open and not judging. They could say for example, that your shirt looks terrible but they won't judge your whole personality based on your clothing choice. This makes it very encouraging for me to spend time on hobbies I'm passionate about. It's different compared to the Philippines where there's always judgment from society; you need to be lucky with your environment or just have a thicker skin in order to be yourself. In Berlin I feel that there is far less judgement and people are free to appreciate themselves and their true personalities.
I would say, Berlin is a city of oxymorons. You're in a bustling city but just a few tram stops away from a massive green space. The history of the city goes back a really long time and like every part has a different vibe; Some feels very early 1900’s, other parts would feel like it's stuck in the 80’s. At the same time, you're at the forefront of technology with all the tech hubs, startups and futuristic companies scrambling to establish a base here. On Sundays, you hear the church bells ringing for the catholic mass but on the same weekend, the streets are filled with people on their way to famously liberated techno clubs. For me, this is the effect of the "Live and let live" attitude.
Aboubacar, born in Termessé, Guinea-Conakry (Photo: Pit Bisinger)
One home is Guinea, but I have also found a second home in Berlin for 30 years in Kreuzberg at the Viktoriapark. Until last year I worked in Guinea for the Weltfriedensdienst, in cooperation with a local non-governmental organization, the Guinean human rights organization, we campaigned for peace building and conflict resolution. We worked there for about 14 years, both with the military, police and gendarmerie, as well as with the young people who are fighting for a better style of government.
When the opposition youth saw us with the military, they thought we were working for the government. The government, in turn, feared that we might work for the opposition. There were even government spies in our organization. But we still managed to remain independent between the two opponents, that was our chance.
NGO's are not well regarded in Guinea and are not supported by the government but rather opposed. Actually, we wanted to help the government to become more democratic through constructive criticism. The fight for democracy and human rights is a dangerous activity in a country marked by arbitrariness and abuse of power. If a demo is organized by the opposition, e.g. because there is no water and no electricity, what happens in Guinea is that the military is allowed to shoot at people. You have to be careful what you say in public. If someone becomes too dangerous for the government, a command may be sent to make them disappear. Journalists and human rights activists are particularly at risk.
For a while I was also worried about myself and my wife Susanne, as we were becoming better known and worried colleagues warned us. We both have a German passport, but we know from experience that it won't be of much use to us in Guinea. In the long run it is very difficult to live in a context of violence and arbitrariness. Arbitrariness is the main problem in Guinea, you never know what can happen to you. We suddenly had a visit from the military several times, including at night. Some came directly from the government. You have to be very diplomatic and careful.
I am now employed by GIZ in Senegal as a consultant on land law and land management. There are many conflicts to be resolved in this area as well. Our land rights reform project has bases in the inland administrative regions of Kaolack and Kaffrine.The aim is to create a legal basis for investments and thus jobs. The Senegalese population needs advice and support to legally secure their property. We support women in particular, who up until now have only had traditional land use rights, in gaining access to land and funds for its cultivation. Our project works to avoid peasants becoming wage laborers for foreign investors and to prevent monoculture and dispossession of peasants. We work in this area of conflict between traditional land rights and modern legislation.
I've been in Berlin since 1991, I found Berlin to be a very lively city at the time and it still is today. This city also lives at night and there is a very large variety of people and cultures that come together. There were also many cases of racist and xenophobic violence in Germany at the time. Luckily I wasn't directly affected. On the contrary, I've had rather good experiences with the Germans.
I feel good in Berlin, I feel very familiar here. I felt unconditionally accepted in my wife's family. That matters a lot. At the Free University I also had a very good relationship with my doctoral advisor (I am a sociologist) Georg Elwert. I made good friends here. Even if I travel a lot for work, the friendship remains. When I come back from my assignments abroad, we immediately feel very close again.
I love Berlin, but of course there are enough problems here too. The prejudices of many Germans against foreigners, Africans and Muslims are always a topic of conversation. But racism and xenophobia exist in all countries, the question is how society deals with them.
I also find the enormous loneliness in this individualistic society problematic. There is a loneliness of the individual that I, who grew up as a child in a large community in the Guinea countryside, had never experienced in my family, my village, my homeland, and could not imagine. In my native Africa, it is customary to share what you have with family and friends. In Germany, on the other hand, "everyone is responsible for his own fortune" and everything is added up. It surprised me that there is so much poverty in a country as rich as Germany! Germany is not a paradise!
I love the many parks in Berlin – I live right next to Viktoriapark. There is a lot of water and greenery here. That's a big contrast to Conakry or Dakar.
Berlin pulsates with its diverse culture, the museums, the concerts.
The Carnival of Cultures shows so many colors and different life.
This is a city where you can breathe well!
Jolanta, born in Rydultau, Poland (Photo: Pit Bisinger)
I was born in Upper Silesia in Poland in the small town of Rydultau. I've been living in Berlin for three years now. Actually, I just wanted to take a holiday in Berlin - I had a job in Poland as a theater therapist. I wanted to help my friend to take care of her family members. My girlfriend then said to me, "Your certificates from your studies and your experience with older people are so good, you can stay here and start a new life here." I spontaneously decided within a day to stay here. I left everything behind and started a whole new life.
Meanwhile, I sometimes miss my job as a therapist at the Psychiatric Hospital in Poland. My specialty was geriatric psychiatry and psychiatry in general. I led occupational therapies, leisure, discussion and activation groups there.
In Germany it is still difficult for me with the language. I have a lot of ideas in my head, but I can't express them adequately yet. I speak German in a very simplified way and that's often not what I want to say. That irritates me a lot. I had no idea that language would be such a barrier to my work. In my old job as a therapist I have to talk to people on an uncomplicated, personal and emotional level - so far I've been able to express that better in Polish. Then the soul of the patient is often very open and we can do good and helpful theater therapy. At the moment I am mainly working in nursing.
At the moment I'm still thinking about the direction in which I want to develop further. I'm very happy to be in Berlin at the moment, but I don't feel that's the goal for my whole life yet. I'm looking for something else. I think about where else I can go to try another life. I still want something else. My friend also has the idea of possibly going somewhere else, he imagines Los Angeles. These are just dreams at the moment. Maybe we'll go back to Poland in ten years and build a house, who knows?
Berlin is always active, there are too many people here and there is no rest for the soul. There are many nationalities here. It's also cool that all people with their different cultures can live together here. But it also puts a lot of pressure on people, it's just too crowded, too much action. Clubs, restaurants, bars, outdoor parties. Oh my God! I don't need that anymore. At the same time, I like to get to know different cultures. I learn a lot of new things, I like the many museums and the architecture. I can always see something interesting here at the weekend. I try to take it easy - I already talk like my parents. Being happy and healthy: that is the most important thing to me.
Réka, born in Brussels, Belgium (Photo: Sibylle Rüstig)
I visited Berlin for the first time in 2010 after a lot of nagging from my sister who lived here at the time and fell immediately in love with the city. From then on it was my life goal to move here, but due to circumstances in my life at the time it took me eight more years to actually get here.
I ended up buying a one-way ticket, packing up a suitcase, booking a hostel and moving here in October 2018 without job or accommodation. My family was supportive of my decision but my friends though I ́m a bit insane at the time. Finding a place to live was quite hard and I ended up moving four times in the first one and half years. Luckily finding a workplace was very smooth.
For me Berlin is home. I love the parks, the summers, the markets, the fact that there is always something to do. Any time I leave I miss the city and I am always looking forward to coming back.
Jehudit, born at Kibbuz Beit Alfa, Israel (Photo: Pit Bisinger)
As a child I used to think that all Germans are evil. In 1934 my mother and her family had to flee Berlin because of the Nazis. Many of our relatives were murdered during the Holocaust. My father had a huge family in Warsaw and no one was even left, all of them were killed in the Holocaust. He was searching for them for years, hoping Maybe someone, maybe somewhere but no. His family was erased completely.
Our countries history is not so simple, as you know. We are the first generation after Holocaust. So we grew up under the impression that the Germans are the worst people that ever existed on earth. For us, Germans and Nazis were mostly the same thing. I was not so proud that my mother came from Germany although German Jews considered very educated. It was better if you had an origin from Russia or from Poland. We didn't buy any German products. My husbad for example was playing a violin in a youth orchestra and once came a delegation of children from Germany for a music - meeting and his mother, also a holocaust survivor, refused to let them in the house. She said: German, not in my home. My mother took for herself a kind of mission to understand really what happened.
When I was 4 years old in 1960 my mother came to Germany for investigation. She interviewed about 300 Nazis. She wanted to know: Why? After that She wrote her historical trilogy ,,Saul and Johanna" concerning a jewish family in the 1930s (written by my mother Naomi Frankel is now available in German translation). The Jewish people from Germany felt in those times so German, they were so proud to be so. My grandfather , for example, fought for Germany and was seriously wounded in the first World War. He couldn't understand how it switched. That was so extrem, so cruel, so out of reality! Those Germans-Jewish had a hole in their mind, they couldn't find an explanation. The first years of my mothers childhood in Berlin were the best years ever for this city (1920s). She remembered open minded people and a lot of intellectuals. So how was this possible?
Six years ago my husband was sent to Germany from his company in Israel. We decided together that the children have grown up and that we have this opportunity now for an adventure. My husband suggested and I agreed maybe I had to close some circles for myself. As you heard I grew up actually in a home concerned with the issue of what it is about between Germans and Jews. This was the first time for me and my husband to visit Berlin. I had some curiosity for this city. After my mother died, there was nobody to ask anymore about the history of my family. Actually I did a lot of research since I came here. It was also good for the rest of my family, they came here and we did a kind of "root-journey". At first the sound of the German language was a bad association to us and there as other associations as well. To be here was a lot of work for my soul.
I am a psychotherapist. Also my children and other relatives work in this. Understanding the roots of our history raised our interest for these themes. For these pictures for The-World-in-Berlin.de I chose my mother's elementary Jewish school for girls in Rykestraße in Berlin, Prenzlauer Berg. She participated this school from 1925-1930. Since we are living here in Berlin, we realize that there is a new generation here. The trauma is for both sides, We meet a completely new generation. They are very much concerned about the earth, the climate crises, about morals and about not being that aggressive country again. The young people we met want to be a different Germany. This is really touching for us. Something really changed here. Germany and especially Berlin took a full responsibility for what happened in the past and the city is covered with memorials, so nobody can forget. We really appreciate that . We are enjoying our stay here and love the democrat free spirit all around.
Zora, born in Prague, Czech Republic (Photo: Pit Bisinger)
At the age of 18 I started my journey. Unconsciously. Unplanned. Until then I had lived in Prague. It was a lot of coincidence and a lot of love where it got me. Back then I just flew to California and moved to Laguna Beach near LA. I also lived in San Francisco and San Diego. I learned a lot there that gave my life direction. Prague was quite conservative back then and I didn't really belong there anymore with my very individual style. Techno parties, piercings, dyed hair – that didn't really fit Prague at the time. People sometimes got teased because of their looks. In America it was all quite normal, I was allowed to walk down San Francisco's Fillmore Street in a bikini and leo coat and nobody even looked at you because of that, everyone was walking around like that. I felt very comfortable with it and it has influenced my life to this day. For me, that also has something to dowith Berlin. I rediscovered a lot of the San Francisco way of life here.
I first came to Berlin in 1998 out of love for a man, the father of my daughter. He is also Czech and fled to Berlin before the Wall came down. I was super happy to find so much of the Californian way of life here. As an artist, I perceive a lot very sensitively, with big eyes. And here I met so many interesting people who are into alternative fashion.
At the beginning I wasn't allowed to work full-time in Berlin, I only worked at the Sage Club on weekends, mostly in catering. This was later taken over by the Kit Kat Club. There were great parties with props and lots of celebrities. That influenced me again. I got married in 2002 and automatically got the right work permit. I met a lot of exciting people and formed a network. I worked in catering for Hells Kitchen for 10 years. I met a lot of artists backstage.
I've been a burlesque dancer for 16 years, back then in Germany's first group "The Teaserettes". We did a lot of nonsense backstage and I started taking snapshots with a borrowed camera. Then it evolved. You could see that I have a good eye and that the pictures look good. That's why I got small orders and I've also developed myself technically in photography. At the same time, from 2012 I also had my own shop, the "Fräulein Glitter Boutique" on Boxhagener Straße. That was also geared towards vaudeville and vintage. There were also erotic readings there and I looked after women in styling for the scene. I always had the camera in my hand.
Later I got a scholarship to study media design and photography at the “Gestalterei” academy. I mostly photograph women and I focus on character, so there's a lot of intimacy involved. I show strong women, sexy, equal and confident - but I present them without sexism. I don't photograph them as objects, but in their inherent strength. Most recently I published a photo book “Backstage Burlesque”. I show the dancers in the 21st century behind the scenes.
As an artist, it's always good to have a second source of income. Gastronomy and photography. I work as a “kaffeemitte” manager in Weinmeisterstraße. I have exhibited my paintings here before. This is how my different professions are connected. Soon I will be shooting for Boudoir Magazine in Sicily. And in Japan I want to do an erotic photography exhibition with a colleague in the fall. I have many plans! Berlin is an inspiration for me, it appeals to me. It's as good as an orgasm! Something new every day that I want in my life.
Website: www.zorajurenkova.de, facebook and instagram: zorajurenkovaphotography
Abeer, born in Baghdad, Iraq (Photo: Pit Bisinger)
I only experienced racism twice in Germany, otherwise my experiences were different actually good at that. After having my license to practice dentistry I applied to job advertisements. I had decided on one job, I turned down another offer and the answer I got from there was that all people from “these Arab countries” are unreliable and that Arab applicants will no longer be invited. This made me sad.
At first my destination was Belgium (my mother lives there) and I didn't want to go to Berlin. But with the Iraqi passport I had no choice. You can't travel to the country of your choice with that. I couldn't choose it, I had to give my fingerprints here in Germany and the authorities registered me and sent me to Berlin.
As a child in Baghdad I witnessed many wars. There was a bomb near us on a school and my aunt's husband and son were killed in a missile attack. My mother - she is a doctor - was a single parent with three children. Because of the international sanctions we couldn't afford much in Iraq from 1991 to 2003.
I couldn't stay safe in Iraq any longer. The road to Berlin was long and difficult. My journey took me via Turkey - where I had to wait two years - by boat to Greece and further via Macedonia, Serbia and Hungary. It was terrible in Hungary. I had to even hide trying not to attract attention as a foreigner. To come to Germany was the hardest step.
I arrived in Berlin at night and was sent to the LAGeSo, I thought, that's it, a home for the night, but of course it was closed. There were only tents with people from our homeland.
At that time, through fortunate circumstances, we found an elderly couple who accepted us to live in their gardenhouse. This was a great experience and has led to a very close connection with these great people until this day.
I am living in Berlin with my family since 2015. I now love Berlin, I can't imagine living anywhere else. Safety and freedom are the most important things for me. I can take the S-Bahn to the center and enjoy the big city.
Vizma, born in Sigulda, Latvia (Photo: Zanda Lipiena)
What was the most beautiful thing you experienced in Berlin? It´s definitely the co-existence of so many different people, cultures and environments within this city. I have to think back of one Wednesday night shortly after moving to Berlin in 2015. After an experimental opera performance with a small company of diverse artists we all went to a bar. It was a way past midnight in the heart of Neukölln (as far as I remember, it was the only bar on the street still open at that time on a weeknight) and we were about seven eight people cheerfully and passionately discussing art. What felt so normal, bit later on, thinking about it, absolutley fascinated me, was the fact that we spoke at least five different languages around that table to each other, depending on the person you talked to, you just swiched without even noticing it. And it felt so normal yet it is SO special! This multiculturalism that you can experience on every step you take here in Berlin is just wonderful and makes me feel so fourtunate and happy, and simply enriched as a person on a daily basis. I came here almost seven years ago, in 2015 to fulfill my dream and study operatic singing at the prestigious Hans Eisler Music Academy. I have to admit that I am very lucky- somehow many of my most daring dreams had come true! Including this one-when still studying at the Riga Dome Choir School in Riga, Latvia where my main study focuses were singing and choral conducting, I knew - if I ever wanted to pursue a career as a professional opera singer, I want to get my training in Germany. And Hanns Eisler was an absolute dream institution to receive it from, and I never really dared to believe I might be able to get admitted there. The first times I came to Berlin as a tourist attending some competitions or masterclasses here and there, I always ended up around Gendarmenmarkt and Stadtmitte where also the school is located. The Konzerthaus and both Doms were just fascinating. Few years later I was indeed one of the four singers they accepted that semester! That was when I knew-despite it being scary-that this place would teach me a lot and lead me to get to know myself and parts of me I have never known before. The past autumn felt like a circle - I am done with my studies and I gave my debut at the Konzerthaus Berlin. Dare to dream and believe in yourself, it is all worth it! Berlin is all one can imagine and might be looking for. It is a place that allows you to be your true self.
Siang, born in Surabaya, Indonesia, Java (Photo: Pit Bisinger)
On the day Rudi Dutschke was shot - April 11, 1968 - I came to Berlin at the age of 18. It had snowed a bit. It was the first time in my life that I experienced snow. Back then, you were still personally welcomed at the airport. I arrived dressed in a suit - I thought suits were worn in Europe.
From the airport we went to the dormitory and from there to the Ku'damm with a few friends from Indonesia who had already lived here. That's where the demonstration took place, and that's also where the assassination attempt on Dutschke took place later. It was exciting at first that you could go to a demo. That was dangerous in Indonesia, because in 1968 there was a military dictatorship, a bloodthirsty regime. I always associated demonstrations there with the presence of the military and machine guns. To this day, there is a different understanding of human dignity and human rights in Indonesia.
First, I studied electrical engineering at the Technical University. In the circles of my parents, the children become doctors or engineers, only then did you learn something clever. Then I realized thatI don't like it at all. I switched to Protestant theology at the Free University. Helmut Gollwitzer was one of the professors, a student of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Gollwitzer was one of the first professors to demonstrate together with the students. Rudi Dutschke lived with him at the time. We discussed a lot of political things in the seminars, but we also read Marx, Engels and Feuerbach and made a connection to Christian theology. In a nutshell, Gollwitzer's position was: "If Jesus were here today, he would be a revolutionary on the side of the demonstrators".
It was then a long way to my occupation with systemic and emotion-focused therapy, which I teach today at the SIA - Systemic Institute for Mindfulness. I also studied history, listened to politics and then studied sociology. There I came into contact with systems theory, which fascinated me. In addition, there was the realization that the big change cannot be achieved with politics.
Now to Berlin: For me, Berlin is a place with a lot to offer. There is no other city in Germany where I would like to live. It's this diversity, it's important to me and I'm grateful for that. It's still ambivalent, I think the opportunities are great in Berlin, but sometimes it's too much with all the options. However, I feel at home here. During the pandemic, however, I experienced that I felt more comfortable in seclusion and in nature.
Today I work, among other things, with teams that accompany refugees or with victims of racist violence. So I know that people with dark skin in this city are not spared from racist attacks on a daily basis, although I have personally experienced little racist exclusion and violence so far.
Alexandra, born in Almaty, Kazakhstan (Photo: Pit Bisinger)
I've been in Berlin since 2007, when I started studying Latin American Studies at the FU. I wanted to stay in Berlin because I've been interested in Latin America since I was a child. In Berlin, there was this combination with history and Spanish at the university. After completing my master’s degree in interdisciplinary Latin American studies in 2013, it was not easy to find a job. At that time, the trip of Russian President Putin to Latin America gave me the idea of writing an synopsis for a doctoral thesis on the relationship between Russia and Latin America. Then suddenly everything worked out well for me: PhD in Global Studies at the University of Leipzig, part-time job in Berlin at the Heinrich Böll Foundation. Then I did my research in Brazil, Ecuador and Cuba. That was the best part of the doctorate. This mixture: I grew up in Kazakhstan, work on Latin America and live in Germany. That's still a challenge for me. Who am I, how do I identify between these different cultures and languages? Sometimes I was not perceived as a Latin Americanist, since I am originally not from Latin America, but from Central Asia. Still I believe that combining different cultural perspectives is a good approach to research. I like living in Berlin. I have a feeling of freedom here with many opportunities for development. In Berlin you can show your individuality, you don't have to be afraid or hide. Berlin is very diverse in this regard. You can live and dress how you feel. That is the "Spirit of Berlin". I like that. As in every big city, there is also a lot of anonymity; the individual freedom is also tricky. You can quickly become lonely. Big city promotes and challenges you. You have to have perseverance to find your way. If you don’t give up, the city will open up. I can also live out my joy of dancing very well here, there are so many places - also open air - for salsa and tango! This is what makes Berlin so multicultural. In one sentence: Berlin's symbol is for me the television tower: Always go forward, keep reinventing yourself. INSTA@alexandra_berlinesa
Corrinne, born in London, United Kingdom (Photo: Pit Bisinger)
I grew up in Zimbabwe. I lived in a very small village near Harare, the capital. The people there are so warm, even in difficult times. You don't go to war, you try to help each other. What defines me in my heart all comes from this country. My mixed ethnicity, strong values, manners, discipline, friendliness and empathy are all deeply webbed into the cloth of this great land. People ask me; “Where do you come from, blue eyes and Afro hair?” Zimbabwe is a country with many cultures, we are mixed, we are black and white, we are Indian. Maybe this is where my patience and acceptance for one another comes from. In our family, the ethnic mixture that made me was a few generations ago. I am no more black than l am white; l am colored (it was never a derogatory term in our land).
My story further goes - at the age of 20 I moved to England for a couple of years. England was too strong a contrast to the summer, great weather, lots of space and warm people in Zimbabwe. I didn't like that at all. So I moved to the USA, first Boston then New York where l studied and worked in the fashion industry.
I then met my now Husband in Greece on holiday and we made a brave decision when we were still dating to move together to Germany. We decided on the capital city of Berlin because l knew nothing of the German culture and so it seemed logical to move to the most multicultural city of this land. My diverse background from Zimbabwe and living many years in New York, fits in well with here. It was a completely new start for both of us but it also ended up being a difficult first few years for me. The language was really a struggle to learn and the people came across as abrupt and unfriendly, cold and set in their ways. On the work front, I thought I'd come here with a lot of experience from London and New York and was optimistic to find a job quickly. Unfortunately, that was not the case, my skills in the fashion industry were not in demand here. It took a long time to find work, only to receive a lot less money than I expected and not ideal work standards. The fashion business works completely different here, not only slower but also way more conscious. It was a hard transition to the fast paced, capitalized world of New York.
Life in the bars, restaurants and with the people here was still great; the vibe was different but it at least reminded me of New York. In saying that, Berlin has a different heart and a different rhythm. It has been a city for musicians and artists; also partying - doing drugs. Of course it has many more faces but l just never felt like l fit in as I’m not this type of person.
Oddly though, Berlin brought me down to earth. Maybe partly because l have a family now. The state really cares a lot here; that makes my heart full. I speak specifically for mothers, fathers, families and children. Fathers have longer parental time with newborns and mothers are given two years away from work to raise their children … unbelievable! Not to mention the multitude of parks, bike paths, playgrounds and kindergartens that all make this city so wonderful for families.
I love this new person that I am now, even if it took me a long time to change and become part of this city. Truth be told, for all the down times l have had here, Berlin also represents many wonderful experiences and important steps here for my husband and I. We got married, bought our first apartment and now have two young children. Strangely enough, the same city that l was once so happy to leave has become my home.
Ewa, born in Kamien Pomorski, Poland (Photo: Pit Bisinger)
Back then - over 23 years ago - I often came to Berlin with school. I had learned Russian and German. It was by chance that I met my first husband in a cafe. He just sat down with me and my girlfriend and the rest just happened that way. ;-) At home in Poland he visited me. After a few months of long-distance relationships, I moved to Berlin. At first I had problems with my German from school, it all sounded very different here. That's why I went to school to learn the language better. Soon I also had my daughter, who is now 22 years old. I now have my second marriage. Everything is great now, for dancing and dying, funerals and weddings. This is what it means in Polish: the man for everything. We live together. Now I work in a doctors office in Kreuzberg, I feel completely at home there. For me, Berlin is a multicultural city. Many foreigners also live here, although the majority of Germans live in my Weissensee district. I like the internationality, I got to know many other mentalities. I come from the Polish Baltic Sea, so I feel very comfortable there in summer. But after a while I miss Berlin again. The city, the life and the hustle and bustle. Sometimes I also feel homesick for Poland, where we had a house. Here I live for rent in an apartment in a block. At first I felt like I was in a cage. I've got used to it now. I keep visiting my mother by the sea on the Dziwnów peninsula. I also need the fresh sea air every now and then. So I am connected to two places to live.
Joshua, born in Benin City, Nigeria (Photo: Pit Bisinger)
I came to Berlin at the age of 12. Until then, I grew up with my grandparents in Nigeria. My parents had lived in Berlin for many years and then brought my brother and me here. We lived together as a family for a couple of years. Meanwhile, my older brother and I have gone our own way. My brother is now studying and I have graduated from high school and now live in Pankow near Prenzlauer Berg. I am currently doing my voluntary social year (FSJ) at the SCL Sportclub Lebenshilfe, a sports club for people with disabilities. I like that very much and it's really cool. You learn a lot of new things and meet a lot of new people. At the moment we have a week-long seminar with a lot of exciting people. At “Aktion Mensch” I even got to know the Mayor of Berlin, Michael Müller. We have already gone to Saxony for a week to a soccer camp. So I combine a commitment in the social area with sports. Berlin has become my home. Berlin is so culturally diverse. When I recently spent a week in a small town in Saxony, I couldn't wait to come back to Berlin, to the people, this expansiveness. I went straight to the city because I missed Berlin so much. For me, Berlin is simply the fresh air that I need.
Brian, born in Livingston (NJ), USA (Photo: Jan Radtke)
I was living in Budapest, and I really liked it there but after 13 years I felt I was stagnating in terms of work opportunities and social opportunities. So, I started looking for work elsewhere and I received a job offer in Berlin from T-Systems. So, I thought, “Yeah let’s do that”.
I'd already quit my job and my flat and I was here looking for a flat when I got a call “Hey, we are restructuring. We're not going to need you anymore.” Really? Fuck you!
Okay, whatever. So, I turned my flat search to another job search, and I found another employer in Berlin.
My first time in Berlin was late 1999. I was following around a punk-rock squatter festival circuit around Europe, where squats (and former squats) were raising money to pay for utilities and other fees. I stayed at Køpi, which still exists and another (I think on Brunnerstraße), which I have not been able to find. I had a good time here but the weather was turning miserable so rather than continuing north to Poland and Finland I fled south to the Canary Islands, arriving in time for NYE 2000.
I forgot about how miserable the weather here was when I was when I moved here in the summer of 2018 and found the weather was brilliant. There was music everywhere, especially Mauerpark on Sundays. It seemed there million events every day with comedy clubs, discussion groups, board game groups, and writing groups (among so many other things), so it seemed I could never possibly get bored in the city. So, I was very enthusiastic to move here at that time.
It has of course since changed. Since the pandemic it's much more difficult to find things that to do because everything is restricted or at least semi-restricted so a lot less events are being offered or the events that are being offered have a lot of rules. Often you need to have someone shove a Q-tip up your nose before you can go and even once you're there rather than being able to just flow freely to interact with people they go like ‘okay this is your spot you've got to stay there for the evening’. Also, you can't really interact with people as well when you have half your face covered and half of their faces are covered which is kind of a barrier to communication. So, it feels very restrictive and oppressive. I've got friends in the U.S., in the U. K., in Hungary and my friends there seem happier.
I find the Germans are very much into their rules and regulations obeying orders, shaming anyone and I see discussions on the Internet, where people encouraging each other to squeal for the police if they see anything and this is I think a really disgusting attitude.
One good thing: I think Berlin, as far as continental Europe goes has probably among the best selections of restaurants of almost any city. You can find Indian food and Thai food, Vietnamese food and Korean food and Japanese food and Mexican food and various other cuisines which I really, really like. I'm a bit of a foodie but this also ties into also one of the worst things about Berlin: despite all this amazing potential variety of restaurants, the quality of the food very often leaves something to be desired. They're not using the best or authentic ingredients, and a lot of the spicing has been dulled down. For example, there are millions and millions of Turkish places (well probably not millions literally) but it's all just döners and falafel and whatnot. I mean if I was to go to a typical Turkish place in Budapest for example you have various stews you have so for example Turkish Moussaka which is delicious, I've not been able find that anywhere.
Another good thing to mention there was just so much variety in things that you can do. I think people are very open minded. You can just do whatever you want and see people dressed in crazy ways or undressed in crazy ways on the street or in the workplace. One of the first experience I had coming to Berlin when I was looking for work, I was interviewing with a financial company. These tend to be very, very conservative so I was expecting a go in and be meeting with people in a suit and tie and and there they were in just striped shirts and denim jeans. People here generally have a very liberal attitude, and people can just do anything - if they're doing their own thing in their own space in their own time and not interacting with other people. I think that that is the really great thing about Berlin. But then, as I also mentioned, with this pandemic I feel the Germans are extremely repressive to a degree I find disgusting and it's hard to reconcile myself to this.
One bonus feature on the good side: Berlin is a surprisingly green city. I mean I knew it was a large city and I was expecting something very industrial. Of course, if you look around Berlin you could find a lot of that, but then there's a surprising amount of green space which adds a pleasant atmosphere to the city (when the weather is nice).
Raef, born in Aleppo, Syria (Photo: Zanda Liepina)
When I was on the Tempelhofer Feld for the first time in spring 2021, I saw this wonderful szenario: a lot of different people with their strong charisma. I was happy to just be there. I will never forget this image. Berlin is the city where I can develop best and where I get to know my self in my extremes. Here I find the courage to be me and the inspiration to continue to find my way as a musician. I have never lived in Berlin permanently, but when I came here, doors opened to extraordinary experiences that took me out of my comfort zone. Berlin is a mighty city where you can get to know yourself in a great way, where you can also lose yourself at the same time. This challenge should be handled wisely.
Alicja, born in Lodz, Poland (Photo: Pit Bisinger)
I came to Berlin in 2013. I can still remember it well. I arrived with a huge bag. The first thing I did is: I went to the milonga and partied. It wasn't until the next morning that I realized: now 1 1 m in a new city, I had nothing here, nothing planned, no work. I wanted to try something different and also prove myself a bit. The most important thing for me was tango. I knew that Berlin is a tango capital in Europe. I came here all alone. I wanted to experience something, my mother asked me the day before: "What are you doing, my child, do you really want that?" Before that, I had only been here briefly twice and had already met a few people from the tango scene. An acquaintance made his apartment available to me for the first month. After the first night of partying and milonga dancing in Berlin, I immediately found a job the next day and soon my own apartment. Because of my enthusiasm, the city responded so well! Now I feel very at home here, tango has become a central part of my life. I teach tango at the Mala Junta and know almost no people outside of the tango scene. This city fits this lifestyle so well, tango is a nighttime activity! You dance late into the night and then get up late. This city is so alive! For me, Berlin is courage and freedom, you can live out your dreams here. There are so many subcultures and you feel accepted. Colorful diversity! My friend and I used the Corona period to train. We did a "lonely together - choreography". I also started playing the piano and improving my Spanish. The state has helped a lot to bridge this period financially. Almost the whole team has already been vaccinated and I hope that everything will not be closed again after the summer.
Emiliano, born in Tucumàn, Argentina (Photo:: Pit Bisinger)
I've been in Berlin for 5 years. I came for a woman, that was a very nice reason (or excuse) to come here! Then I realized that in Berlin I can continue to live very well with my passion for tango and exercise my profession as a tango dancer and teacher for example at the "Mala Junta". Berlin is beautiful and wonderful to me, I love Berlin. There is a large tango community in the city. That made me feel immediately at home here. There is a lot of tango and milonga dancing. Last year Corona was a challenge for me at the beginning and it was also a huge task for the whole world. But we managed it very constructively. Berlin is my life right now - and I love my life!
Tarek, a Syrian citizen born in Benghazi, Libya (Photo: Pit Bisinger)
I've been in Berlin since 2016. Friends of mine from Damascus had come here before I did. It was our dream that we would meet again in Berlin. Everyone found their own way here. Some of them came via Tunisia or Turkey, I myself had received a visa at the German embassy in Beirut in order to enter directly from Lebanon. I had already completed my degree in dentistry. In order to improve my chances of getting a visa, I had taken German courses in Syria and thus received a B1 certificate at the Goethe Institute Beirut. In Passau I did the B2 German course. I also just talked to people and thereby learned the German language. I quickly made contacts through basketball. I was born to Syrian parents in Benghazi, Libya. As a small child we lived in Saudi Arabia and then I spent my school days in Damascus. From 2011 you saw a lot of the war there. In Damascus people became very cautious, the government became brutal. As students, some tried to demonstrate, and sometimes there was violence in the air. For example, you wore black pants to show: “I'm against it”. Now I am happy to have my home in Berlin with a lot more freedom, humanity and peacefulness. You can find everything you need here, different people, cultures and attitudes. You can also get lost here, friends have taken drugs and gone off the beaten track. Hopefully my degree will soon be recognized here and I will receive my license to work as a dentist in Berlin.
Joaquin, born in Havanna, Cuba (Photo: Pit Bisinger)
Berlin has been my new home since 1981, like so many artists and "unusable people" who have decided to stay here. And so we became part of this tolerant city with so many different lifestyles and ways of life, "Multi - Racial" and "Multi Sexual", Queer life: diverse identities and cultures side by side! Life without limits, this openness! It's a very tolerant city and I hope it stays that way. I was born in Havana in 1952, and in 1966 I immigrated to the north - east of the USA. I came to Berlin from New York in 1981, my manager was Kuno Sponholz, a German - known for his own agency for new American talents for European revue houses, large variety and touring shows. I was a singer, dancer in musicals and worked in “Studio 54” with the “Le Clique Performance Group”. The conditions were better for me in Europe than in the USA, I was dissatisfied there. I had lived and worked in the underground and avant-garde scene and in travesty shows. I also met Rosa von Praunheim in New York. I later met him again in Berlin together with other artists from New York and also participated in several of his films. Berlin was very popular in New York at the time. In West Berlin at that time there were many interesting cabaret artists and punk / rock disco people, musicians as well as political activists at the same time. There were a broad avant-garde and provocative ideas here, New York had become a bit boring. And at that time we had Reagan as president in the USA, I am not a Republican sympathizer! And then it was clear to me: Bye bye New York, you are not the center of the world. Here in Berlin I was able to live out my very personal kind of blended family. I am a bisexual Afro-Cuban artist, my first wife was a painter and dancer from Finland, later I lived 14 years with my husband, a German cameraman and journalist who unfortunately has already died. In the US it was then - and still is - very racist. Here in Berlin, marriages between blacks and whites are much more accepted. And what I also like here: the Germans are more serious, have a certain discipline and a depth of thought. Here in Berlin there is a combination of the experimental and the tradition, the history of the old thinkers and composers. I have made an adventure trip out of my life with classical music to techno beats and latino hip hop. That's how I lived and I could only do that in Berlin: be who I am today. My two sons and my couple of grandchildren are very proud of me and I am happy with myself too.
Phiona, born in Kampala, Uganda (Photo: Zanda Liepina)
The diversity in Berlin as a city intrigues me and every day I think about how so much diversity makes experiences beautiful and interesting. I would say I have seen diversity and this is the most beautiful thing above everything else. I think the diversity makes Berlin special and unique as well as the freedom to be who you are or want to be. I moved to Berlin over three years ago ( 3yrs 4 months, at this time of writing this). It was a transition right after I had finished my bachelors degree in Industrial Organisational Psychology at Makerere University Kampala (Uganda). The goal was to eventually pursure a master degree in I/O Psyhology and explore the field in general. In the course of time my career choice evolved and led me to explore other professions like education where I now work as an educator. I am a dreamer, an achiever and a go-getter. I will not stop if I am not stopped so Berlin turned out to be the perfect place to explore options and expand on both my personal and career goals. If I chose to stay longer, learning the language would be a part of the process so I did. I remember taking intensive German classes for a year and a half until I reached the highest level 8 (everyday is a trial on my spoken German, but it´s alright). I come from a culturally and linguistically diverse country with a constellation of different districts, kingdoms and local languages. A lot of times I think, more than anything this kind of diversity is existent in Berlin. I like to listen and hear the sound of drums at places like Mauerpark, they remind me of home, my culture, my tribe and my traditional dance (the Imbalu). I am amazed by the faces Berlin gives the fashion industry, I call it "it´s own fashion" because everyday I am amazed at the choices people make when it comes to style and fashion. It is unique and different and it speaks so much of freedom, a freedom for everyone to be who they´re and want to be, in aspects not limited to fashion. The city I walked into as a complete stranger has turned out a home away from home. I am a proud Ugandan, this is my identity, who I am. Uganda is home but it is beautiful to be in a place a thousand miles away from home that feels like home. So yes Berlin is my other home. I've made some of the most beautiful friendschips here, people I now love and so much care for. Berlin I love you.
Sofia, born in Zikarce, Slovenia (Photo: Zanda Liepina)
I come from a small village called Zirkace in today's Slovenia. We emigrated to Germany in 1961. In 1966 I came to Berlin when I was 22. At first I lived in Schöneberg. I learned how to work as a child. My brother taught me how to lay parquet. I w the first woman in West-Berlin who worked on the comstruction site with men. Many colleauges on construction sites were against a woman working there. Once a worker said: "Now are the women coming to the construction site? Then I can go home!" My client at the time built me up a lot by offering the guy to pick up his papers from the office and go home, if it doesn't suit him! My things and tools were often broken by men on construction sites. My brother later emigrated to Canada and I worked with my first husband. When we seperated, I started my own business and continued to work on my own. Right at the start, I had a few large assignments and prominent customers. From my first success I bought a small sports car. Floors that I habe polisched and cared for are in the Berliner Philarmonic, in the Chamber music hall , in the Theater des Westens and in many places in Berlin. I've been working as a parquet sander for 49 years, but at 90 I'll only work part-time. Was and is my life in Berlin beautiful? I met a lot of great people here and made good friends. I had a boat for many years and did water sports intensively for many years. I love to travel, but Berlin, this colorful world is my home. I would have had the opportunity to go back to Slovenia, but I don't want to. The best moments that I experienced in Berlin? I once drove through the center of Berlin a motor surfer. The people on the bridges applauded when they saw a woman driving the motor surfer. I also like to remember a visit from the then mayor of Berlin Eberhard Diepgen to my home. He had heard about my job and wanted to get to know me. These are two very nice memories.
Valeria, born in Caracas, Venezuela (Photo: Pit Bisinger)
I was born in Caracas, Venezuela: the Capital. I lived in Berlin for almost two years and now I am back here in Berlin again after one year abroad. I have been away from Venezuela for almost twelve years. I came to Berlin to work. I am a designer, so I found work here and that is why I came to the city. I love Berlin, but sadly I didn't learn a lot of the German language, my German is very poor. Berlin has been very nice to me, all people speak English. Berlin for me is diversity, freedom, exuberance and a bit extravagance.
Luis, born in Quibdó, Colombia (Photo: Zanda Liepina)
Berlin is quiet, international and inexpensive compared to many other metropolises in Europe. Berlin is great because it has two sides, on the one hand it is a lively metropolis comparable to Paris, London and Madrid, on the other hand there are corners in the middle of the city where life is like in a village. I´ve lived in some places in Europa and Germany, but Berlin is the best city for me because you dont have to be rich to live here. Germany has created good standards, there is a good health system and a good legal system. I come from Colombia, I used to work there as a journalist and cameraman in the documentary film sector. Unfortunately , the peace process had very little effect there. I did not want to return there because of the political situation.
Bolortuya, born in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia (Photo: Sibylle Rüstig)
The capital city of Germany is one of the most multicultural cities in the World. Here you can meet people from any country. It’s a very famous tourist spot because of all the monuments, museums and cultural attractions. Berlin has everything a large city could offer in terms of leisure and free time. The beautiful gardens are perfect for relaxed walks as well as for some grilling time with your best friends or family. Especially during the summer, Berlin has places such as small canals and large lakes to bath and practice aquatic sports.
Sharon, born in Ciudad de Guatemala, Guatemala (Photo: Jan Radtke)
It took several relocations until I finally found my way here. You know how it is, there were some misprints and odd choices along the way, a little dithering and hesitation as well. Looking back I think I was quite timid with life in general back then. But Berlin is like a candid old uncle, the kind who still smokes a pipe as he nudges you ahead. I told him I wanted to write fiction and he said, “Well Mensch, what are you waiting for? Go ahead!” He’ll give it to you straight. And if you didn’t know him you’d think he was a big old outspoken grouch. But after years of living with him you realize that he’s just like freshly baked bread. He has a crunchy shell but he’s all soft and doughy on the inside. What can I say? I’m a big fan of bread.
Raul, born in Havanna, Cuba (Photo: Pit Bisinger)
In 2000 I came to Germany and Berlin, I always wanted to visit this country and stay here. Since I came here I have been active as an artist, I have always painted and now I have this exhibition in the “Cafe Mitte”. I have also organized various exhibitions in Berlin. I really enjoy living here and most of all I like the weather, it's winter here! You live here in a very culturally diverse city. There are huge cultural influences, all countries are represented in Berlin. Berlin is a city where you never get tired. It's a city that is constantly changing and I think: Berlin is simply the future.
Avner, born in Jerusalem, Israel (Photo: Pit Bisinger)
I was born in Jerusalem. Since three and a half years I am living in Berlin. People in Berlin are like anywhere else: If you are friendly – they are friendly. 40 years ago I lived in Freiburg, that was a different period, everybody was hugging everybody, it was like late hippie movement. The world has changed since than. I am a musician basically, singer, songwriter, guitarplayer. In Israel I am the the most popular Blues Singer among the unknown and the most unknown Singer and Guitarist among the famous musicians. I teach now the guitar. I like it here, Israel is now a very difficult place. Berlin is for me a saint place, I hope it stays that way. Berlin is free, it's loose, it's safe. It has a lot of the old culture and a lot of the new culture mixed. If my German would be better I would enjoy even more things. My father and my grandfather were partly in Berlin, they were very famous and higly regarded philosophers in Germany before World War Two. My father was a professor for philosophy, he taught at the Humbolt University. They had to leave, they didn't have a choice. But I don't think they would like to see Israel the way it is today. And that is an understatement. And now I live in Berlin: I wanted to change the life, but the life has changed me.
Adriana, born in Poprad, Slovakia (Photo: Sibylle Rüstig)
I moved to Germany in 2007 because I wanted to study architecture in the lovely town Wismar near to the baltic sea. After my degree (as almost every other architect I know) i just wanted to work on some spectacular projekts and become a famous architect. So I had to move to Berlin - obviously :) This extraordinary city has been allways been full of special opportunities for jung creative people. I love the international vibe and the cultural diversity. You never feel as a foreign here, because everybody is so open minded and wants to collaborate. My most special experience, and the biggest challenge as well, was when I realised that my fluent german isn't enough to survive in the „Berlin language jungle“. Especially in the bars and in the office I suddenly had to speak english. In Berlin you have to stay flexible, dynamic when you want to go with the flow. I have to confess, sometimes this crowdy city makes me quite dizzy and exhausted as well. Therefore I love to have a walk or jogg in Rummelburger Bucht or visite some architectural highlights of Berlin so I can balance the hectic Berlin work life style.
Justin, born in San German, Puerto Rico, USA (Photo: Zanda Liepina)
The moust beautiful thing I first experienced in Berlin, was that everytime I had a problem and asked somebody for help they were very helpful and willing to assist me. In my opinion what makes Berlin special is all of the history that there is here including historic sites and museums. I also feel that the great diversity that there is, is very unique and special. I chose to move to Berlin because of the many opportunities I had here. I am currently learning German and will begin to study linguistics in the winter and have chosen to study in a foreign culture and language to be able to experience something new. Berlin is the most different, exciting city that I have ever been to, because of the wide variety of things there is to do here, and the many interesting people you can meet.
Beatrice, born in Rome, Italy (Photo: Alexandra Macnaughton)
I came to Berlin two years ago to do my master’s degree. Before I have been living in London and Paris. I like Berlin because it’s not overcrowded, there is always enough space and I find the people who live here very inspiring. To come here was just for the experience at first but now I might stay here. What I don’t like so much is the weather.
Silvia, born in Rome, Italy (Photo: Sibylle Rüstig)
I moved to Berlin three years ago. I always wanted to move to Germany, since the high school. Honestly the choice of Berlin came by chance, because a great friend of mine was already living in this amazing city. I dance since i was 5 years old and at 20 i decided to become an architect. In the last years of my education I started to bring one discipline inside the other, until i decided to move and to let grow my ideas somewhere else. I arrived in July 2017, just graduated. I found a job in a studio in Mitte and at the same time I started to work in a bar. There I met the person that I love, that I’m living with. This is probably the best thing that ever happened to me. In Berlin and everywhere else. Berlin is pushing me, further and further. What I’m trying everyday to do, is to go with his flow, without loosing my roots.
Ibourama, born in Sirassaba, Mali (Photo: Pit Bisinger)
I left Mali in 2011 at the age of eighteen and came to Italy via Algeria and Libya. There has been civil war in my homeland since 2012, even before there had been repeated rebellions for many years. My home is not safe, so many people die there as a result of armed violence. I've been in Berlin since 2014, I enjoy being here. But it is difficult. I've been sent back twice, but I've come back anyway. Then I learned German at the school and then found an apprenticeship at a moving company. After completing my training, I have to go back to the immigration office, I have no idea whether I can stay here then. I now have friends in Berlin, especially among my football colleagues. I play soccer in a club and we often meet in the park. Berlin: I think it's good.
Mattia, born in Borgo Maggiore, San Marino (Photo: Karin Kutter)
I came to Berlin to dance and I stayed for love. A few years ago, I was performing with my dance company at Radialsystem in Berlin. Afterwards, we all went out clubbing. There, I met Julián, who is originally from Venezuela. We decided to live together in Berlin and 4 years later we got married. Being a choreographer, I get to travel quite a lot around the world. As we both come from warmer countries, we might one day head “south” to a place that is a bit warmer than Berlin.
Maya, born in Surabaya, Indonesia (Photo: Sibylle Rüstig)
At first Berlin was intimidating: too large, too dirty, apparently lawless. No wonder, I just came from Singapore. Vandalism is punishable by cane strokes (!) , so graffiti was not a normal part of the Singaporean cityscape .The Berlin Mauerpark, on the other hand, appeared like a wasteland from some post apocalyptic movie. But then I experienced the CSD Parade. Crazy people wearing outrageous stuff doing unbelievable acts in public! And no one batted an eyelid. Even the mayor came to give a closing speech, and happy participants disappeared in groups into the Tiergarten. Wow, how wonderful was my only thought. Live and let live, this really works in Berlin. Now I see the city with more discerning eyes. There are areas in Berlin which I love, there are areas that I simply ignore. The Southwest of Berlin, with its forests, parks, lakes and villas is my favorite and that is where I live too. I have discovered cycling and kayaking as a sport and both of them can be pursued wonderfully in Berlin. The only thing missing are nearby mountains for skiing. The Berliners are curious and open people. Before settling in in Berlin I lived for a year in Cologne. The people there appeared friendlier but it was just the appearance. I am sure I have met unfriendly people in Berlin too, or those who judged me based on how I look, but I tend to forget those encounters. I believe overall I have met more Berliners and Germans who have treated me as well as they would have their fellow countrymen.
Izak, born in Ljubljana, Slovenia (Photo: Alexandra Macnaughton)
I don’t live in Berlin but I have been here already several times to play music. I’m studying music and there are fantastic teachers here and the possibility to give concerts for music students from different countries. I have an exchange with other musicians and the audience in Berlin is great. I like this city.
Sofia, born in Stockholm, Sweden (Photo: Sibylle Rüstig)
I came to Berlin in May 2018. It was a spontaneous decision, and was decided very loosely, moving in to an apartment with only three months to find something new. In a way, this defines Berlin for me. Spontaneous, no planning, only excitement and a “let’s see how it goes”. During these two years, I have made amazing friends, had internships in my field of art, worked with art, participated in projects, started to love yoga... The friends I have made have come and gone. This is not a town where people stay too long, unfortunately. Some come back. Some I do not know if I will ever see again. People are more open here. Berlin is so multi-cultural and welcoming for new people. I love that. I have made friends from countries I have never been to, or know much about in general. But there is something similar with all of us. We have left our homes to come here. And now this is our home. You learn to understand that we are not so different. We are all just people.
Moustapha, born in Nouakchott, Mauritania (Photo: Zanda Liepina)
Before I moved to Berlin, I lived in Paris for a year. I find the French very strict, I like Germans better. I came to Berlin without a plan. First of all, I took only four days of vacation in Berlin. On my first visit I found the city beautiful and familiar." Berlin is super nice and cool and green"- for me it does not only result in beautiful houses, flower beds or great streets. It is the people who make up the mood in the city. The Germans respect other people and the politics in Berlin are friendly. (I think it's all great!). I lived in Mecklenburg- Vorpommern for a year and did an apprenticeship there. I didn't get there along so well. I have experienced racism again and again. Its very different here. In Berlin most people, especially young people, are very open to one another, which I really like.
Imran, born in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (Photo: Pit Bisinger)
I was born in Dubai but my father and my mother are from Pakistan. They arrived in Dubai 50 years ago and our family lived there all the time. I married a pakistani woman in Dubai, we had two ceremonies, one in Dubai and one in Pakistan. Four years ago we shifted to Germany. Since than we live in Berlin. Basically we have a full energetic life here. 24 hours people are working here, the city never sleeps. You can go out at two o'clock a.m. and you feel like daytime. It is the same like in Dubai, we are used to it. We have some problems with the language of course. I learned from the people and i went to school although. The people in Berlin are so very nice, my houseowner is so kind: if we have some touble we can call her and she is there. We want to stay here hopefully.
Amanij, born in Yerevan, Armenia (Photo: Zanda Liepina)
My mother is Armenian. I dont have a birth certificate, because my parents were not married and I was born secretly. My mother died early, my father married and I had to go to a children’s home. From there fled I fled to Germany when I was 13. Here I started an apprenticeship, got married, bought a house and finally lost everything. That´s why I went to Holland for a few years. When I came back to Berlin, I lived on the street. Once I was so sad on the subway that a group of young people approached me. I drove through Berlin with them all night. They invited me and we celebrated together. It was my best experience, I was very touched that they took care of me. I owe the fact that I could start from scratch to helpful people who have provided me with accommondation and work. Thanks to my work, I was able to pay my debts and start a new family. I am happy and thankful that I can be in Berlin. I have little good memories to my home country, but I met many helpful people here. It is not everywhere so.
Sebastinel, born in Colombo, Sri Lanka (Photo: Alexandra Macnaughton)
I came here in 2002 through my husband who was living here already. In the beginning I have worked here as a nurse for the elderly before I had my three children. I like Berlin-Mitte, we have lived there for a long time and it is a very lively area. Something was always happening when I looked out of the window. Here at the outskirts of the city I find it a bit too quiet although it is nice and green here.
Julia, born in Armawir, Russia (Photo: Christa Majewski)
I find Berlin still very grey - at any weather - and I don't know why that is. But Berlin is still beautiful, I just had to take a little time and serenity. Now I live for four years in Berlin already and especially in the beginning it was crazy for me to see how free people live here and how they dress. At my very first day I saw a man in a suit with a briefcase wearing open women shoes. Things like that I can't dream of, it was more like a nightmare. It surprised me, that especially the people in the eastern part of the city are very tense. I get the impression, that many lift their self-confidence at the cost of others. For example: I buy bread rolls and the sales clerk rolls her eyes when she hears my accent. I had also some bad experiences at my place of work. I am a social worker at the youth welfare service. But due to my Russian accent my colleagues considered me incompetent. They treated me unfairly and marginalized me. After a year I changed jobs and now I am very comfortable with my team. But still, when parents get angry over child protection issues, they tell me: "First learn to speak German properly!".
Amir, born in Teheran, Iran (Photo: Pit Bisinger)
In September 1986 I came to Berlin to study because there was a war going on in my home country Iran. First of all, I did military service in Iran. Then I studied architecture here. Since then I have stayed in Berlin, there are sometimes riots in my country. Now and then I fly down, but this year e.g. not because of Corona, the flights were all canceled. I like being in Berlin very much, I feel like a Berliner. 33 years is over half of my life. Friends of mine also went to Munich or Düsseldorf. When I stay in Germany I never go anywhere else. With my wife Gitana I have a two year old daughter. I witnessed the opening of the borders here and I think it's great to see the development of this city.
Penelope, born in Melbourne, Australia (Photo: Jan Radtke)
I came to Berlin with my ex-boyfriend in 2017. We moved because Australia can feel very far away (because it is!) and I wanted to be closer to the action. Berlin is now one of my favourite places in the world. People can participate in life at any level here, whether you're having a beer with friends at the canal, or going to the theatre, or riding your bike around. It's very democratic in that way. A small downside is the bureaucracy – in Australia I could extend my driver’s license in minutes, being helped by a friendly clerk with an iPad. In this respect, Berlin is a bit more old fashioned. For love, I am a writer, and I host a careers podcast and run a newsletter. For money, I am an innovation consultant for companies in Germany and across Europe.
Liana, born in South Ossetia, Georgia (Photo: Pit Bisinger)
I've been in Berlin with my parents for 10 years now. I go to eighth grade in high school. I really like it here, Berlin is just so beautiful. My parents also found good work here. And at the time of the nice weather it is great to go for a walk here. There are so many people out there that you don't think about the Corona crisis.
Henry, born in Kingston, Jamaica (Photo: Christa Majewski)
My family brought me to Germany. I met my son's mother in Jamaika. Since five years I am in Germany now, living in Lichtenberg and work as a dishwasher in a social restaurant in Wilmersdorf. I live here in Germany for my son. Despite being separated, I see my son often. I bring my own culture with me to Germany. With my good mood and my laughter I make people happy. Because if people are depressed or in a bad mood, this world will go down. I live in Lichtenberg and recently a gentlemen in a nice suit approached me. He asked me: " Aren't you going crazy here in Lichtenberg? Maybe you shouldn't be here, because the people here are so strange?" I told him: "I have no fear, I have so much strength in me, nobody will be able to break that. I don't give my strenght away. I am happy and if I meet somebody who is in a bad mood or impolite, I just walk on.
Eugenii, born in St. Petersburg, Russia (Photo: Christa Majewski)
I arrived here last summer. My wife worked with Telekom in Russia and has been transferred to Berlin. We live in Wedding and visit school, to learn German to study Information Technology afterwards. I like the tolerant attitude of the Berliners, they are sometimes blind for the negative things happening here. When I was searching a flat, I paid somebody 3000 € and in the end I had no flat and the money was gone too. The police didn't help, maybe because I am no German. When people hear me speaking with accent, they don't spend the effort to understand and just put me off. Also when I try with English. Because I look asean - my parents come from Corea - I have been berated a few times: "You bring us Corona, we don't want you here." Very annoying. On the other hand I have met a lot of nice people in the German classes.
Angelo, born in Nicastro, Italy (Photo: Zanda Liepina)
In 1993 I came to Berlin for visiting my older brother. As I found immediately a job I decided to stay. Due to my work I came a long a lot and I discovered many hidden treasures of Berlin. I like Berlin because you can get to know many people of any culture and origins in a short time.This would not be possible where I come from. It is also nice that Berlin is so green and that many animals live in the parks and forests. Before I came to Berlin I had not ever seen a squirrel in town. Berlin offers also diverse cultures. There are so many theatres, cinemas, museums, that is great. I am proud that I have been able to create my existence here. Berlin, du bist meine Stadt!
Eleonore, born in Mahajanga, Madagaskar (Photo: Zanda Liepina)
The unique thing about Berlin? Diversity and Multi Culti. I used to live in many different places all around the world. I lived in Switzerland, in Congo, in Australia. In a lot of really different places, but I prefer to live in Berlin. Years ago, I was here on vacation, and it was already clear to me that if I had to make a long stop anywhere in the world, I would like to do it here. I have been living in Berlin for 8 years now. I love walking. I think it´s nice that Berlin´s neighborhoods are so different. Life here is interesting.
Grace, born in Kiziguro, Rwanda (Photo: Pit Bisinger)
I have been living in Berlin since 1999. I moved here with the family - my ex - husband is Berliner - with the two children. Here I first attended the language school, afterwards I graduated from high school and studied medicine. Now I am working as a doctor and will soon take my specialist exam for internal medicine. Here in Berlin you can live anonymously, I like that. For me, this openness of the city means that I can live the way I want to. I think it's a shame that Berlin is sometimes very chaotic and not very clean - on the streets as well as on the subway. A very typical place for Berlin is the Hermannplatz.
Anh Tu, born in Hanoi, Vietnam (Photo: Zanda Liepina)
The many cultures living here make Berlin special for me. That is the most beautiful thing!... And the many people!
Andiswa, born in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe (Photo: Alexandra Macnaughton)
I came here in 2015 as an Au-pair and decided to stay longer. I was struggling with the language at first but I like the city because it gives you the opportunitiy to meet people from all over the world. And it has great transportation.
Avi, born in Ye Sde-Moshe, Israel (Photo: Alexandra Macnaughton)
I came to Berlin in August 2011. I had decided long before to leave Israel because of political reasons but had to wait till my dear children will be grownups. Aug 2011 was the first opportunity to actually leave and I did. I chose Berlin as my new home because of its special character, the relative freedom it offers to people and the positive way in which it deals with its past. I fell in love with the man who is the love of my life in Berlin. And in Berlin I also opened my first business ever – Café Dodo. Moving to a new country at the age of 51 is a great challenge. Learning German in a great challenge. Starting Dodo and fighting for its survival is a huge challenge. But I love being in Berlin.
Stefania, born in Venice, Italy (Photo: Pit Bisinger)
Berlin is beautiful on Tempelhofer Feld at sunset, when the rhododendrons bloom in the Tiergarten and when I go swimming in the still closed bathing ship in May. Berlin is so cheeky, unconventional, free, funny and rebellious. I ended up in Berlin in 1987 as a tourist. I stood on the corner of Potsdamer Strasse and Bülowstrasse and thought: "I want to live here". 7 years later I came here because of love. Now, 25 years later, I am still grateful to be able to live in this wonderful city. Berlin is my Berlin! I want the city of Berlin not to lose its quality, that it won't be like in other capitals here. That is why I am involved in the movement to save vacant old buildings for Berlin: for the beauty of the city, for the people as living space. In contrast, new buildings only appear cold. The history and beauty in these houses is not the property of a person but belongs to the city and its people.
Roselee, born in St.James, Jamaica (Photo: Alexandra Macnaughton)
I spent the first 13 years of my life in Jamaica, then I moved to New York City. I came to Berlin in the year 2000. I always dreamt of living in the South of France but over many years I developed a very strong feeling, that I had to come to Germany and learn German. It was like a call. For some time I had emotional problems here which were hard to overcome. I love walking in the countryside and in Berlin. Berlin is my home.
Lydia, born in Hongkong, China (Photo: Alexandra Macnaughton)
I met my husband in Berlin that’s why I moved here in 1997. In the beginning I found it very exciting to live in a capital city in the western world. In comparison with Hongkong Berlin seemed so quiet. Then daily routine has taken over and suddenly I realized I have become a Berliner! At first it was a challenge to learn the language and the communication with some German people was hard because back then a lot of people weren’t very open. But it is fascinating to see the changes which Berlin has been going through in the last 23 years. I find Berlin a very charming city.
Hussein, born in Damaskus, Syria (Photo: Christa Majewski)
When I arrived here four years ago, I had the impression of a multi-cultural city. At the university I have quickly made friends with people from different countries. At the same time it is not easy for me to meet Germans and build relationships with them. The bureaucracy is also a huge challenge for people new in Berlin. Without speaking German, and without knowing about the culture and society, a lot of things are out of reach. Searching for a flat can cause desparation too. After three years I have finally found an affordable place.
Bridget, born in Ruawai, New Zealand (Photo: Jan Radtke)
I initially came to Berlin for a few months to do some work on a novel and three years later I am still here. I think of Berlin as a stimulating city for writers because there is a strong literary culture. New Zealand is a nice place to live but it is also a long way from anywhere, and I really like the way Berlin provides the chance to meet and interact with other writers and creative people from all over the world. I also find the layers of history fascinating here, and Berlin’s complicated relationship with its past makes for a complex contemporary society that likes to look at itself, so there are many opportunities to reflect and to think about how past history shapes current thinking.
Branka, born in Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegowina (Photo: Pit Bisinger)
The beautiful things about Berlin are the sights like the Brandenburger Tor, the Reichstag, the numerous Clubs and the great restaurants with international food. I love the openess and tolerance in this city. The crowded streets and all the diffent cultures make Berlin so very special. I have been born in Tuzla. I learned German at the age of seven. Integration was not easy for me as a child, bur now i am very happy to stay here. Berlin has become my home.
Nedialka, born in Svilengrad, Bulgaria (Photo: Christa Majewski)
For me Berlin is like a patchwork quilt of people from every corner of the world. Each and every one of them, wherever they come from, enriches our city by bringing with them the customs and traditions, the way of life, the food, the music and poetry and much more of their home countries. All these are gifts that help to make Berlin a uniquely interesting and beautiful city. I hope that I too can add a few Bulgarian dabs to this patchwork, like the intercultural events I organize with the artist Lidia Cankova in her Charlottenburg gallery, or the novels from Bulgaria and other Balkan countries that I have published together with my husband, the writer Roumen Evert, as editor of the book series „edition Balkan“.
Nenyasha, born in Harare, Zimbabwe (Photo: Alexandra Macnaughton)
I was born in Harare (Zimbabwe). I came to Berlin when I was seven years old, now I’m twelve. We will go back to Zimbabwe soon, that’s a pity – I would rather stay here. I find snow in Berlin great. When it snows, I go to the ice rink with my friends – they taught me how to skate. Most of my friends are German – I will miss them.
Ali, born in Sarafand, Lebanon (Photo: Dagmar Rehberg)
I was born in Sarafand in Lebanon and live in Berlin since 2007. Here is no war, no bribery and women and children are free and accepted. There electrical power at any time of the day, which I really appreciate. Not everybody likes foreigners, some people are mean and create stress. Berlin has changed my life completely, here I have started my family and it is here where I am happy. Berlin is life, where everybody respects the other.
Theduardo, born in Tangerang (Greater Jakarta) , Indonesia (Photo: Zanda Liepina)
What makes Berlin as city so special? The atmosphere, the diversity, and the city it self. You can be yourself here. I came to Germany in January 2014 and started my music studies in Detmold, Nordrhein Westfalen. Since it was a small city - because I come from Jakarta with more than 15 Million people - I needed to go somewhere else, I missed the feeling of living in a big city. Then I moved to Berlin in 2018 and so far, it has been a very livable, attractive city with a lot to offer. I am a musician and I also give guitar lessons in Berlin. I am playing in diverse projects and here I somehow also found my fascination with Brasil and its music. In this international city, I found a Brasilian music community and I have been playing with them ever since. Nobody until now has ever told me that I am from Indonesia or even Asia. Since most people thought that I was from South America, i tried my best to talk with them using my limited Spanish and Portugese skills and try to not get them disappointed. Berlin is Berlin. Its not like any other city in Germany I`ve been to or been living in. It is somehow not like the rest of Germany. Berlin has it own way of living, I would say …
Linda, born in Tallin, Estonia (Photo: Zanda Liepina)
Most of my most interesting and beautiful things have been my experiences in a theatre or another cultural event. I was in Max Richter’s concert " Sleep". The concept was that this eight-hour piece should guide the listeners through the night. Instead of seats there were beds and we had to take our sleeping bags and pillows. It was a very beautiful trip - I felt like I was swirling around the universe. That’s one of the most beautiful things. There are plenty more... Berlin is the kind of city where you can find or lose yourself. Fortunately, I found myself. Not in a cheesy kind of way. What I mean is that Berlin offers a lot. There are many different reasons why people come here and why people leave. We all fall in love with the openness and craziness and we leave for the same reasons. For me it was the first time to live by myself, not seeing my family and friends every day. Pursuing my dreams and I really found my ground and I consider myself also a very lucky one! Berlin does not work for everyone. I came us an au-pair, as I wanted to learn German and seek the opportunity to work in a German theatre. Just after a year of moving here, I got my first job in Maxim Gorki Theater and since then I have had six premieres in German speaking Theatres. Berlin is a city for strong - minded people who know what they want and who then go for it and who don´t fall for the temptation of drugs. As I said, Berlin makes you or breaks you. Berlin can be very lonely.
Brian, born in Lubbock, Texas, USA (Photo: Jan Radtke)
Berlin is the city that I keep coming back to. It is a mythological city, constantly changing and re-forming in a new image. Berlin is the most interesting, contradictory, and honestly, beautiful city I can think of. Not beautiful in a traditional, aesthetic sense; but beautiful in the sense that it is uncompromising, scars and all, proud of what it is, what it is not. The city challenges me all the time, which I love. And it has also helped me understand so much about myself, give me a place to be the best version of myself. I’m very grateful for that. And for the irreverence in people’s attitude here. It keeps me humble.
Qijia, born in Guangzhou, China (Photo: Dagmar Rehberg)
Previously, when I lived in China, I imagined Germany as a paradise and wanted to live there. I was not happy with the situation in China and decided to follow my sister, who was living in Berlin already. My first impression, when I landed in Berlin in 1996 late in the evening: For a big city it was by far too quiet, very different from China. China is always noisy. In the meantime I enjoy the quiet in Berlin, have settled down and am happy here. I love the Chinese culture and tradition, but feel more comfortable here. Berlin is my home, but China is my home country, it is where my family is. However, I don't want to go back. Berlin is multifaceted, multicultural and the people here are very open minded and modern.
Rotem, born in Jerusalem, Israel (Photo: Karin Kutter)
I came to Berlin four years ago, and one of the first things I've seen was this insanely beautiful concert space that is located in the famous Funkhaus Berlin - Saal 1. When I moved to Berlin, I was studying for a year music production in a school that has its studios also in the Funkhaus, and I always dreamt of playing my music in that beautiful concert space that was just one building next to our studios. This February I was lucky enough to come and play there my own music in front of around 1,000 people which was definitely one of the best experiences I've had in Berlin.
Nimet, born in Kayseri, Turkey (Photo: Christa Majewski)
Berlin is colorful and I love it like it is. It is part of my life, as is Turkey. I have two home cities. Kayseri and Berlin. I work here as a kindergarten teacher in a kindergartem with many nationalities. Here are many children who living through the same experience as myself.
Irene, born in Tetovo, Macedonia (Photo: Christa Majewski)
I live in Berlin for 13 years now. Initially I have felt a bit lost. New language, new people, new system, new envrionment and a very different culture. All over all Berlin was a positive change for me. It gave me the opportunity of an education and a free life. Berlin offers lots of opportunities and helps me to develop my own identity.
Moustafa, born in Aleppo, Syria (Photo: Christa Majewski)
I am since three years in Berlin and love the freedom here. Everybody has a different opinion and everybody else respects that. I work as a volunteer in the community center in Pankow. I help in the cafe and teach Arabic and in some self-help groups. I get along well with all my colleagues, we are a fantastic team. Bad is the housing shortage. Recently I paid 3000 Euro provision for a 65 sqm flat. I have so far not experienced racism, but I have heard a lot about it from others.
Alexandra, born in Bydgoszcz, Poland (Photo: Christa Majewski)
The longer you live in Berlin, the more it feels like living in a village. Many people cross your path again and again when you don't expect it. When I came to Germany in the age of nine, I had an defining encounter with Mrs. Richter, my teacher in the German class. She welcomed me with such a warmth, which I never forgot. 20 years later I met her in the teachers room as a colleague and could finally thank her. Berlin is just a small village and you meet always twice. This makes it my home.
Ilona, born in Posen, Poland (Photo: Christa Majewski)
What brought me to Berlin? The unvarnished, true life without facade. The people here are open even if sometimes a little confrontational. I don't want to live in a model neighborhood, but want to be in the middle of the action. While I live in Berlin already for seven years, I still feel like a visitor.
Here I experience a diversity where I get lost in the shuffle. I often feel lonely and by confrontation with the border crossers I feel even more as an outsider. The life in Neukölln I perceive as close and as unapproachable at the same time. But still, in its beauty and diversity this district is a blessing for the soul.
Zanda, born in Aizkraukle, Latvia (Photo: Zanda Liepina)
Berlin is free and the cultural diversity in this city is unique. This is where the heart of the whole world beats. I live in Berlin since 2014. Berlin is a mirror where you see yourself and the whole world in a different way. It is a city, where everything is possible - even to meet a second Zanda who then came with the offer to photograph me for this project.
Herish, born in Kurdistan, Iraq (Photo: Dagmar Rehberg)
My name is Herish Hama Rashid Thair. I am a kurd from Iraq from the south kurdish city of Slémani. In 1993 I met a young German woman in Kurdistan, who worked with an aid organization and later moved into research. We married, then we moved to Germany. However, in the last 25 years we often moved back to Kurdistan for some time. In my hometown I grew up as a half-orphan, because my father had been executed for political reasons in 1974. In the beginning of the 1980 I became a member of the Peshmerga as part of the kurdish liberation movement and the resistance against the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein. Back then we were still socialists and maoists and dreamt of a fair world. In 1988 I was wounded by a chemical warfare agent (made in Germany). I was lucky and survived, but more than 180.000 people died in that genozid.
What I like in Germany is for example the city of Leipzig, where I have worked for many years in construction and in restaurants. Since 10 years my wife and me live in Berlin and am a big fan of Eisern Union. I work in the business of my East-Berlin parents in law next to the former border strip. In our kiez half the world is at home. What I do wish for are less walls in the minds and a respectful treatment of each other.
Alix, born in Grand-Bourg, Guadeloupe, France (Photo: Zanda Liepina)
The 2018 Gay Pride and Tiergarten made me fall in love with this city full of life and opportunities. Berlin, in my opinion is a very modern city with exciting things to do and see. I very much enjoy the night life here as well as the quietness and peacefullness of a nice walk in a park. I came to Berlin for a fresh start and also to learn to speak German. I see it as a challenge and a new thing to tackle my life. Berlin is a city with one of the most fantastic weather in Summer I´v ever experienced so far in Europe. And I truly believe Germans would gain at being a little nicer and more polite. I`ve lived in UK for over 6 years, I know what politeness look like!
Maria, born in Kiew, Ukraine (Photo: Zanda Liepina)
What I like in Berlin? Hard to say ... I find 'Platz der Luftbrücke' and Templehof very beautiful and impressive. The colorful mixture of cultures from all sides - every district has its own language and culture. 17 years ago I came with my at that time not yet husband for 8 days to Berlin. After visiting the Tacheles it was clear for us, that we eventually would move to Berlin. Five years later we moved to Berlin.
Mustafa, born in Surabaya in Turkey (Photo: Christa Majewski)
I have been living in Berlin for 30 years and until the fall of the wall Berlin was a paradies. Now I am retired and have more time to see what is going on in Berlin. When I was busy with work, family and in the mosque, many things didn't catch my attention. Now many streets are dirty, people put olf furniture and stuff on the street, flats have been becoming very expensive and even the Berlin administration was more polite in the past. The city officials were more dozily and it was easy to get documents. Now they are very finicky and it is very difficult to get anything done and often I feel being treated impolitely. In the past you could take the bread out of the jaws of the lion. Today the bread is in the stomach and you can't reach it any more.
Kazuma, born in Tokio, Japan (Photo: Zanda Liepina)
The most interesting thing I experienced in Berlin - demonstrating with „Sayonara Nukes Berlin“ and performing my piece „ Lies/ Harmony“ about Fukushima at Werkstadt der Kulturen`s-event „Fukushima the aftermath“. Berlin - a place where everybody can be themselves. I came here to start a dance performance space with friends called „LAKE STUDIOS BERLIN“. Then I did many dance-theather-comedy pieces. The artistic energy of Berlin is energizing. A place where you don’t compromise to fit in. Berlin is wild and free. No walls can contain it!
Leticia, born in Penka-Michel, Cameroon (Photo: Meryem Yildiz)
I got my masters degree in Communication and Personnel Management from Philipps University Marburg. I’m working as IT Recruitment Consultant, but I’m also part-time singer. I do Afro-Folk and Afro-Jazz / world music. At the center of my music is humanity and my history / culture. I am a world person and through my music I want to meet people. My music project «A song of Hope » aims to give love and hope to all people and especially to encourage them to never give up and never stop dreaming. I sing the melodies of a society that seeks the doves of peace under the ashes of terror.
I discovered Berlin through music, I am working on an album with other musicians from Berlin. I think it is a place for me, where I can realize my dream.
I am used to big families and a collective society, thus the biggest challenge for me in Germany is that people are sometimes distanced and individualistic. Besides, I find the endless and complicated bureaucracy, the cold winters and prejudice against people with other skin colors very difficult.
Janete, born in cd.Juarez, Mexico (Photo: Meryem Yildiz)
I have been living in Berlin for eight years. It was easier for me to find people from other countries and from Mexico in Berlin. Berlin is my new home.
I’m an Industrial Engineer but currently fulfilling my role as mother of two little kids.
The biggest challenge for me was learning the German language. The punctuality of the German people and the cultural clash in that sense were also difficult. Another aspect which I find difficult is the individualistic society. I’m used to a collective society, close family relationships, which I miss the most here. In Berlin, my family consist of only me, my husband und our two daughters.
I enjoy the activities with our kids and making photos. My dream is finding a job, where the family and the work life are in balance.
Ramazan, born in Urfa, Turkey (Photo: Christa Majewski)
I live in Berlin since 1986 and had a company at Sonnenallee with 15 employees, which produced Döner: 'Derin Döner'. In the meantime I had to close shop, because competition in the last 10 years has become tough. My 4 children and grandchildren live in Stuttgart. Berlin is great, because you can get help easily. Doctors, lawyers, helpers for anything else are easily available. My parents are around 90 and live both in Turkey. I visit them often, my mother just had a stroke, so I am traveling between Turkey, Berlin and Stuttgart all the time.
Daylen, born in Havanna, Cuba (Photo: Christa Majewski)
I like the people with all their different stories. I am surprised again and again to discover how different people are. I am a musician and the music I am making here is close to my heart. The only thing I don't like: The Berlin weather is too cold.
Nomazondo, born in Masero, Lesotho (Photo: Meryem Yildiz)
I’m civil technician, specialised in concrete and have been living in Berlin for three years. As a mother of two little kids, I didn’t want to do engineering here because of the frequent business trips. I did some modelling and now I’m working on my business plan for becoming a fashion blogger or influencer. The most important experience for me in Berlin is, that I feel safe here; I don’t have to guard my home against gunned people coming to my home. I also like the means of transport here. The biggest challenges for me are discrimination experiences and prompts like “Go back to Africa with your boat!” and no ending questions about why my kids have a lighter skin colour than I do. Another challenge is living in an apartment, because we are used to living in big houses in Lesotho. Nevertheless, my prompt for Berlin is: “If you don’t make it in Berlin, you won’t make it anywhere!”
Marie del Carmen, born in Menorca, Spain (Photo: Christa Majewski)
For me Berlin is a city to life in, not a place to leave.
Garcon, born in Granma, Cuba (Photo: Christa Majewski)
I know many people in Berlin with whom I go shopping or for a coffee.. In Berlin there is plenty of tasty cake too. There are also lots of beautiful places to go swimming. People are often reserved, not like in Cuba. There one has a lot of contact with neighbors and if you need help, there is always somebody. In Berlin it sometimes happens, that you ask for directions and nobody responds. It is a pity that people here are often very incommunicative.
Michelle, born in Caxios do Sol, Brazil (Photo: Christa Majewski)
I love the diversity and openness of Berlin. I feel like it is the only place in the world you can be your true self with out beeing judged. I came here after a job offer and my whole life changed. I recovered myself in this place and I don´t see me living anywhere else so soon.
Janilson, born in Quebrada, Brazil (Photo: Christa Majewski)
Berlin, is the city tobe just like you are! And I love Berlin for allowing me to be just like I am.
Sabriye, born in Istanbul, Turkey (Photo: Christa Majewski)
I live here with my Family and my two children. I come from a big city, but in comparison Berlin is much quieter. Here we live in peace with many different cultures and I am happy, that nobody is excluded. To survive I work with my Family 14 hours a day. I am happy, that I don't depend on the state.
Dogan, born in East Turkey (Photo: Christa Majewski)
I was born in the wild Kurdistan and came in 1997 via Dortmund to Berlin. Here in Berlin people live according to the motto 'live and let live'. To survive I always had to fight. Since 2006 I run a bakery with cafeteria. It is like a 'Tante Emma Laden' and very informal. I love the many parks in Berlin, which oppose the concrete.
Chloe, born in Winchester, United Kingdom (Photo: Jan Radtke)
The most memorable experience I have in Berlin is going to the lake in Krumme Lanke and seeing nude people in public. I’ve never seen that many naked people so openly before, and I was so surprised at how comfortable they were! I love how in Berlin no one gives you dirty looks, or judges you. You can be in your underwear at the train station, and no one would care! It’s not like that if you were in London or Paris. Berlin is special because the people are so laid-back and carefree. And super generous! Even the bus drivers. I remember having landed at the airport and I didn’t have spare change with me for a bus ticket, but the driver let me on anyway. I was so grateful he did, because otherwise I’d be waiting out in the cold at midnight! Berlin is where you can be whoever you want to be. It’s a place where you are accepted for who you are.
Maria, born in Ried, Austria (Photo: Meryem Yildiz)
Berlin's diversity and tolerance is an aspect, I really appreciate. You can be however you want to be and feel comfortable here. There is this great mixture between a well structured and working city, with the spirit of feeling so free here. I also like all the huge parks and green areas everywhere. I also love all the different types of restaurants. I came to Berlin two and a half years ago, after finishing my French and Spanish Masters in Austria. I looked for an international company in the field of Architecture and was contracted here in Berlin. After working here, I even decided to start studying Architecture. I will be finishing in September. The biggest challenge for me is, to feel sometimes less anonymous here. Berlin is a big and open minded city and you get to know quite easily new people, it's just that sometimes this feels a bit superficial. There is this always moving, coming and leaving flow of the people.
Orit, born in Los Angeles, USA (Photo: Jan Radtke)
I love the depth and scars of Berlin. As a granddaughter of Holocaust survivors, that may sound strange, but this is a place that I feel connected to, that is connected to its history (the good and the bad), and to which I'd like to contribute and redeem, somehow. I was really surprised by the quiet and space. For such an important urban metropolis, it has the serenity of a suburb at times, and in certain neighborhoods, while still offering all the great amenities of a cultural powerhouse. What I don't like are the rising prices. Berlin is one of the few places that you simply don't want to change at all!
Sofia, born in Lisbon, Portugal (Photo: Jan Radtke)
Repeating a story often heard among foreigners, I came to Berlin for what I thought would be six months. Almost a decade later, I’m still here, spending an alarming amount of money on healthy food and craft coffee. The thing I enjoy the most about the city is that it allows you to be whoever you want to be. No questions asked, no judgment past. And despite the current endless discussions on gentrification, Berlin’s quality of life is still unbeatable and spoils any other major capital for you. The thing I struggle with the most is the coldness of German culture. After all these years, I still can’t cope or assimilate to it and I’m sure it will be the deciding factor of my departure.
Rebeca, born in Salamanca, Spain (Photo Sibylle Rüstig)
The most interesting thing I have seen in Berlin are the multicultural street events. Also there are a lot of opportunities and places to spend your free time. I came to Berlin to do my master studies and Germany offers more working perspectives in my field of study. I then continue intend to continue as a PhD student. What I love about Berlin is the diversity and alternative life styles. You can find all types of places, events, cultures, life styles and people!
Mathias, born in Dreux, France (Photo: Karin Kutter)
“What I like about Berlin is that it is very international and cosmopolitan. It is a city of freedom; a city where life is good because you can just be who you are and that without any judgment. I'm doing Erasmus right now and I live here in Berlin in a shared flat with another Frenchman, a Portuguese and a Jordanian. We speak English, French and also a little German.
Firas, born in Bhamdoun in Lebanon (Photo: Sibylle Rüstig)
“What makes Berlin so special is the mix of culture and the opportunity that allows you to live your own life in any way thats makes you feel happy and safe . -In Berlin I found my soulmate, my second half, so I decided to move from Beirut to Berlin and start a new life full of happiness as a married man. Thats my Berlin story. -Berlin is the most simple beautiful city because the simplicity is the key of healthy and happy life.”
Parul, born in Panipat, Haryana, India (Photo: Meryem Yildiz)
"I'm also coming from a very diverse country, but Berlin is a special example in Europe. Berlin is crazy for me, it doesn't matter what you wear, what you do, nobody will judge you, it's your life. Berlin has given me the chance to know myself better. The biggest challenge for me has been the German language. The inspiration why I decided for Berlin to do my masters degree was its reunification history. "
Laura, born in Lahti, Finland (Photo: Sibylle Rüstig)
I am a Finnish multidisciplinary artist and I have been living in Berlin for 11 years now, building my artistic career and seeking inspiration for my work while I am here. I feel very liberated to be able to live here - it's easy to join the crowd as an artist. I came to Berlin with my husband and we got three children here. The German language, and later Corona time has been challenging to me. I find it inspiring to be able to combine an artistic career with family. In my works I deal with e.g. modern family and (with being Finnish abroad) expatriate "Finnishness", I do my work e.g. I do 3d ceramics, clay, textiles, I make oil pastel paintings, I write poems and I combine different soundscapes to my artworks. I find my artistic work very meaningful and I would like to find more and more unifying elements of Finnish and German culture and make it visible in my works of art. I studied at Aalto University in Helsinki, where I graduated from in 2006. At the end of last year, I published my first art book with a German publisher. It is good and enriching to work and live in Berlin, but I also miss Finland very much, because I miss the wood-heated cottage sauna, where you can go swimming in the lake, nature, the forest and my family there.
Tashi, born in Dirang, India (Photo: Zanda Liepina)
My mother fled from Tibet to India and met my father there. I was born in the village of Dirang. I was away from home as a seven-year old, so I lerned to live and survive. I have lived in many places in India, on the beach and in the mountains. When I was 15, I was in a monastery for three years. Then I joined the Indian army as a professional soldier. After that I worked us a mopuntain guide in the Himalayas and met my German wife there. We got married and I've been living in Berlin since 2003. I like the multiculturalism in Berlin and that the city is so greeen that you can be in the nature within 15 minutes with the BVG. There is more than one tree per inhabitant here, I saw in a TV reportage. That's something special in my eyes! The many opportunities to do sports are great too. Hundreds of people go jogging, while in India there is only cricket and football. It is very easy to live healthy here. I also like the light, the water, and that I have a home. But I always find life beautiful: with or without money. I know both. Berlin has changed a lot since I've lived here. Berlin is now a young, modern city. I like that so many young pepole come here. And with the immigration of people from all over the world, a lot is changing. Many languages are spoken in Berlin today. That wasn't the case 20 years ago, so in the beginning it was very difficult for me to find a job due to my background and my limited language skills. Today there are many companies in which one can find employment even without good language skills.
Simona, born in Dublin, Ireland (Photo: Pit Bisinger)
Love brought me to Berlin, before that I was in Hamburg for eight years. I came to Germany in 1992. Because of my origins - my father is German, I got to know Germany at an early age. I grew up "half-half" in Ireland. There as a German, here as an Irish. When I got to know the school here at the age of 16, I wanted to stay. I really liked the way we young people were treated with conversations on an equal footing and with a lot of respect. I didn't know that from my school in Ireland. After my training in Ireland, I came here and started working. I now run a kindergarten, which is a lot of fun and at the same time very exhausting. I would like to speak to the Berlin Senat about this. It's a very nice job that I wouldn't want to miss. I often compare Berlin to Hamburg, because I see Hamburg as my hometown. It's closer to the sea and I still miss the sea from Ireland. Hamburg is pretty and beautiful, in Berlin you have to discover its beauty. I already enjoy being in Berlin. I live here with my children. You can be what you want in Berlin. The saying is really true. I find that very liberating. In short: I find Berlin dingy, exciting, free and interesting.
Marco, born in San José, Costa Rica (Photo: Pit Bisinger)
I was born in San José, Costa Rica. In 2000, while studying in Costa Rica, I was doing an internship in Valencia, Spain. There I met my wife Kristina on a hike near Valencia. I still had to finish my studies for a year and we had a long-distance relationship. Kristina visited me twice in Costa Rica that year. With the graduation I was free of obligations and decided to come to Germany. So I've been in Berlin since 2002. For the first 2 years I lived in two shared apartments. It was also very good for learning German - Kristina and I had always spoken Spanish together. We've moved in together since 2004 and then the children soon came: two boys and a girl. At the Humboldt University, I completed a master's and a doctoral thesis as an agricultural economist. At first I worked for the European Commission. Now I work for the United Nations, the FAO (the World Food Organization). It is about development work, market and policy analyzes. Berlin is now my home for me, this is my life. Still, when I'm in Costa Rica, that's home too, that's where I come from and a large part of my family. A writer once said that you are not half a citizen of the old and half a citizen of the new homeland, but rather twice. I have two nationalities and double affiliations. I think that's a nice picture. I really like Berlin, I really enjoy living here.
Nives, born in Maribor, Slovenia (Photo: Pit Bisinger)
‘Sehnsucht nach Premantura: Der Krebs ist ein Scherentier im Seitwärtsgang’ ( www.epubli.de , ISBN 978-3-754109-81-6). This is the name of my book that I have now published. It describes the very personal story of my roots in Istria, my transition between health and illness and between the former Yugoslavia and Berlin against the background of the first corona lockdown. I have had terminal cancer for three years. After the major surgery in 2018, I've now had my third relapse and fourth chemotherapy. So far I've been lucky, but I don't know how it will go on this time. I have death on my shoulder, he is traveling with me. I'm trying to negotiate, I don't know when he's going to get me. Maybe it's my mentality that helps me too. I can be good at the moment and have been writing since the beginning of my illness. I learned “health-promoting writing” in a group, without internal criticism or revision, and then read the texts straight away: to give and to get in touch with my innermost being. I am involved in a cancer self-help group and the book finances a Qigong course for affected women. I was born in Maribor - then the Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia. My mom wanted me to be born in my home country. My parents had been in Germany since 1960. As a child in the Sauerland it was not so great to be a "Jugo child" even though my parents were both doctors. I felt like a German, but my family always said to me “ti si nasa” during the summer holidays in Istria. "You belong to us". When I was 14, I didn't want to speak Slovenian anymore. I wanted to be German. It wasn't until later as an actress that I rediscovered the Slovenian language for myself; my presence on stage increased with the language. This is how I rediscovered my parents' past for myself. Before that, I always wanted to adjust my temperament. This is how it is for many migrant children. I've been back home every year since 2000, I'm at home in two worlds, cross-border between cultures. I've also performed quite successfully as a chansonette, both with Berlin chansons and in Slovenian and Yiddish. Later I also trained as a speech therapist. Before I fell ill, I was doing a lot of voice therapy for professional speakers. Now to Berlin: Berlin is ambivalent for me. I've been from Kreuzberg for a long time, but with my illness, a lot of things here are too stressful for me now. In the eighties the walled city was the great freedom for me, I was a bit punky on the way. The city has changed a lot through reunification and globalization.
Vicente, born in Amatongas, Province Manica, Mozambique (Photo: Pit Bisinger)
In the village in Mozambique where I was born we still lived as hunters and gatherers. My parents later registered me sometime after I was born. So I don't know exactly when I was born. With us in society, age did not play a major role. In 1982 I came to Germany as a teenager through the cooperation between Mozambique and the GDR (socialist brother states). The best of the year in the sixth grade were allowed to go to Germany. My mother knew this was an opportunity for me and agreed to it. That was very exciting for me, I had never been to a big city. At first I ended up in the "School of Friendship" in Magdeburg. Without parents abroad - that was okay, at school it was the same for many. For me it was outstanding: I got a chance to get an education and to see the world. So now I can live this life, it is a great gift for me. At the age of 21 I opened my first shop in Berlin as a fashion designer and have received two awards as the best young designer. I'm also active as a writer, I'm working on my third novel. I also co-founded the Rot - Weiß - Viktoria - Mitte football club in 2008, which is now one of the largest sports clubs in Berlin. The social always plays a big role for me. For example, I do programs with refugee kids, play football or play drums. I need it for myself too, I have the feeling that I am giving something back through it. At the moment I have a big project in Angola "Bread for Africa". A bakery is set up and the women are given micro-credit. This allows them to set up their own system of selling bread and feed their families. For us, women are actually the engine of society. The project is based on the principle of "helping people to help themselves", just donating money is not enough. Africa is so close to my heart, that's where I come from. Above all, young people today have no chance of education and prosperity. Of course, this also has to do with the government. In 2019 I was part of the Chancellor Merkel's delegation in Angola. First we talked to the ministers, etc., but then I went to the slums with a friend who is in charge of the local projects. No perspective, they have nothing to do with. There are ten people standing there and they all sell the same thing, a lighter. They are desperate to earn some money for the family. Corona made everything a lot worse there. Europe is not doing enough for Africa. Now the Chinese are more likely to come and bring money and secure their sphere of influence. Rare earths would be of interest to Europeans, but that is completely overslept. Now to Berlin: Berlin used to be cooler, but I still appreciate the diversity, it's still the city I want to live in. From here I can also advance my social projects.
Support the “Bread for Africa” project! https://youtu.be/Sk1vVhNNfCE
http://bread4.africa/ insta@vicenteberlin
Julio, born in Lima, Peru (Photo: Pit Bisinger)
I've been in Berlin for almost 5 years now. When I took part in the Tango World Championship in 2016, I met Sophia. She also danced in the semifinals and I thought to myself “Que Chica muy linda!” My dance partner at the time said: “Hey, concentrate, this semifinals is super important”. Later I met Sophia again at a milonga in Buenos Aires and asked her to dance - that was the beginning of our relationship. At first we planned to work in Argentina as well as in Germany and organized tango trips. The pandemic stopped this for the time being, we are now teaching tango in the Mala Junta. So love and tango brought me to Berlin. Life is much more pleasant here than in Argentina. In the beginning it was difficult to have social contacts. Over time I have made many friends here - especially in the tango scene. Tango challenges a dancer 100 percent. I will now represent Germany at the Tango World Championships in Buenos Aires. One of the things I particularly like about Berlin is the huge amount of support that cultural activities receive and that allows so many people to make a living from what they love. At first I didn't think I would find that in Germany and maybe that's why Germany wasn't one of the countries I planned to travel to at first. But fate has allowed me to arrive here and I really appreciate being able to do what inspires me. In Buenos Aires, choosing to live from the art often means that no dignified way of life is possible and very few people can change that for themselves. Berlin gave me the opportunity to change this reality and pursue my dreams, even during difficult times of the pandemic.
Malachai, born in Phoenix, Arizona, USA (Photo: Pit Bisinger)
Originally I was born in Phoenix, Arizona. 5 years ago I came to Berlin. At first I did not come here with the idea to move to Berlin but my girlfriend at the time was teaching at the Mala Junta Tango school. I wanted to visit her and she said "Come teach with me, let us teach classes!". It ended up that I taught some classes here and they said, that I should stay and teach the Tango lessons. I actually left the university to work full time as a Tango teacher. I had studied computer science, law and briefly psychology. I coudn`t figure out, what I wanted to do. Now I am very happy with my life as a Tango teacher. Most of my non-Tango friends live in the US, friends from university, friends from growing up. In Berlin most of my friends are Tango friends, I am kind of crazy in Tango. I teach with my girlfriend Alicja. Sometimes there are students of us, who like our energy and personality and it ends up in becoming a friendship outside Tango also. Berlin is so divers. For me it is my home now and my work. I try to build something in Berlin, that I didn`t realize I could build until I was here. Berlin is a city that supports dreams. It helps you to do, what you want and what you didn´t think was possible. I want to be home - based in Berlin but also traveling back home or once a year to Buenos Aires, teaching at festivals.
Tran, born in Há Tinh, Vietnam (Photo: Pit Bisinger)
I came to Germany seven years ago - alone, without a family. I then did an apprenticeship in gastronomy and have been working in this profession for three years. I have been living in Berlin for 6 months now, before I lived in Erfurt. I actually think Berlin is beautiful, but there are too many people in Berlin for me. My hometown of Hà Tinh on the South China Sea is small with only 100,000 inhabitants. I want to stay in Berlin, I have my boyfriend in the city and have already met a few other people. This big city is too crowded for me.
Samir, born in Kabul, Afghanistan (Photo: Pit Bisinger)
I was born in Kabul in Afghanistan. In 2016 I came to Germany with my father - I was 12 years old at the time. The way here was really dangerous. We walked most of the distance, and sometimes we were picked up in a car. We came to Greece via Pakistan, Iran and Turkey. It was most threatening in Turkey and Greece. We came here with many other people who also wanted to go to Europe. In Europe we wanted to go to Sweden, we were there for seven months. But then we had to go back to Germany, my father was registered here with his fingerprint, so we were not allowed to stay in Sweden. Now I like it in Berlin, I've finished school and got an apprenticeship position - what more do I want? I've also made friends here, some from Afghanistan, including Turkish and Arab friends. My training in a dental office as a dental assistant is a lot of fun, there are so many nice people. My wish is to become a dentist. In addition, I have to do my Abitur and study. Berlin has now become a home for me, we want to integrate here and get on well with people. We came here for a lifetime.
Peggy, born in Castelfranco, Italy (Photo: Pit Bisinger)
In 2010 I moved to Berlin with my mother and little brother. We previously lived in Italy in Castelfranco Veneto and I was born there. My parents are from Ghana. There was better support for us here in Berlin than in Italy. When we got here, I was demoted to school because I couldn't speak a word of German. Now I want to do my Abitur here too. I feel well integrated, I have made a lot of friends. When you come here as young as I am, it's much easier to adapt. I didn't really have any problems in Berlin with racist hostility; there are stupid sayings here and there, but I've never really been attacked. Probably you find that everywhere, that you get turned on because of your skin color or your origin. But you get along well, I don't really care, I don't do anything to anyone. In my experience, older people tend to express themselves racist. The younger ones don't care what you look like or where you're from. For me, Berlin is multicultural, there is something of every culture here. Be it the gastronomy or the music - you can find a piece of every country here. I really like that.
Elhadji, born in Dakar, Senegal (Photo: Zanda Liepina)
My name is Elhadji Mamadou, also called Joeart. I am a Senegalese artist who works for children and fringe groups. Because I come from a family of artists, I started drawing and painting very early. The technics I learned at the Dakar National Art School enabled me to express myself better. I like to turn reality upside down and attack and transform the symbols. I use various means to paint and try out large image dimensions. I have been living and working with my wife in Berlin for almost a year and ten months. I love this capital of Germany and the world, because of the mixture of modern culture and history. Therefore, Berlin is the hippest city of the moment, which attracts the whole world. I find the Culture lovers and Night Owls particularly sympathetic here. What I don’t like about Berlin is the health system that divides people in classes and is too often discriminatory.
Ivanna, born in Caracas, Venezuela (Photo: Pit Bisinger)
Now I am living in Berlin for almost seven years. I fled my country, I came here running away from Venezuela. It is a failed state. Berlin – it is a love and hate relationship. I like it very much and at the same time I get very overwhelmed with it and tired. It is an exhausting city, it is not so easy to connect. People can be cold. In general the people in Venezuela are more open but here the people are more responsible and reliable. The human connection is not so easy to reach sometimes, even though I have many friends here. Berlin: I woudn't say its home. I feel, it is an airport – city. A lot of people come and leave. They have experience and than they go back home or they search for a new home but it is not a city for everybody to stay.
Maria-Fernanda, born in Maracaibo, Venezuela (Photo: Pit Bisinger)
I moved to Berlin in 2017, so I am living here for three years. I love it here. Actually I found home here in Berlin. Berlin: I love it! I am from Maracaibo, Venezuela, the second big city in Venezuela in peoples density. I left my home because of the current situation in this country. Maracaibo is like a ghost town more or less now. This is happening to all the cities in the country, everybody is leaving. Now I have a boyfriend in Berlin and I am happy to be here. Berlin is so openminded and I can live here so well.
Claudio, born in Basel, Switzerland (Photo: Sibylle Rüstig)
Originally I came to Berlin by pure chance. During the fall 2012 I was studying for my Masters in Physics at ETH in Zurich and I was looking for a Master thesis abroad. I knew I wanted to make a PhD and hence I needed a good Master thesis and that required as little distraction as possible. I figured this was easiest to be found abroad, away from friends and family. I sent out emails to researchers all over the world from Japan to Israel to the US. Finally on December 25. 2012 I received an email from a researcher at the Albert Einstein Institute that he would be willing to supervise my Master thesis. That was the first time when I actually looked up where in the world this institute was located. As a German speaking Swiss I wasn't too excited when I found out it was in Germany, in Potsdam to be precise. (I mean all these exciting places I contacted and in the end I end up in a place where I already know the language) My attitude changed quickly once I arrived in Berlin. One year later I signed the contract to come back to Berlin to do my PhD with the same supervisor. In the time since academia has taken me to many different corners of the world but I have returned to Berlin over and over again after shorter and longer stays abroad. Since the beginning of 2013 I formally moved to Berlin five times and returned to it from travels many times more often. Long story short, I fell in love with this city, or to be precise with many of the people in it. Is Berlin the cleanest city? Certainly not! The prettiest? Neither! The most efficiently functioning? A quick look at BER should settle that! However in some sense it is exactly all these shortcomings that make up Berlin, but most importantly for me: so far Berlin is the most tolerant place I have lived in and it has this very life-affirming atmosphere. For this winter I hope that I will be able to play my first complete ice hockey season here. Despite having lived more than 5 of the past 7.5 years in Berlin there was always something in the way. Either my stays abroad, a delay of my player pass, or then my PCL injury. My current research funding only lasts until next April and hence this might be my last chance to play a full season here. But as many things these days it all depends on Corona.
Sara, born in Porto, Portugal (Photo: Pit Bisinger)
I am from Porto and have recently come here to live. I am now starting to work in Berlin. I am a doctor by profession and I hope to get a place here in Berlin in the hospital as a vascular surgeon. First I am doing a course in the Charite about communication with patients with a migration background. I think, this is super important, because during medical education we don't learn how to communicate with patients and getting this insight how to make someone feel comfortable in this moment they feel worse. This is the biggest quality of a doctor. Berlin for me is a city, that will completly change the ending of my twenties. It is a great opportunity and priviledge to have this chance of coming to this huge city in the centre of Europe. Here you have the priviledge of experiencing of what Europe is with all the opportunities. It is a little bit the European New York where everything is possible – or nothing!
Jara, born in Khartum, Sudan (Photo: Christa Majewski)
I have been an actor and live in Berlin for many years. I have three children and one grandchild. For my job I had to travel a lot. For some time I have lived in Munich. By now I am unemployed and meet with other people in the street, who are in a similar situation as me. My children are my pride and joy.
Franck, born in Lome, Togo (Photo: Pit Bisinger)
I'm busy in Berlin because of the meeting for the organization of the Africa Festival. Every year we organize this event at Alexanderplatz. This year it was canceled because of the corona pandemic. That is why we have called a congress of all Africa festivals in Germany to discuss what we have to do to compensate for the costs and losses. Hopefully a representative from the Senate will support us. The artists and exhibitors remain seated at their own expense for the preparation. German companies can apply for compensation, but the African companies fall through the network. We're trying to explore the possibilities. Berlin is an exciting city and we hope that we can secure the future of the Africa Festival.
Tom, born in London, United Kingdom (Photo: Jan Radtke)
I came to Berlin in 2008 to escape a job I hated in London. I was only planning to stay a week, which became weeks, which became months. Then I fell in love. Over the next few years, I became a father, a husband, an author, and a German citizen (in that order). My wife’s from Berlin. My children are from here. After so many years, I have a stake in the place now. And a feeling of gratitude. I know this won’t have been everyone’s experience, but right from the beginning Berlin struck me as a kind city – people are curious without being judgemental, public spaces are genuinely public, childcare is affordable, hardly anyone rolls their eyes when I say I’m a writer... Even smokers get a fair crack of the whip. Nowhere’s perfect, of course, but a little kindness goes a long way.
Chenyi, born in Liaoning, China (Photo: Pit Bisinger)
I came to Berlin in October 2018, I had received approval from the TU Berlin for the master’s degree in monument preservation and historical building research. I completed my bachelor's degree in architecture in Münster. At the end of 2012, I flew to Germany to study. In China, Beijing, I studied art, oil painting. I also did a bachelor's degree there. In Germany I wanted to study at the art academy in Düsseldorf in the tradition of Josef Beuys and Anselm Kiefer. I was not accepted there. But I got a place in the “Münster School of Architecture” straight away. I find architecture very interesting, but I would also like to be an artist. I am passionate about Chinese performance art. I am on the way there, as a painter and architect I can draw a lot and my studies in art and architecture history help me with this. I always ask myself: what is the relationship between artist and viewer? They don't have that much to do with each other! It's different with architecture, you have to develop something for people that could make life more beautiful. It is more related to people. I think it's okay in Berlin, but I'm not that interested in Berlin. Of course there is a lot of culture here. Nice. I'm actually a big fan of the Bavarian landscape. Many people think Berlin is so awesome, so cool. I also studied in Beijing, which is also a big metropolis. I would rather have a small, fine village. I now live in Mitte and at the last demo I couldn't leave the house all day because of the Anit-coronavirus demonstration. Then I was turned on "Why are you wearing a mask?" The traffic is too wild for me too. Berlin is an adventure in my life, but it's not my home.
Giacomo, born in Rome, Italy (Photo: Pit Bisinger)
I live in Berlin since five and a half years. The city is giving you a lot of input but at the same time it can be a stage or a cage. I came here and I need to be here at the moment. But I don't know, if I stay here for the rest of my life. Now it is a very inspiring place, an interesting environment at the moment. I came here for the music and for cooking at the same time. I am doing my research in arts. As a musician I have a couple of projekts for electronic music, one is with dance and music together. You have to built the projekts up slowly and in the meantime – I am an Italian – I can cook. You can hear me on my projekt page, it is the „Incapsula Projekt“. Berlin for me is a mass of inspiration for arts and a style of life that is not still understood in the rest of the world.
Arsel, born in Moscow, Russia (Photo: Christa Majewski)
For as long as I can think, I have been living in Berlin. Therefore my German is as good as everybodies else but still it is not always easy in school. Once a year I visit my grandparents in Russia and the life there is completely different than here. Schools there are much more rigorous, at least that is what my mama says. Sometimes Berlin is much too big for me, then I wish to live in a small city. We moved here, because my parents got here great jobs in IT and insurance. Because of that we can live a different life than what we would have had in Russia.
Mario, born in Sibiu, Romania (Photo: Christa Majewski)
I am playing the guitar in the group Infidelix. I am asked to explain were I come from and where I was born. That is not so easy to answer. My father is from Cuba, my mother is Sinti and I was born in Romania. And the truth is, I fell from the sky. That is what I mean with multi culti. I don't think that it is important were somebody is born, but what kind of person you are. I have been around a lot in Germany and world wide. I have made good and bad experiences everywhere and it didn't matter where people were from.
Miriam-Leah with Mia, born in Geneva, Switzerland (Photo: Alexandra Macnaughton)
I was visiting friends here nine years ago and fell in love. I am living in Berlin since then. I find people here are very open and they have hardly any prejudices - it’s easy to approach someone. For me that’s great, I am working in the fashion industry and can be very creative here. When I came here I didn’t like the winters in the city, they were so windy and grey and there is hardly any snow. In the meantime, I got used to it. I don’t know how long I will stay here but for now I’m here. Maybe I will move to a different place sometime – who knows?
Julien, born in Jounieh, Lebanon (Photo: Alexandra Macnaughton)
At first I only came to Berlin for my master studies. That was two years ago - then I met my girlfriend at the university who is from Italy and now I might stay here. Berlin is very relaxed. To me it doesn’t feel like a capital city because it’s not so big and stressful like other major cities. I find it very strange that all the shops are closed on Sundays, I still have to get used to that.
Ismail, born in Algier, Algeria (Photo: Sibylle Rüstig)
I moved from Regensburg to Berlin in 2015. I decided to live there and start an internship at Campus Charité Mitte. Since I am a biologist, Berlin was my priority since many research institutes offer very good opportunities to work as a scientist. Comparing to other capitals, Berlin offer more green spaces and areas for biking, public transport is also very good. First I was living in Spandau then I moved to Wannsee then later in Aldelsorf. today I am leaving in Wedding, I have to say that nowadays the biggest problem in Berlin is to get an apartment.
Emilia, born in Luanda, Angola (Photo: Zanda Liepina)
I admire the openness in Berlin. Here I can just be myself and dress how I want and wear many different eye-catching hairstyles. I also love the many beautiful bars und Berlins attractions. The special thing about Berlin is that many people from different countries meet here. Whether it´s music or food from all over the world, there is everything in Berlin. I came to Berlin when I was seven years old. I built my life here, and this is where I have my friends. I like to travel around the world, but at the end of every trip I just want to go to Berlin, the city where I feel most comfortable. Berlin is the place where I prefer to be. Berlin - crazy, funny, open-minded city because of the people who live here, who are just amaizing in a way I can’t explain - you have to experience it yourself!
Desmond, born in Swakopmund, Namibia (Photo: Zanda Lipiena)
The good thing about Berlin are the parks, restaurants and the individualistic people. The grafitti walls and how amazing the public transport system is set up. I like the good balance between the concrete blocks and mother nature scattered in between. Also the architecture style is uniquely in Berlin. I came here 5 months ago and I immediately fell in love with this historic city. It has seen a lot and still manages to rebuild itself and that is a great motivator I think. Berlin ist the city with the most character, because of the everyday happenings here. It has a charming lived in quality that makes it so intensely beautiful for anybody living here.
Thabo, born in Huhudi Township, South Africa (Photo: Zanda Liepina)
The most beautifull thing I experienced in Berlin is the illusion that I can be who or whatever I wish to be. It´s a positive and motivating illusion. It gets me up and going. I also lerned the respect for others irrespective of their being. But I don´t think this has something to do with Berlin in particular. I associate this with growing up and during this time of my growth I so happened to be in Berlin. What makes Berlin special to me is buzz. I tend to forget where I am at times. It feels like a planet of its own with humans from different parts of the Earth trying to survive. Berlin is a planet full of experimental horny minds and souls. I think we have lost our vision and are very happy not to have it so we can continue the search of nothing. I have been through hell and woke up in heaven.
Kosti, born in Suomussalmi, Finland (Photo: Sibylle Rüstig)
When I came to Germany from Finland at the end of March 2018, I moved first to Potsdam and then to Berlin a couple of months later. While in Finland and after my dissertation, I was at a turning point and I had to decide the next step in my life. Then I got an offer for a job in Germany, which seemed very intriguing. I had lived my whole life in Finland, so I decided to break out of my bubble and experience life in Germany and Berlin as well as advance my career. After coming here, learning the language has been a major challenge for me and the day-to-day interactions were challenging and sometimes even frustrating in the beginning. But that’s what life is, learning and adapting to new environments. I find Berlin a bit quirky and the city has its blemishes, however there is kind of rough beauty here that I find appealing. Especially, I love live music and the music scene in Berlin is vibrant and great. People here seem to be living in the moment more than the Finns do, which has been quite fun to experience.
Marat, born in Czernowitz, Ukraine (Photo: Zanda Liepina)
Spending a whole day at the Teufelssee with my best friend is very nice! Berlin has a lot of different people and these people have time! I mooved to Berlin after falling in love. Berlin has a lot of dark energy. Nowadays I run a small hummus shop.
Ion, born in San Sebastian, Spain (Photo: Pit Bisinger)
I came to Berlin in 2001 from Hamburg. I wanted to get to know a new city. I also had a friend who also moved to Berlin here. I can already sense that Berlin has become my home. I came to Germany once because of my girlfriend but also because I wanted to come out a little bit to see something new. Although: I love my hometown, but it was somehow too small for me. I come from San Sebastian: the city is completely different from Berlin, it is small, cute, clean and beautiful by the sea - Berlin is exactly the opposite. Gray! On the other hand, much to discover. There is so much history here in the city. In the beginning it was a little difficult to find my way around here. Now I think it's nice to be here. Also with my work - I am a freelance cameraman - I get to places where I shoot more and more quickly. When I came to Berlin, Berlin was undergoing transformation even more, that was a good ten years after the fall of the Berlin Wall. There was also the Thursday bar, the Friday bar, lots of parties all the time in some cellars, even semi-legal parties. It was a way of life that I found totally fascinating back then, there are so many different types of people and lifestyles that all take place here. There are also so many people from all countries coming together here for projects, not only to make money, but also to do things better: e.g. the park design on the Gleisdreieck.
Cristina, born in Lisbon, Portugal (Photo: Alexandra Macnaughton)
I came with my family from Portugal to the South of Germany (to pretty Swabia) when I was nearly ten years old and went to school there. To Berlin I moved only eight years ago because my employer relocated our headquarters. I was not very enthusiastic about it. Meanwhile I’m feeling more comfortable here. The city is often too big, full and too hectic for me. On the other side I like it that there are so many lakes in and around Berlin, that it is very multicultural and that the Baltic Sea is so close because it reminds me of my home country.
Joseph, born in Didyr, Burkina Faso (Photo: Alexandra Macnaughton)
I took refuge from Burkina Faso in 2011. I came to Berlin by plane which has cost a lot of money. At that time there was a civil war in Burkina Faso, now with Boko Haram it is almost worse. At first, I lived in a small place near Magdeburg in a shelter for refugees. Because of better job opportunities I came to Berlin six years ago. The whole formalities between Sachsen-Anhalt and Berlin were very complicated but in the end it worked out. I got a residence permit and I found work. I miss my family but I want to stay in Germany and in Berlin. I met a lot of nice people in Berlin. There is a community from Burkina Faso but now I have a German girlfriend and my German has improved a lot.
Rexi, born in Jaffna, Sri Lanka (Photo: Alexandra Macnaughton)
I came to Germany as a political refugee by myself when I was 17 years old. At first I lived with my brother in Frankfurt a.M. , I finished school there and went to university. Later I moved to Berlin. Now I live here with my wife and my three children. I like Berlin with its diversity. You are never alone with so many nations in one place! What I don’t like about Berlin is the amount of time you need to travel within the city. I work as a social worker and lose a lot of time just travelling through the city to visit different families.
Gitana, born in Kaunas, Lithuania (Photo: Pit Bisinger)
I came to Berlin in 2013 because of an internship. Then I stayed right here and got a job. I had studied physiotherapy in Lithuania. I am very happy, I was immediately in love with Berlin. I am enthusiastic about the city, the culture, and that there are so many people of international origin here, there is a lot of freedom here. What I like most in Berlin is the big green part, it's a relatively green city. I enjoy that, I can be in the middle of the city in the nature. Sometimes it is too crowded and too dirty for me here, but it is ok. It is a capital here, it is the same everywhere. We live near the center, we have our parks and can also quickly drive out of Berlin into the country. It was a very productive time in Berlin, I have completed some training and further education. Now I've been a mom for 2 years and have a child with my husband Amir from Iran. I will soon start working again.
Alison, born in Cork, Ireland (Photo: Zanda Liepina)
A nightingale was partying all night, keeping me awake - this should be Berlin's symbol! Berlin inherited underdeveloped greenspace after the Mauerfall, which means there is an incredible array of birds here not usually seen in a big city. The population of Goshawks (Habicht) alone is a testament to that. We moved here from Canada in 2013 because my husband ( American/ Lithuanian) wanted to live in Germany. He picked the country, so I picked the city. Of course, I chose Berlin - to me, it was the most interesting city. Having lived in Canada for over 20 years, I often felt that the Old World's history is a type of burden, culturally and socially. But Berlin has had to re-invent itself after two World Wars, divided by a wall, becoming a capital again, and immigration. So to me, it is a city that abrupt people, great for walking, poor, unless you work in tech or the government. :D
Mavjuda, born in Dushanbe, Tajikistan (Photo: Pit Bisinger)
Because I married a German man, I've been in Berlin for two years now. Here I learned the German language, it is a bit difficult and I want to continue learning and then study. I already have a bachelor's degree in economics. Now I want to study for a master's degree here, but it is difficult to get an admission here. I like Berlin very much, the people are so nice, the city is really beautiful. I love the freedom here. I can say what I think here. The city has such a history, West Berlin, East Berlin and the Berlin Wall. I learned a lot about that. It is a very interesting city. Now in the Corona period it is not so strict here. But I worked in the gastonomie and was fired because of Corona. Now I'm unfortunately unemployed. They told me they need me again, it's only for this period and then everything will be fine.
Taro, born in Osaka, Japan (Photo: Christa Majewski)
I came to Berlin last November. In Tokio I had stopped working. Many of my closest friends live here already for some time. 15 years ago I lived in London, because Tokio had become boring for me. I am 45 years old, have no family and that is very unusual for Japanese culture. Also Japan is very traditional generally and I experience the Japanese government as very limiting. I like the free politics in Germany. Here I can express my opinions freely in public. I work as a DJ and look for places here in Berlin, where I can play my music. But for now I learn German really well and wait until the clubs open again - after Corona.
Alessandro, born in Rome, Italy (Photo: Pit Bisinger)
Ten years ago my dear friend gave me a ticket to Berlin. Then I tried to get a job here. I am now very happy to be in Berlin. I have a lot of Italian friends, both here in the trattoria where I work and in our community on the Bundesplatz. I also have good contact with some other migrants. At the moment we can only deliver our pizza at the window because of Corona but we hope to be able to open again next week - then with more space. But it's good to be in Berlin now.
Sarah, born in Mġarr, Malta (Photo: Karin Kutter)
I love to dance! I am dancing since I am 3 years old. Growing up on the small island of Malta, I started to feel like a big fish in a small bowl with the limited opportunities Malta offered at the time. Moving to Berlin, almost 9 years ago already, made me feel the complete opposite – there are so many people, places and possibilities. Berlin is a very vibrant, creative and inspiring city and in this sense very unique. With time, you build your own network, you get to know people and you find your own way.
Goran, born in Split, Croatia (Photo: Sibylle Rüstig)
Ten years ago, I came to the city for the first time and instantly knew I'd be living here one day. There was just something in the air. Once I actually moved here, I immediately felt at home. I made loads of new friends, discovered new things, and fell in love. I have literally never looked back or regretted it. What is most interesting in Berlin? There is something about the type of people this city attracts. They are the ones giving it its energy, its character, and its uniqueness. I have met so many open, fun, life-loving people that have taken me on myriad adventures and changed my outlook on what is possible. So I guess it's the Berliners (originals and transplants) that are the most unique thing about the city. And the biggest challenge is for me definitely German. With its particular rules, numerous exceptions, and unique rhythm, it doesn't come as quickly to me as other languages have. That this is an English speaking city where everyone seems to be speaking excellent English doesn't help either. Well, everyone but the people in the Ämter that is.
Julián, born in Caracas, Venezuela (Photo: Karin Kutter)
The first time I came to Berlin was in 2001 when I was 16 years old and an exchange student. Berlin changed my life forever. I told to myself I want to live here one day. I never felt that energy in a place before, where everything is possible, past, present and future at the same time. My dream became a reality in 2012. Here in Berlin, I met my husband in 2015. We are married since July 2019. I cherish this freedom that the city gives me – even though sometimes it can be a bit overwhelming: you need to be careful not to get lonely. Currently, it is challenging to visit my family in Venezuela as the crisis is so acute and I do not feel safe to go there. My life here is very international but also very 'German'. I have friends that are like family from all around the world, I love the fact that despite our diversity, German is our primary common language. Berlin is home now.
Tünde, born in Brasov, Romania (Photo: Alexandra Macnaughton)
I am Romanian of Hungarian origin. Before I came here with my husband in 2006, we had been living in England. He got a job offer for Berlin, we moved over and have been here ever since. It was challenging to come to terms with the locals' unfriendliness and to deal with local authorities, institutions and the endless bureaucracy. Now I love the city. My most special experience was the atmosphere during the soccer world championship. Berlin feels like the whole world lives in one place.
Charlene, born in Abidjan, Ivory Coast (Photo: Zanda Liepina)
I've been living in Berlin for about five years. Before that, my family and I lived in Italy. I am a mother of three children. My days are moustly very busy. We run a place called "Early Bird" in Prenzlauer Berg.
Vanessa, born in Zurich, Switzerland (Photo: Christa Majewski)
I have been traveling since I age 19. I have lived in Zurich, Istanbul, Lugano, Paris and now, since 1.5 years in Berlin. When I came from Istanbul, Berlin was a culture shock for me. People were cold. People didn't look you into the eyes. But if you take your time, you can build relationsships where you see 'eye-to-eye'. Then I learned to see behind the facades. I live now in Berlin-Zehlendorf and have been able to build great relationships. Berlin has a tough history, the fall of the wall, the second world war. I had plenty of pre-conceptions about Germans, but there is a lot to discover. Berliners value very much nature. Berlin is a city in a forest and I enjoy that a lot. I work as a self-employed Coach, mostly on the topic of change. I help people to develop strategies to deal with changes. There is always change.
Maria, born in Athens, Greece (Photo: Alexandra Macnaughton)
I came here 3 years ago for work. I like Berlin because it is inclusive and it has something for everyone. I particularly enjoy the long summer evenings.
Jens, born in Pretoria, South Africa (Photo: Alexandra Macnaughton)
I came to Berlin in 1998 for my college education after my Boss at the German Seaman’s mission in Durban (South Africa) encouraged me to pursue an education in the social field. As a South African of German descent I have always dreamed of living in Germany and thus, when the college accepted me, I decided to move to Berlin. Starting a new life far away from my family and friends in South Africa having very little money to begin with and no one to really help me out when I was in difficulties was a challenge in the beginning. A fascinating experience was the beginning of the new millennium at the Brandenburg Gate. I remember not being able to find a group of friends me and another friend were supposed to meet up with. The whole area around the “Straße des 17. Juni” was extremely crowded. So I ended up spending new years eve with only this one friend. We had a whale of a time none the less, making many new acquaintances during the course of the night. Berlin is a growing, openminded city with many faces.
Julio, born in Mexico City, Mexico (Photo: Alexandra Macnaughton)
I came to Berlin 7 years because I found love. I met this quy from Hamburg, we became partners and decided to get married. Berlin meant a complete change of life to me. It was a revolution and a dream come true. Living in Berlin is getting the life I always wanted. Such a change means a lot of work. I had to learn a new language, learn a new job and leave behind everything and everyone I knew. I am and I’m trying to be the best version of myself and Berlin is a good motivation to do it. To me Berlin means freedom because everyone has the chance to become who they want.
Mohsin, born in Mandi Bahauddin, Pakistan (Photo: Christa Majewski)
I am since four years in Berlin and work in a kiosk at an Neukölln underground station. In general I like Berlin a lot, but during work I almost daly observe brawls among homeless people and drunks, which don't like at all. In future I want to open my own business, a "Spätkauf" or even a wholesale trade. I like to visit Potsdamer Platz, because it is clean there and because there are nice shops and lots of tourists. To find a flat is nearly impossible and I find it very hard to find contact to women. My whole family with exception of my cousin are in Pakistan and I miss them a lot.
Saleh, born in Damaskus, Syria (Photo: Christa Majewski)
I am in Berlin since four years. What I like most about Berlin is, that it is a social city. A big city, where you can do what you want (sports, dancing, meeting people …). Every time I feel homesick, I go to Sonnenallee, which for me is the "arabic street" in Berlin. There I meet friends from my home country and we eat arabian food. Since 3 semesters I study social work at the Alice-Salomon-Hochschule. I like this subject more than my study in Syria, where I studied law. I like the informal athmosphere at the Uni too.
Lalo, born in Santiago de Chile, Chile (Photo: Pit Bisinger)
The way of life and the multicultural mix in Berlin is the most important feature for me. I love the international gastronomy and the numerous cultural events. Berlin is a green city with many parks and lakes. My father came to Berlin as a Chilean exile. He had to flee. The military coup forced many people to flee abroad! In 1975 my father came with me via Italy to Berlin. I like living in Berlin and feel like a Berlin Chilean.
Rajarshi, born in Sunamgoni, Bangladesh (Photo: Sibylle Rüstig)
Berlin is an open, multicultural and tolerant city with immense historical importance. From street festivals and party vibes of Kreuzberg to beautiful nature around Wannsee, different parts of Berlin are ready to overwhelm people with different perspectives. I came here from Bangladesh for the purpose of doing science. After studying an international master’s program which included three different universities in Berlin, I can say, wherever you are from whatever is your interest, regardless of your culture, ethnicity and orientation Berlin has something special to offer you. What I personally liked about Berlin is that it offers me the chance to meet people from all around the world and to explore different cultures. I enjoy the music festivals, sometimes strange outfits of different people, graffiti’s in the walls and the historical monuments which bear the beauty and the scars of European past.
Elizangela, born in Porto Calvo, Brazil (Photo: Pit Bisinger)
The angels brought me to Berlin. Through my friend Anna I came to Berlin for the first time seven years ago. I can stay with her. It is my dream to stay here forever. I am a little homeless after I have been often in Italy and Brazil. The special thing about this city is the possibility to do everything entirely free whatever I like to. I feel much more welcome here than for example in Italy and also than in Brazil with the current conditions. Although I still speak little German and not English I always find someone here to help me. This friendly helpfulness is really special.
Ruta, born in Kaunas, Lithuania (Photo: Pit Bisinger)
The diversity in Berlin is the most important feature for me: the people, the cultural events. Everything is possible. Berlin is a metropol of the villages, big and small at the same time. There are so many green parks and lakes. I was curious, to meet the world in Berlin and i was exited to live here. I work for the environmental field and I am happy to work in a country, which is one of the best for environmental politics. Berlin is diversity! In Berlin it is much easier to be a foreigner.
Alla, born in Liepaja, Latvia (Photo: Pit Bisinger)
The Architecture, for example the Reichtagskuppel and the Gendarmenmarkt, and the Internationality in Berlin are very impressive for me. After I took my A-levels I came to Berlin to study. At first I had to learn German. Although Berlin is very international it was very difficult for me to live here without any knowledge of the German language. Berlin is so unique because so many different people can live her in peace together.
Jürgen, born in Bludenz, Austria (Photo: Alexandra Macnaughton)
I moved to Berlin 14 years ago because my girlfriend was living here. I like the city because there is space for every way of living – everybody can choose how he or she wants to live. What I still find difficult is the unfriendliness I have to face when I’m dealing with authorities. My most beautiful experience is that my two children were born in Berlin, that will connect me with this city forever no matter where I will be. Berlin is nice time and again. There are so many possibilities to spend your leisure time, nice cafes and cultural diversity.
Arezoo, born in Herat, Afghanistan (Photo: Zanda Liepina)
My favorite places in Berlin are the German Historical Museum and the Hackesche Markt and Berlinische Galerie. I really like the Christmas in Germany. I particulary like the childrens toy shops on the Christmas markets. I came to Berlin in January 2015 with my husband and our twins who were not born at that time. Our journey from Afganistan to Germany took 40 days. We walked over Iran and over the mountains from Turkey to Greece, than we continued our journey with boats and various buses. My greatest wish is to complete an apprenticeship here in Berlin and later find a good job.
Thobias, born in Changacherry in Kerala, India (Photo: Meryem Yildiz)
Diversity and open mindedness have been my greatest experiences in Berlin. Making friends by meeting different people with diverse stories. My most beautiful experience in Berlin was to see the sun rise into a violet sky over the city, after a long night of partying. I live in Germany since I was four years old. The first years in Karlsruhe as child of Indian migrant parents were stressful, turbulent and have formed me. In 2014 I moved to Berlin to do my BA and Master at the Alice-Salomon-Hochschule. In the five years since then, I have grown in my knowledge, my experiences, my horizont and my personality, which gave me stability, self confidence and self esteem. The start in Berlin was challenging, especially as a BPoC at a Highschool, located at a district of Berlin, which is known for xenophobia and its strong nationalist tendencies. My own struggle for fairness and humaneness have strengthend me and have led to a new version of myself. This is the beginn of my journey, which will continue to evolve searching and finding new versions of myself. Berlin is not easy, it changes you either for the better or for the worse. It is your personal decision, how you deal with these challenges. But as a saying goes: "Through pain we rise." I did!
Andras, born in Nagykanizsa, Hungary (Photo: Zanda Liepina)
The acoustics in the tunnel of the Victory Column are the best in all of Berlin. The people from all continents, the music, the dance, the film world, the food, the different cultures, the graffiti, the skateboarders ... all of this makes Berlin to a special place for me. I came to Berlin in 1984, soon after that I met the love of my life, she is my wife today. Children, family, and career followed. My wife Isabel Nagy is a singer and double bass player in our Hungarian Speed Folk Band "Transilvanians".
Yevheniia, born in Kiew, Ukraine (Photo: Sibylle Rüstig)
It is pretty hard to pick up just one beautiful or interesting thing in Berlin, but I would say - public transport, specifically the subway. I always loved to pay attention to details and spend time in public transportation, observing different things, people, stories, and Berlin subway is THE place for this. Berlin subway is an independent organism full of people who are, for some reason, sharing this x-amount of time in one wagon/platform.
People and random places make Berlin special.
People here are phenomena for me. Starting from locals, who are managing and developing their relationships after being separated for almost 30 years. And finishing with a huge "Terminal of comers". People are coming and leaving, some of them are willing to stay forever, someone is just coming for a short visit. These two things are creating a phenomenal type of society which belongs to Berlin.
Random places. Wherever you would go, you could find easily some interesting places, bars, exhibitions. For this you don't need even to plan your day, all you would need to do is just simply go out of your home. Before I was thinking that it is me being lucky with discovering these random places, but then I just realized that it is not me being luck it is just what Berlin is.
Berlin is a chaotic city in a good way of saying. It has evidently chaotic tempo, which is a charming characteristic of this city. At the moment when you stop to fight with this tempo and will start to living and breathing this, it will give you that special feeling which most probably you will not find in other cities.
Irene, born in Schachtinsk, Kazakhstan (Photo: Sibylle Rüstig)
Berlin is the city of my life. I came here almost 10 years ago and to me Berlin is still the most beautiful and amazing city. To see abandoned places such as Spreepark and the former Eisfabrik is fascinating. The wide range of opportunities - it starts with the amazing culture/art and party scene, and also offers the opportunity to relax in the nature, especially the numerous lakes makes Berlin special.
Alex, born in Lelystad, Netherlands (Photo: Sibylle Rüstig)
Honestly, this week so far has been pretty inspirational on a personal level. The fact that I’mfilling out this form because I happened to be walking in the right spot at the right time in this huge place and ended up being spontaneously photographed is pretty amazing. Over just the past few days I’ve had other amazing things happen to me – I talked to a youth organisation about teaching refugees german through music, I rekindled a lot of contacts and made new friends by visiting the local game developer meetup, I got offered a free ticket to a sold out live show by a stranger (who is now also a new friend!) when I was dropping my friend off in line.
What makes Berlin as city so special? Its capacity and desire to be open to you if you are open to it. Its ability to put you on the paths of people that also feel that urge to communicate, go forwards, and create – to just try things because we feel they ought to be done.
I’ve visited Berlin several times over the years – I make video games and there is a large creative scene here with conferences, events, meetups, etc. I made a lot of great friends here through that, and I always felt a calling to come back and make it my home for a time. That’s why I’m here now. I’m unemployed, cut loose, looking for a different way to structure and spend my energy. I’m dividing my time between Berlin and my home in the Netherlandsto try and create new opportunities and projects for myself in games, art, music, etc. I’m here trying to live my best multi creative self.
Berlin is scary, because it invites me to put myself out there – to step outside of my comfort zone and reach out to new people and experience
Ting, born in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan (Photo: Sibylle Rüstig)
What was the most interesting thing I experienced in Berlin? I like to observe the people on the street with their unique styles in any gender and any age. They have their own pantone color.
In Berlin you can always discover something new, it surprises you all the time. It’s a city you love and hate it at the same time. After graduation from the university here in Berlin, the life here wasn’t so great. I struggled to find a job, that was kind of depressing. But since I found my new job at the begin of the year and first met my boyfriend too, everything has changed for the better. Life is fun again and the world has become more colorful.
Grace, born in Manengole, Cameroon (Photo: Zanda Liepina)
The most interesting things I expierienced in Berlin is the Brandenburger Tor and The Pariser Platz. What makes Berlin a special city is the multiculturalism and sociability. In the same way the fact that I can get african food in its many afroshops makes me feel here almost at home. I came to Berlin for my studies and beside that I do a part time Job where i meet wonderful people who make me feel here really good. I go regulary to the cinema and take the opertunity to visit the city. Berlin is the most beautiful city in the world because i´ts simultaneously atractive, with beautiful monuments, clean, dancing, welcoming and social.
Emilia, born in Stettin, Poland (Photo: Dagmar Rehberg)
I spend my time as a student in the dormitory with students from different countries. Later I moved to Spandau in the green outskirts of Berlin, where my two children were born. When I was seven years old my family moved from Poland to Berlin. We lived in the west of the divided city in Wedding between 1986 and 1998. When I was 13, we moved back to Poland. In 2000 I came back as part of an German-Polish exchange program to study medicine. Til today I live here in Berlin with my husband and my children and work as a medical doctor. Berlin is the city where everybody can find his or her personal fulfilment and can live happily, because Berlin is so open minded and tolerant.
Viet Hong, born in Quang Binh, Vietnam (Photo: Dagmar Rehberg)
I am in Berlin since 20 years for work and because I like Berlin. I love the cultural diversity, the many open minded people in this place.
Càģla, born in Cyprus (Photo: Zanda Liepina)
In Berlin these kind of things happen to you! That is Berlin! The city is beautiful, because so many cultures live together here.
Arcadius, born in Cotonou, Benin (Photo: Meryem Yildiz)
I am a professional musician, composer and arranger. I came to Germany 16 years ago. Here I created the "Arcadius Didavi Jazz Quartet" and the "Afrikadelle" band. With Afrikadelle, we combine Afrobeat with European pop to a fervent dance music. We regularly play in Berlin’s clubs and at festivals throughout Germany.
What I find interesting in Berlin is, that people talk openly about personal things, without knowing the other person well. Everybody says that Berlin is multicultural, but when I sit in a café and five people stare at me drinking my coffee, I feel alienated. Dealing with this subtle everyday racism demands a lot of energy. It is only when I travel to Benin, that I feel like I can breathe again. It's a challenge for most artists to make a living through music. You have to endure a lot. For an African band it's even harder. There are not enough festivals or stages that favour multicultural music here. The few that exist either hardly pay the musicians or invite only stars from abroad, while overlooking the talents who live in Berlin. Therefore, I wish to establish and organise a festival, where internationally recognised musicians from Berlin and abroad can come together. I will call it the "Afrikadelle Music Festival".
John, born in Nairobi, Kenia (Photo: Zanda Liepina)
The city is well organised as compared to my place of my origin. The many different countries in Berlin makes it easier to feel at home. Berlin has given me the opportunity to grow from as a person, given me more opportunities that i wouldnt have if I was at my country of birth.
Samuel, born in Harrogate, United Kingdom (Photo: Jan Radtke)
Moving from London to Berlin the most striking thing I first noticed was how welcoming the city was. Not just the people, but the city itself. It felt, and still feels, open, accepting, and laissez-faire about just what goes on within it. Like the city itself lives up to its reputation as being cool and aloof.
There aren’t many places in the world which are truly a melting pot, a focus of cultural expression and experimentation. A place where boundaries are pushed in all directions. When I moved here to attend the Serial Eyes programme at the DFFB I had no idea that as well as developing my career, I would develop myself as a person. My friend bought me the book Christopher and His Kind, by Christopher Isherwood as a goodbye gift when I left London, and reading it when I arrived I remember the strangest feeling of suddenly being connected to my place in the ever moving line of history.
Here I was, reading a book about a young, gay, British writer moving to Berlin and experiencing so many of the same things I have since I moved here some 100 years later. Berlin has stripped away the layers of British prudery and repression which seem so inbuilt into those who grow up in the UK. It has confronted me with the very worst and best of humanity, and continues to be an unapologetic window into the world we have built around us; for better, and for worse.
There is no one adventure in Berlin which I could mention, without lessoning the adventures I experience here almost every day. People come and go, love and leave, laugh and cry, fail and dream, each within their own personal stories, many of which I am proud to say I have been a part of. If Berlin is anything, Berlin is life; with all the pain, joy and madness which it brings.
Padraig, born in Navan, Ireland (Photo: Karin Kutter)
It`s the music that brought me to Berlin. I think that I have grown a lot as a musician and person since arriving here in Berlin 18 months ago. Songwriting can be a very cathartic experience, and I often find out what I truly feel about a situation or experience when I take pen to paper and write a song.
Ramon, born in Lima, Peru (Photo Christa Majewski)
In Berlin the air carries music from every direction. For me Berlin is a challenge to create continously new music. I am inspired from the vibration in the air and I play everything from Folklore to Latin Jazz.
Slavica, born in Sabac, Serbia (Photo: Meryem Yildiz)
I have studied social politics and social work in Serbia, worked as Sales Manager in different branches and as an English Teacher in a preschool in Qatar, before we moved to Berlin four and a half years ago. The best experience for me in Berlin is meeting new and very interesting people. I like the flat, open places and parks, where people care about the flowers. I like taking long walks and being at the touristic places like the Brandenburger Tor or Ku’damm. The biggest challenges for me were the discrimination of our son in the kindergarten, the German language and feeling so lonely, when we arrived here. My dream in Berlin is opening my own kindergarten or working in a humanitarian organisation. My prompt for Berlin is: ”Berlin ist so wunderbar!”
Jennifer, born in Newmarket, Canada (Photo: Jan Radtke)
I was born in a small town in Ontario, Canada called Newmarket, though I have never lived there. I grew up in an even smaller town near by. My father is German, so I always had an interest in visiting the country, and after a few visits to his home town of Hamburg, I finally decided to spend some time in Berlin. As an artist and musician, the city drew me for many reasons. The city is vibrant, and full of activity. The music scene is amazing, as are most of the art scenes. It’s an international city, which is exciting. It’s easy to meet new people, work on your creative projects, and find lots of others doing similar things. There is always something going on. The city’s history is facinating and there is a real spirit of creativity here. It’s unpretensious and beautful in it’s own unique way. I think anyone who spends a bit of time here, wants to return again and again. At least, I do.
Jldima, born in Dionisio, Brazil (Photo: Christa Majewski)
Here in Berlin I meet people from all over the world with different cultures and languages. It is fascinating but can be challenging in everyday life too. I live in Berlin for 30 years and there is no boredom. Just the opposite. I can grow as a person and learn a lot about how to communicate. Berlin is part of my home now and because my children and grandchildren live here, I will stay. I work as manager of a kita, but are 'maid-of-all-work' at the same time. What I don't like in Berlin is the the cold wheather.
Shaban, born in Skopje, Macedonia (Photo: Christa Majewski)
What I like in Berlin are the VIP's that you meet in cafes and bars, who are not arrogant at all. Only yesterday I served a famous football player from Hertha, who behaved just like everybody else. This way working in gastronomy is actually fun!
Alexandre, born in Caxios do Sol, Brazil (Photo: Christa Majewski)
I´ve been in Berlin for only 3 Weeks and already feels like home. The city is amazing, it has the perfect balance between nature and civilisation.
Natalia, born in Caxios del Sol, Brazil (Photo: Christa Majewski)
I have never seen a city like Berlin, so international, open to new people and different cultures.So far, I had just a great experience. People are allways ready to help you and they make you feel at home. Berlin I love you.
Napaporn, born in Bangkok, Thailand (Photo: Christa Majewski)
For me Berlin feels like Bangkok. It is my home, kind of. I came to Berlin when I was 15 years old. My mother worked here and after she married she brought me here. Now I have my own hairdressing salon in Neukölln, very central, close to the circle line. I love the multi-cultural environment and experience much less discrimination than in other German cities. Berlin is simply cool.
Nizar, born in Beirut, Lebanon (Photo: Meryem Yildiz)
I've been living in Berlin for twenty-three years and the best experience for me was that I could learn German here. The street festivals are unique and the many parks are beautiful in Berlin. When I came here, the most unusual experience for me was, that there are no electricity or water failures and that I have a statutory health insurance. The biggest challenge for me is to get in contact with Germans and to find someone, I could marry.
Daniela, born in Maracay, Venezuela (Photo: Meryem Yildiz)
Berlin is a special place, because people from all over the world are living in this city and when you’re walking on its streets, you can feel the diversity, listening to several languages, seeing people with different styles and colors. Berlin is a place of tolerance and acceptance, there is respect for others. What I like most about this city is, that you can be yourself without others judging you. We are all different and unique in this city. That is something magical and that is why it makes it so special. I came to Berlin for love and because of the critical situation in Venezuela. The biggest challenge I had in Berlin and Germany was to learn the German language. Now, I’m studying and working in a language, that was new to me a few years ago.
Lani, born in New York, USA (Photo: Jan Radtke)
I really like the vibe and energy of Berlin. It's an easygoing place where anything goes. Its alternativ and unassuming so its easy to just jive and feel comfortable there. It also does not shy away from its history yet somehow its incorporated into it, with hopes for an optimistic and accepting future. Berlin is a city that encourages creativity and there are people from all over the world, making it easier to find your place there. Also, its spread out in a way that each neighborhood has its own unique character. And I especially love the spring and summer months with the long nights and all that wonderful park space. Also,it has some of the best Vietnamese restaurants in the world!. I was surprised how different Berlin is from the rest of Germany. I have had the privilege of travelling to other parts of the country and must say that this city is really less "German" in character and very distinct from the rest of the country. Almost a country on its own. This can be said of many major cities but Berlin takes it to another level. What also surprises me each time is the sheer size of the city. It seems to be never be ending and there is always a new corner or spot yet to discover. What I don't like are the very gray and long winters. There is a price to pay for the long summer nights and its a pretty big one. The holiday season helps ease this a bit but once its over its still an additional few months until the weather really improves.
David, born in Port Jefferson, USA (Photo: Jan Radtke)
We moved from Salt Lake City, Utah to Erfurt and then to Berlin. Berlin has such a peaceful, laid back feeling. We have found a lot of silent places, and yet, there is a vibrant energy too. The flip side of this is the carefree attitude towards the streets, like beer caps and cigarette butts littering the ground, and discarded furniture and clothing sitting outside so many doors.
Ismael, born in Lagos, Nigeria (Photo: Jan Radtke)
Berlin was for me about personal change, so when I had a job offer, I took the opportunity. Before I had been in Malaysia for 11 years, where I did also my degree. What I like best is the carefree attitude of people. I expected more skyscrapers, but like the city as it is. There are also a lot of parks where you can go with family and friends. What surprised me was the traffic – cars and bicycles. My expectation was that drivers would be calmer, but drivers are drivers.
Hakan, born in Instanbul, Turkey (Photo: Karin Kutter)
"Berlin for me means feeling boundlessness and free. You can find me all over Berlin selling Turkish mocha with cinnamon and cardamom in my mobile coffee stand. The coffee is prepared on burning hot sand. Inspired by the moment I draw pictures from the coffee grounds of my guests."
Rebecca, born in Namibia (Photo: Meryem Yildiz)
"Apart from the history, diversity of it makes Berlin special. I feel so much at home here. I get to see people of all different backgrounds and even when you feel lonely, at least you can look around and feel at peace. Berlin is a place to be, you can never feel bored. The biggest challenge for me is the way people look at me at certain areas, it makes me feel not welcome. My interest in pursuing a masters degree brought me to Berlin.”
Benoit, born in Washington, USA (Photo: Karin Kutter)”
“I am a troublemaker in public space. With my interactive loudspeaker sculpture, I bring the Berlin air to oscillate and let the Berlin snout vibrate. The sculpture is fun, fantasy and interaction.
I was born in Washington but have been living in Berlin for almost 40 years. How did that happen? At the end of the seventies I migrated from the USA to Munich. A local friend gave me the key to his Charlottenburg apartment with the words: "Benoit, you have to go to West-Berlin!". Since then, I can no longer imagine myself and my artistic work without the city.”