Dear Friends of Free Thought in the Arab World and elsewhere,
After last year’s great success we would like to celebrate again with you the national holiday, aka Day of German Unity – because unity and community is important on more than one level of society. There is the unity of the two Germanys, but there is an increasing importance also of the unity of those living together in this society, because there are many and they are diverse and that is a good thing. For this reason, we should celebrate just that, the diversity in unity, and try to answer in a practical way what exactly it is we are celebrating this coming Wednesday, October 3rd. Home, Baladna, Heimat, the words sound different but feeling at home feels more or less the same for everyone. So let’s celebrate again the place we’re at and that we own together.
And, like we did on October 3rd last year, first sleep late, then listen to Angela Merkel’s speech and the wind band playing in the background, go to the sauna or a cosy café; we’ll skip the thourough cleaning of the flat this year, and instead of visiting the grandparents this year we will just bring them along to:
celebrate with us, from 5pm in Ulme 35 in Berlin’s Westend.
And bring a contribution to the buffet: something that’s German. Or could be. Or rather: something that you think should be a part of your home in Germany. Something like this.
For example: Frikadellen and Falafel … Kartoffelpuffer and Kibbe … Apfelwein and Arrak …. or books: Goethe and Gibran, Rilke and Rumi, or maybe rather Christa Wolf and Colette Khoury? Or music: records by the Fantastischen Vier and Fairouz?
Culinary and other cultural artefacts may be put on the table, in short: everything that means to you a feeling of home, of being at home.
We will also be presenting our findings on this topic from our project ‘Light for the Future’ with Keefah Ali Deeb and the many refugee women who came on walks into German nature, history, society and politics with us.
So: bring something. We are looking forward to …. delicacies from many places … old and new German stories … songs and music, too … and surprises.
Ulme 35: Ulmenallee 35, 14050 Berlin-Westend
U-Bahn Neu-Westend (U2), Bus 104 Hessenallee, Bus M45 Kirschenallee
Fußweg 15min von der S-Bahn Westend (S42/S41)
On foot: 15mins from S-Bahn Westend (S42/S41)