“Few issues are discussed with more passion in Europe than that of refugees. But those affected themselves do not take part in it. Where do they actually come from? What did their everyday life look like, their life between home, work, family, friends and neighbors? […] What does it trigger in them when the European mob sets fire to houses that were built for their protection, when cold-hearted politicians stir up fear of them? […]. This book is meant to make the voice of literature audible in order to create the prerequisite for a serious ‘refugee debate’ in the first place, one that revolves around fates and not around upper limits.” (Publisher’s book description).
The anthology “Being Away – Being Here” brings together texts by authors who have come to Germany in recent years and now live here in exile. The authors are here for different reasons: Some have work contracts or came with a scholarship, others have gone through an asylum procedure or are still in the middle of it. Themes that come up in the poems, stories and short stories are about home, everyday life and escape, loneliness, rescue and new despair. The stories in the volume have often been banned in the authors’ countries of origin. In Germany, the stories are unknown so far due to language barriers. The anthology is an example of the many ways in which literature can familiarize us with worlds, with perspectives, and with ourselves, both in terms of form and content.
o.V. 2016: Texts from Germany. Being away – being here. Zurich: Secession.