By Ute Kaiser
Her name is Roula, ‘pronounced with a rolling R’. Born in Damascus, the 22-year-old Syrian came to Germany in 2014. She is now studying educational science in Tübingen. But that’s not all. Roula Al Sagheer has published her second book: ‘Heartbeat and Hope’. In it, she tells ‘true stories’ about ‘joy and sorrow, frustration and love, fear and security’. tuenews INTERNATIONAL spoke with the author and former tuenews employee, who has since become naturalised.
Roula, how did you come up with the idea for this book?
‘In the news or in political debates, people are always talking about us – not with us.’ For ten years, refugees have been learning the German language and have now found their place in society. But what happened back then is no longer discussed. Roula wants to change that with her book. ’The time has come for us to talk about ourselves—in our own voice and from our own perspective.’
After ten years, the consequences of war, flight and arrival are no longer perceived in public: ‘But they are still omnipresent,’ says the author—for example, problems in families as well as chronic or mental illnesses. One reason: many refugees did not dare to seek help because of language difficulties when talking to German psychotherapists and because the therapists do not know the Arab culture. The feeling of not being understood or not being believed is terrible. Roula knows this from many conversations.
How did you find your 16 mostly young interview partners?
Viyan, with whom Roula talked about identity, is a former fellow scholarship holder of the Baden-Württemberg programme ‘Talent im Land’ for gifted students. Dr Mohamad Alachkar, a prospective specialist in neurology and psychiatry in Munich, is known to the Syrian community from social media. The author also approached some acquaintances because their story fits perfectly with the idea of her book. Others were found through a letter to her ‘Talent im Land’ contacts. A former classmate who took part in the book competition (see info) told her about it.
How did the work on the book go?
The competition had certain guidelines. Roula was allowed to write a maximum of 17 texts with a maximum of 3500 characters each—a real challenge. After the interviews, during which she mostly learned about life from birth to the present day, the author didn’t want to exclude a single story: ‘I felt like each one told something special.’ The two-and-a-half-month process of working on the book gave Roula many a sleepless night. She had to leave out some details, which ‘hurt’ and required enormous concentration.
Writing each story from the first-person perspective also took a great deal of effort from the 22-year-old. In order to empathise with her conversation partners, she had to ‘cross the line between my feelings and theirs’. All the life stories were moving. But the first conversation with Reham was particularly hard for her: ‘I cried throughout the whole interview.’ Roula is impressed that the young woman ‘has managed to retain an inspiring and hopeful aura despite a very turbulent childhood.’
Reham came to Germany as an eight-year-old. Her family could only afford to send her and her two older brothers to a foreign country. Because the girl wanted to bring her family to Germany, she was not allowed to stay with her siblings. But she was never angry with her parents. Despite the negative experiences, she has a positive outlook on life. She says it has made her what she is today: ‘an ambitious, confident young woman.’ She is not alone in this. Other stories also tell of confidence in one’s own strength and in a positive future.
Working on the book was emotionally hard for Roula. But it also gave her many happy moments. She received ‘great support’ from friends and family. And after she shared information about her project on social media, she received a lot of positive feedback. Even Syrians she didn’t know wrote to her: ‘We are super proud of you.’
What goals and aspirations do you associate with your book?
‘I hope that it will help to document our story,’ says Roula. There are many people, ‘who still don’t understand why we perceive things differently.’ Traumas, in particular, play a major role in everyday life. The author hopes that people who have not been affected by the traumatising experiences of war and flight will also understand the scars on the soul and gain new insights: ’Then the new culture would no longer be a threat, but an enrichment.’
Roula is counting on more solidarity in society. ‘We have these experiences of fleeing, but we are not refugees. We are people who have goals.’ She hopes that her book will also be taken up in schools. She would like it if her fellow students developed ‘understanding and respect’ for people from other countries and if ‘all people in Germany become a home for each other’.
Info:
‘Young Storyteller Award 2024’ is the name of the competition organised by story.one and Thalia, in which Roula Al Sagheer is participating with her book ‘Heartbeat and Hope’ (cover: Anas Kamel). Ten participants will reach the final. The jury will decide on the winner in Cologne on 11 October.
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„Herzklopfen und Hoffnung“ heißt das neue Buch der Autorin und ehemaligen tuenews-Mitarbeiterin Roula Al-Sagheer, mit dem sie am „Young Storyteller Award 2024“ von story.one und Thalia teilnimmt. Cover-Design: Anas Kamel. Foto: Hala Almidani.
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