we live in a competitive world disco all to it's cool it's cool. to be free and the world is changing the most important for more a student is called the seriously. more so more cities for commodity starts march 22nd on d w. i'm an author and witness to world events that's all. it was the hardest decision in my life because i didn't want to hold. on the key to germany and was like a child. and half blind. or. really

for artists who have fled political persecution in their own countries. and settled in berlin. what drove them to leave. what challenges do they face in their new home. what attracted them to the german capital. people in berlin are demonstrating for a free bellow roosts. eater directorates makes a child who is one of the cold organizers of the protest. he's glad that he can express his opinion freely in germany and that he can send a signal from abroad. in the birdland is not indifferent to what is happening in the murders. to the situation in our homeland and citizens are

doing. simply saying. we're helping you are supporting me in their. mass protests have been taking place in dello russo for months with the demonstrators calling for an end to the country's authoritarian regime police have clamped down on them heavily. even if they are no longer there it's a charge to an other brother rusian is in berlin feel part of the wider protest. before. we don't want that we just knew things aren't right to. charge cool left dello russo over 10 years ago. he had always opposed to the regime and had organized protests and hunger strikes. as a result he was arrested locked up for days at

a time without charge. i always say that if i stayed i would become a professional revolutionary. i was allowed to study i would never have got a good education. in jail because i took some because of my years so i had to make up my mind and leave i wanted to do what i love art. thanks to a grant he was able to go to poland where he acted and directed plays both in the off theater scene and in state theaters. including a production of the idiot. you. know he still works in poland he prefers to live in berlin. he says he loves the alternative district of course it's bad because people here are free to think and do as they please. they discovered

a new kind of protest across their constant process and cross. before it was important for me to see the different forms and how they were organized. transferring this knowledge which of the recipient places. belongs to protest. he's currently working on an exhibition about civil society and bella ruse. he says that he was politicized as a young man by an encounter with some german punks who were visiting bella ruth. and listen to the sex pistols were basically why you. only talked about freedom and civil rights and that was actually new for us. we were. kids in the city and all of a sudden we discovered another culture i mean these punks shoot me but there was another world out there for you. totally different from the one he knew

for you there was a kind of break stopping society from developing. you were constantly told what to do the and what not to do. and we had to follow. her apparatus. the relationship between the state and the individual today is something he often examines in his work. the peace projection paranoia shrine integrates text written by the ira have terrorist recombine hoff who explored how far political resistance could go. to hopes that his work will resonate in bella ruse to see myself as a bridge between early in minsk in case something happens there i preach. between

berlin. but then i'd like to find a nice between institutional. and the underground. there. right now berlin has more such. who will be staying put. now to. meet the vice president of penn center germany it's one of some 150 centers the ported by writers association penn international. attention to authors who have been persecuted for exercising their right to freedom of expression it's german center helps them in germany worldwide many writers still live dangerously there are countries which are always at the bottom of the list. in terms of freedom of

expression and every tree is not. for 10 years in the last 3 or 4 years turkey has gotten much worse and remains level. each year and international. documents writers have been imprisoned or subjected to other restrictions you know . but there are also many cases we knew nothing about. for example in china. like a black hole. or national death sentences are executed there are only very rarely does work. sometimes when joe ching feels lonely. being out nature calms him helps him clear his mind and focus. he's lived in berlin for the past. like nature. but i don't feel to home in one

particular place. i have no special connection to a certain place on earth i've lived in washington in the u.s. was opened in beaching. here in germany i live here and there i think that stems from my time in jail since then i have this sense of restlessness. under sooner than the truth out of the country in 1989 protests erupted at beijing's tiananmen square and elsewhere in china tens of thousands of young chinese demanded greater freedom. but the pro-democracy movement was brutally suppressed. joe ching helped organize demonstrations in his hometown she on for this he was sentenced to 2 and a half years behind bars and forced just been the 1st 2 months in solitary confinement locked up in a dark underground cell. the only freedom year after $51.00

days. he had to carry me out will. be covered my eyes will. at 1st i didn't know why. but i spent all this time in total darkness. blind. a harrowing experience but joe chain has remained undeterred once a widely respected nonfiction author and publisher in china he's kept writing books in exile he's a very gracious reader 2. is an enthusiastic cook the passion he discovered as a single parent for him eating is about companionship and looking after one's health but cooking also brings up grim memories from time behind bars to war certain jail looked after more than 30 people on death row who don't leave a few days or weeks left to live. they were strapped to their beds were

arms and legs spread to their sides. like a crucifixion. call with a hole in their bed to difficult for after relieving themselves arse's i would wipe them clean if you will i also felt them in their final moments. all that mattered. judging process to the experience in a book it tells the story of 15 different prisoners on death row and includes recipes for the last meal they ate before they were executed. a leading german literary magazine has published an excerpt of the book his translator and good friend susanna becker will translate the book into german joe ching regularly covers highly sensitive topics that few in china would dare discuss for research purposes he sometimes returns to his homeland though he's careful to stay off the radar as susanna becker describes that but unlike his artist friend i way way joe

ching resists the label dissident. i am an author and witness to world events that saw. a courageous one for sure joe ching carried out extensive research in china for his documentary film i don't quite recall which addresses a dark chapter of chinese history. revolution. the film revolves around the lynching of 2 teachers at the hands of their students it features interviews with people who may have witnessed the killings. say the action that superficially . to. recent events in paris show how timely my documentary is. as

a teacher was killer. sparking global outreach well most of my film talks about how 2 chinese teachers were beaten to death but to this day nobody knows who is responsible or. talks about this event so let us put it on. 2000 for investigative book about china's food industry became an international bestseller he exposed a ruthless food mafia that stops at nothing to maximize its profits including adding dangerous chemicals to build products it was translated into several languages. 15 years ago i started telling people that chinese food is unsafe and chinese food production methods can cause epidemics like sars. but nobody took this seriously. so i think european politicians and food manufacturers are harming themselves when they import chinese

products. currently working on new documentary films about china he's been barred from entering the country. but that won't deter him he's not easily intimidated. what's germany's role when it comes to offering protection to people threatened and persecuted and i think. germany please an important role. then germany's voice is very significant within the context of pen international for one. we have a writers in exile program that was created by the minister of culture in 2000. it was to pay off a debt of gratitude for writers who had to flee germany in 1933 found refuge abroad or. now we can persecuted writers and from all over the world to the workings of.

them in and i think only the very thought of. when the nazis came to power in 1933 a whole generation of writers was silenced their works were banned and burned their lives were threatened many fled others were killed today german cities such as where the nazis held their rallies taking exiles from all over. and over the course is just a trick of the ocean. there are many. who need our help. that's why many make their own way if they can and their place of refuge is often berlin. it's a bit of home away from home for a syrian in exile at the pergamon museum in the historic center of berlin. first tours for refugees she explains the history of the exhibits and how they can transport people back in time. just. close your

eyes try to smell. and you will feel home and there is always like very nice trips we go through closing the eyes and think about our memories our heritage many visitors return time and again. provide comfort in stability coming here also helps. combat her homesickness after she was forced to flee syria 6 years ago. i used to say it's my museum. and i am one of the very rare people who used to go to the museum almost every. studied art in damascus and wrote for a children's magazine she's also a successful children's book author. she suffered under bashar al assad's regime until 2011 when the anti-government protests known as the arabs. again.

it's give me a hope. that time to change. we leave. leave with long time. joined in the demonstrations and fought for change but the protests were brutally suppressed. repeatedly arrested and eventually fled her homeland. the hardest. because i didn't want to. hold a news syria. to leave all her friends and fellow protesters behind. she hasn't heard a word from many of them since. were they arrested or abducted. are they even still alive. her art works to picture this sense of

loss. it's mostly. because. they are here. now she found her mission. after her arrival germany took in almost a 1000000 refugees we can do this chancellor angela merkel famously said in encouragement. down to work. find myself somewhere in-between. trying to bring them together she also writes for the platform handbook germany which gets refugees practical info on how to adapt to life here. also believes that hosting society should know more about the newcomers about 3 fishies most of them have to integrate with each other. to help make that happen ali db writes

a column for a german newspaper. she highlights cultural similarities and differences between hosts and newcomers. and tries to combat the prejudices she encounters in her daily life. i say i'm from syria and. oh my god are you are really feels she said years. unfortunately and there's history but you don't look like so for me this is very important things to think to think about legs through types that need the spirit. and. of the people there's still much to be done to dispel such stereotypes and to encourage interaction between cultures which actually aren't that different. says that her hometown damascus and berlin have

much in common. it's very similar from different perspectives because it's very life it's very open and accept everyone from everywhere. where are you from what you're doing how you will how you dress what kind of study you did you will find your space. has certainly found her space helping to bring together different people and cultures. exiles have a hard time. you know rooted from their culture and they usually have a difficult time communicating in the new language. this applies to exiles today and to those of former times like those who fled nazi germany in the 1930 s. now there are plans to build

a museum dedicated to these refugees where berlin's on the holter railway station once stood. the exit. to open its doors in 2025 the modern building curve around the stations ruins. literature nobel prize winner. who fled from romania dictator nicholai regime to germany in 1907 is the museum's patron. berlin is coming to terms with its past what about the more recent history and the fact that many people from all over the world are moving here. or to flee. from danger as germany has experienced many different waves of immigration unfortunately there's new museum dedicated to this topic and that would be very interesting from a political perspective. a museum that tells the story of germany and the country

of immigrants because they are an integral part of its history. when shot in shaky came to germany 10 years ago we had to leave everything behind. in iran he was an acclaimed writer an intellectual who actively participated in social debate. being forced into exile of his identity. i had most everything a person could want to have that stature was a journalist in the best newspaper and lectured at the best universities isn't for pick on them that i come to germany and i was like a child. and done and half blind. and. shaky belongs to iran's kurdish minority he learned his mother tongue kurdish from

his father he describes it as the language of his soul and his innermost thoughts in his youth about him shaky frequented literary clubs and wrote lyrics poetry that was naturalistic and realistic. kurdish literature was for bisan it was illegal like drugs or something. so i think i was always self-confident. i just went in and read my poems and the folks there were surprised. 1617 year old boy. did he learn to speak kurdish. shaky quickly made a name for himself as a modern poet who courted controversy his writing advocate. equality of the sexes and human rights and he was a vocal activist in 2009. people rose up against the regime that put his life in danger. spending 20 years in jail

i don't fear torture or even the death penalty. but the indeterminacy. if you're arrested by the secret police or whoever there's no guarantee you'll be released in 2 or 3 hours after 3 or 7 days after 7 months or 7 years. managed to escape he never wanted to leave his country. from the german government including an. plane ticket to safety yet the fear that time still haunts him. never rented an apartment that was above the 3rd. because i always thought if they come for me i must flee no matter what happens to me. whenever i went to look at him i always checked at least. i still

have it was happens this reform. it took a long time before shakey could feel he was on firm ground again he broke with his past and embarked on the search for a new life and new identity and words his most important tools he wants to communicate but in what language. you know 70 percent of the people around me are germans or german speakers the streets are my streets are these walls are my walls this cafe is my candy. you're right aerialist here these are my neighbors weren't there germans or speak german makes it exciting but hard to write. but for now he's preoccupied with bringing some peace into his life having a secure job and residency status. shakey is employed as

a social education worker and a home for asylum seekers in his new home land. this start berlin is a city of my soul. berlin has a soul that's completely crazy and this suits me because it's always like mine is not the least of that's my feeling and berlin is nationality less their non rules nationality less is also how sharbat in shaky feels it's impossible for him to return to iran he hasn't seen his homeland in a decade. so where does he belong now in berlin. that's occurred maybe i should say kurdistan will forever be my homeland and stargirl but i was born there and i'm a kurd but the person i am now for him the man this here is my home.

that's it from art's 21 this week stay safe until next time good bye and alfie did they.

get. on the damn. bizarre baby and as a lawyer he could have earned a lot of money but he could not ignore the poverty in his country so he founded an organization volunteerism showing up passion for helping. providing something that many here no longer no attention. 39. exploring d.w.

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this is deja vu news live from berlin voters have had their say and 2 of germany's federal states all indications are that uncle america's conservative c.d.u. party has suffered in both elections we'll have more on those results and what they might mean for september's general election in germany also coming up fear and death on the streets of me and mark.