I met Naheed from Afghanistan again. Almost two months have passed. In her earlier story she said: “I miss my old life, my friends, my work, but most of all I miss my mother.” Fortunately, her mother now arrived in Berlin as well, after two tough months of fleeing across seven different countries. This is what she said: “I am Mahnaz from Afghanistan and the mother of my daughter Naheed. My legs and feet are wounded from walking. Sometimes I walked for 18 hours a day. It took me two months, there was a lot of trouble and hardly any …

“My name is Ahmad and I am from Afghanistan. I came to Berlin with my wife Shokufe and my two children Fatimazahra and Hossini. First, we fled to Iran but as Afghans we were discriminated. We weren’t allowed to work and our kids couldn’t go to school. Back home, we sold everything and made the hard way to Germany. That was two months ago. Today, we returned to LaGeSo, after we heard the news that people from Afghanistan will be deported. Along with other Afghan families, we want to raise our voices. We are very scared and we feel helpless. …

“My name is Raid and I am from Syria. I lost all my remaining belongings when I had to swim through a river in Macedonia. I’ve been waiting here at LaGeSo for almost 30 days. We are very thankful, but it’s so hard for us to understand why the registration process is taking so long. Waiting is not a bad thing, it’s the uncertainty that is depressing me. I miss my wife and daughter very much.”

After my post about Rami and his daughter Meriam, I got various mails from kind people offering their help in finding a place where they would be able to live together again as a family. Only a few days later and due to great team effort, we found that place. Yesterday, Fadi and I visited them in their new home. Again, the RBB TV Station came along filming a follow up on the story of Rami and his family. “After we heard about the flat, we could not believe this was really happening. Then we saw the place and looked at …

“Ich möchte gut Deutsch sprechen / I’d like to speak German well” More on his story here: German: http://bit.ly/1FQ4a5X English: http://www.timostammberger.com/bashar/ Bashar from Syria, LaGeSo 2015

“I am Rami and this is my daughter Meriam. We are from Damascus in Syria. My wife Heba and I decided to escape the horrible situation back home, when we noticed that our six year old daughter began to wet herself out of fear. We weren’t able to send her to kindergarten or let her out to play with her friends any longer. At any time there could be a bomb or an explosion happening. First, I fled alone and wanted them to join me later. The way to Germany is very difficult and I faced death many times along …

A few days ago Spiegel Online released the photo of Mahmoud’s family and covered part of their story. In my interview with him he explained that one of the things he misses most about Syria is spending time in his garden. Following the release I received a very kind email of a lady inviting the whole family to her garden. Today, we all went and had a wonderful time. After we had coffee and cake, we took a walk around the garden, discovering all the different plants and herbs, while the children played soccer. Good times.  This simple act of …

I want to take the opportunity to thank everybody involved in improving the situation for the humans of LaGeSo. First of all the volunteers from ‘Moabit Hilft’ who have gone out of their way to help those in need and to mobilize hundreds of people in Berlin to work together for a kinder tomorrow. My thanks also for the employees of LaGeSo working long hours to keep up with the immense workload ofprocessing all the newly arrived people. As well, it must be hard to be confronted with so many touching stories on a daily basis. And last but not …

German: http://bit.ly/2apyQ40 “My name is Benazir and I am from Afghanistan. This is my brother, Shah Reza and my two daughters, Ferozan and Sosan. My family and I are very worried because we have lost my four sons while on the run. As we got on the boat in Turkey, we were separated and we were told that they need to take the next boat. My sons are 15, 16, 19 and 21 years old. Our phone got wet on the boat and it doesn’t work anymore. We waited for them for 11 days in Greece but they never arrived. …

“My name is Yousef and I am from Tehran in Iran. I caught the flu a few days ago because I have no jacket. At first, I didn’t want to see the doctor here at LaGeSo. I was afraid to take time away from the doctors that somebody else could need more than me but now its gotten too bad. I’ve been away from home for many years now. As a Christian, I was in constant danger in Iran. After I left Tehran, I lived in Turkey. I haven’t seen my family in 4 years. It depresses me. You ask …