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Die Entstehung der Rubrik wurde durch eine Förderung des Hauptstadtkulturfonds ermöglicht. 

Assaf Al Assaf

Author

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© Assaf Al Assaf

Profile

Born: 18.9.1976
Birthplace: Deir Ezzor
Country of birth: Syria
Lives in: Berlin, Grünau


Language: Arabic
Working language: Arabic

Assaf Al Assaf at
stadtsprachen.de

Vita

Assaf Alassaf is a Syrian writer. He was born in Deir Ezzor in 1976 and studied dentistry at Damascus university in 2001. He has been writing literary anecdotes on Facebook about the revolution and the war in his home country, his travel to Mauritania, his life in Lebanon and his dental practice since 2013. His book »Abu Jürgen. Mein Leben mit dem deutschen Botschafter« was published in Germany in 2015.  

6 Questions

What brought you to Berlin? Love? World politics? Or was it a coincidence?

The war, I think I am a survivor looking for a safe place for his family.


What do you love about Berlin?

Public spaces, I like to spend a lot of time alone in green places in Berlin. This city allows you to live between the poles of metropole and nature.


What do you miss in Berlin?

In Berlin I discovered the meaning of moving sands: a lot of events, culture, art … So much is happening every day, in all these different places. It makes it difficult to decide to stay in one place, there is always something new that invites you to discover more …


What is your favorite spot in Berlin?

East Side Gallery, near the river. I like watching the memory of the Wall.


Would you say you are a different person in Berlin? A different translator? And if yes, in what way?

For sure, I am different here. Closer to may past, memories, and my future. I rethink lots of things in my past and make many concrete plans for the future. Berlin is the right time for that. 


Which existing literary work do you wish you had written?

I want to write in two directions, memories and new writings based on the reflection of the war, not about the war itself. I hope.

Awards

2016 Fellowship at LCB.
2016 Fellowship at Akademie Schloss Solitude.