Again and Again. War and its Consequences.

We were invited to be part of the annual conference of the Aktion Sühnezeichen Friedensdienste e.V. at the Emmaus Church in Kreuzberg. This NGO has been committed to promoting peaceful understanding and democracy in the context of addressing the Nazi crimes for over 60 years. This year's conference theme was: "Again and Again. War and its Consequences."

The conference offered numerous interesting events and lectures for the volunteers of the organization. On the final evening, we had the opportunity to present our project to about 100 participants. Jamal Abasi, Abdul Ahmad Pouya, Nadiia Kulish, Mykhailo Krasilnikov, and Legêr Zana presented their impressive texts in Persian, Ukrainian, and Kurdish. The German translations were read by the actress Selin Dörtkardes.

For Legêr, it was his first time on stage for The Poetry Project. He read his poems "Far from You," "Story of Fire," and "Berlin." His entire family came to support him. The evening concluded with the hopeful words of Jamal:

"At the end of the long road of escape./ Even though I do not come from your body,/ Perhaps I will still be a blessing for you./ Now that I am far from home,/ You are the house of my hope."

We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to the Aktion Sühnezeichen Friedensdienste e.V. for inviting us to this event. A special thanks for the invitation to the communal dinner before the reading and the cozy conclusion with drinks at the end of the event.