Samiullah Rasouli

Samiullah Rasouli | Foto © Rottkay
Photo © Rottkay

Samiullah Rasouli (*1999) was born in Ghazni, Afghanistan. For five years until the death of his father he attended school, but then had to earn money for the family. At the end of 2015, sixteen years old, he came to Germany with his cousin. Their journey had lasted about forty days. For almost a year, Samiullah had no opportunity to go to school in Berlin. All he knew about Germany in the beginning was that the language is very difficult. Finally he learned German in a welcome class. He achieved level B2 and with the help of his mentor was able to start an apprenticeship in the hotel trade. His next aims are to complete his Abitur school-leaving certificate and then study political science. The most difficult situation that he encountered in Germany was when he received the news that he was about to be deported. Only a later decision by a judge enabled Samiullah to stay in Germany. In 2018 he was awarded the Else Lasker-Schüler Poetry Prize.