Human Rights / Society

Refugee Story Series, No. 01

- by Maya Taneva

Once a month, Lucify.ch and Hellowelcome present one unique story about a refugee woman or a woman with a migration background.

For December 2019 we had the opportunity to meet and hear the story of one woman, in her middle 30s, a refugee from Iran.

How did I meet Somi?

I met Somi for the first time in Luzern, in Neubad, on the day when we made the Interview. I got immediately attracted to the intelligence of this woman, as well as, of her warm smile, a smile which I recognize by many women who are coming from the Middle East. She made a short introduction about her self in her own mother tongue, Persian, in the video bellow.

VIDEO 01

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAIy11vp8LE[/embedyt]

Why did Somi chose the fate of a refugee?

Somi came in Switzerland 3 years ago, as a refugee from Iran. She left her country out of political reasons, and as she says, she will not be able to come back home again. Why? Because in Iran she is already now sentence to a death penalty. She tried to tell her side of the story about women’s life in Iran in the following video.

VIDEO 02

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0yZqOkGwxE[/embedyt]

What where her ways to integrate in Switzerland?

Somi had many positive, as well as negative, things to tell, about her ongoing process of integration in Lucerne. I have chosen the highlight about her process of integration in the next short video sequence.

VIDEO 03

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcHAmRzwUxU[/embedyt]

If I get NEGATIVE I am doomed

During our conversation, I’ve noticed that Somi constantly uses some terms which are unfamiliar to me. Like for example, she kept saying that she is very afraid if she gets negative. When Somi talked about some of her refugee friends she used another term, finger trocken or dry finger. I tried to get behind these terms and find out what exactly do they mean for a refugee.

VIDEO 04

Über Maya Taneva

Maya kommt ursprünglich aus einer politisch und kulturell stark geprägten Region des Balkans: Mazedonien. Sie ist in den 90er-Jahren in der Hauptstadt Skopje in einer Nachkriegsatmosphäre aufgewachsen. Damals gab es weder eine Kunstszene noch Kunst-Vereine. In diesen schwierigen Zeiten hat sie erkannt, wie wichtig es ist, Zeichen zu setzen und dass es Menschen gibt, die kreativ denken und arbeiten wollen. So war sie seit ihrer Jugendzeit mit verschiedenen kleinen und grossen Engagements in der subkulturellen Szene von Skopje aktiv: Kanal 103 Radio, Locomotion Festival, Dream On Festival… Seit 2012 wohnt sie in der Schweiz und studiert Weltliteratur an der Universität Bern am "Center for Global Studies (CGS)". "Es ist meine Vision, eine aktive Gestalterin und Promoterin der Vielfalt kultureller Ausdrucksformen zu sein, die es in multikulturellen Milieus gibt. Insbesondere interessiert es mich, wie man die Rezeption der zeitgenössischen Kulturszene vertiefen und verbessern kann und Räume zu schaffen für multikulturellen Ausdruck, sowie für die Vermittlung zwischen Kultur und Politik."

Zeige alle Beiträge von Maya Taneva →

Schreibe einen Kommentar