What does it mean to live in a society, in which you, a young person, feel as if falling through the cracks? Left out, broken down, lonely? How do you handle experiences of everyday racism in a white-majority society, who do you turn to for inspiration and most importantly, how do you find your voice?
Award-winning German journalists and authors Fatma Aydemir and Mohamed Amjahid have long thought about these questions in their works of fiction and non-fiction. In Ask me Anything, students accross the US are invited to join Sofia Sepulveda Pizarro (East Brunswick High School, NJ) and Jose Fernandez (Union Square Academy of Health and Sciences, NYC) as they discuss identity, belonging and what it means to come of age in Germany and the US.
Fatma Aydemir is an author and journalist based in Berlin. She studied German Literature and American Studies in Frankfurt am Main. Her debut novel “Ellbogen” (Elbow) from 2017 was awarded with several literary prizes and is currently adapted as a movie. She co-edited the essay collection “Eure Heimat ist unser Albtraum” (Your Homeland is our Nightmare). Her latest novel “Dschinns” (Jinns) is out this February.
Mohamed Amjahid was born as the son of so-called guest workers in Frankfurt am Main in 1988. He studied political science in Berlin and Cairo. After completing his master’s degree Amjahid worked for several big German newspapers. He is now a freelance investigative journalist currently working on several new book projects. His latest book is Der weiße Fleck (Piper Verlag).
This discussion is part of the events celebrating the 50th anniversary of the German American Partnership Program (GAPP).
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