Katharina Brizić | Sîdar Bayram Orhan | Belinda Akel | Mehdi Jafarzadeh | Özgül Bendes | Şilan Bezaydaş | Uğur Sermiyan | Angela Creese | Adrian Blackledge

Day 1

Katharina, Mehdî, Sîdar, Şilan, Necle, Angela and Adrian meet for breakfast at a Syrian Café on Hobrechtstraße in the Neukölln neighbourhood. The café is run by Liana, a journalist who left Syria during the war and moved to Berlin.

Shakshuka for the hungry. Fatteh. A plate of cheese cubes, green and black olives, makdous, za’atar, olive oil, hand-made jam and butter-fried eggs is Treat Me Like a Queen. A plate of shredded string cheese, labneh balls, makdous, shanklish, clotted cream with honey, olive oil, za’atar and musabbaha with olive oil demands Treat Me Like a Vegetarian Queen. A plate of hummus, muhammara, green and black olives, zataa’r, olive oil, makdous, tahini with date molassess and foul with vegetables insists Treat Me Like a Vegan Queen. Glasses of tea. Strong thick coffee if preferred. Talk. Much to catch up on. Field work has begun. Walk. Across the Kreuzberg neighbourhood to Yekmal Family Centre Rengin. Yekmal is our main research partner in Berlin. Like the research team, Yekmal achieves much with very little resource. The organisation is housed in several multi-use buildings across Berlin which are home to a number of community organisations. Among others, Yekmal supports families in the education of their children and promotes multilingualism, equal opportunities and social participation. The multilingual family centre offers a wide range of opportunities for families throughout Berlin. Yekmal provides a full schedule of activities, including a Saturday school which teaches Kurdish languages and cultures. The extensive range of classes and groups includes art workshops, dance workshops, physical education and a sewing class for Kurdish women and new Berliners. More tea. Necle Bulut gives an inspiring talk about her bilingual storytelling project, which operates as a way to preserve Kurdish-Kurmancî. Walk. Lunch at a Kurdish café on Mariannenstraße. Home-made lemonade. Kurdish Ravioli (Spinat-Käse). Xengel/Mantı. Kutilk. Dolme. Mehîr. No soup today. To Yekmal Family Centre to watch Bahman Ghobadi’s powerful, moving film A Time for Drunken Horses. The film acts as a provocation for discussion about Kurdish film, and the role of the arts in research. More tea. Dinner is scheduled at a Ukrainian restaurant, Drei Elefanten, on Donaustraße. Soup today: Borschtsch, Süßkartoffelsuppe.

Day 2

Katharina, Özgül, Barış, Angela and Adrian meet for breakfast. White cheese, honey, black olives, fresh bread. Barış Seyitvan talks about his extensive creative practice as an artist. Bariş is an independent Kurdish artist and curator from Diyarbakır, Turkey. He currently lives in Berlin. His professional experience spans 20 years of work with arts organisations, individual artists and nonprofits. His focus is on contemporary art and migration in the Middle East; his work explores the experience of the global Kurdish communities. Walk. Yekmal Kita Pîya Kreuzberg.  The Pîya daycare centre is the first bilingual Kurdish-German kindergarten in the world. The name Pîya comes from the Kurdish-Zazakî language. Its meaning, together, emphasises the integrative and collaborative approach of the educational work that goes on here. Small children wash their hands before lunch. They are serious and also full of laughter. The staff of the kindergarten are relaxed and confident. There is an abundance of trust here. The Director of Yekmal, Günay Darıcı, discusses at length the aims and ambitions of the organisation. More tea. Walk. A thunderstorm interrupts a journey through the neighbourhood to visit an open-air space adopted by Yekmal. With a little relief a decision is made to forego lunch. An indoor market. Aromas of all kinds: spices, fruits, candies, confections. Back at the Family Centre, an impressive talk from Őzgűl Bendes about her personal experience of developing everyday language materials for children in Kurmancî. Flash cards, memory games, audio resources. The presentation prompts further discussion of language learning. Dinner at Restaurant Agora. Katharina, Mehdî & Sozdar & Aso, Özgül & Yaşar & Heval, Şilan, Sîdar, Angela, Adrian. Eclectic cuisine: Turkish, Arabic, Israeli, Greek, Lebanese, Kurdish. Research discussions late into the evening. Farewells, or at least adieus. The team disperses, goes its separate ways. For now.