Safeta Obhođaš
- I wrote EIN DEUTSCHTÜRKE IM ABSEITS (A German Turk on the Sidelines) during Merkel's era, 2012-15. I collected the writing material for this book at the base. Hardly anyone wanted to read such a reading. … In my book, the father MEHMED wants to scare away the Turkish-born admirer Mdert Seyder of his daughter Enisa. Mert, a student who likes to kick, wants to become the best goal scorer in an improvised football tournament. He is in love with his neighbor Enisa, who has nothing left to do with football and refuses to be his girlfriend. A power battle erupts between the organizers of the tournament, Mert's mother Suna, and the beloved coach Osman. Mert's uncle Riza, the head of the traditionally structured Seyder family, is trying to force Mert into an engagement with a cousin. The naive and inexperienced boy is pushed back and forth between the fronts. … The young kicker doesn't let himself be outdone. That's why Enisas father Mehmed took a conversation with his mother Suna, arguing his objections. The conversation is taking place in a cafe. Present: the father Mehmed, Mert's mother Suna, Mert – the Kicker and the mutual friend Marina.
EXCERPT FROM THE ROMAN
Enisa's father Mehmed put his hands on the tabletop and finally presented his demands.
– Mrs. Seyder, I'm asking your son to stop doing this.
– With what, Mr. Beganović?
Suna crouched together and looked at Mert objectively.
– Mehmed, there must b some misunderstanding. I know suna and her son for a long time Mert is a good bo, Marina spoke to him nicely.
The boy turned on his cell phone under the table.
– Mr. Beganović, perhaps you misunderstood this. He didn't harass your daughter. He just wanted to invite her to practice in the city sports hall.
Mehmed Beganović put a piece of paper on the table and wrote down some words and sentences. Meanwhile, he asked Marina if his German was understandable.
– I don't want to offend anyone, I just want to clarify my position, he murmured.
Mert was close to losing control.
– Human, are you finally going to spit it out? I'm like on a indictment bench or what?
Mr. Beganović didn't care about his impatience. He wrote as if he had all the time in the world.His hand on the paper was shaking. He wiped the sweat drops off his forehead with a small napkin.
– Enisa and I have been through a lot. We got lucky… good luck. We got to experience a lot of support here. I somehow managed to build a new life for us in this city. I took care of my daughter from the start. I never wanted to take welfare.
– Attention, I know how difficult it is to get along in a foreign country.
– Please don't interrupt me! I just want to update you on my situation. Just to let you know how much my daughter means to me. I want the best for Enisa, first of all integration in this society. We are Muslims, religion is part of our culture in Bosnia. But I'm not a man from the east. No my family always lived like Europe. This is where we really are in Europe. I don't want my daughter to end up in a ghetto (… ) Your tradition is none of my business! You, with your headscarves and long coats, stay in your middle ages if you want. I wish my daughter a civilized future.
Marina this seemed embarrassing. She shook his hand and stopped him from talking in that tone.
– Wait, Mehmed, wait… Suna is a working woman, she does not wear a headscarf. She and her son also live here…. they are well integrated. Oh, bullshit, they are Germans, citizens for a long time. Mehmed you are insulting my friends.
Marina's remark irritated Enisa's father and he asked her to let him pronounce it.
– Everything can be… I hear you are a highly valued integration consultant. I respect your commitment in every way. But this does not guarantee to me that your son is not violent. Ninety percent of Turkish men have a genetic defect. Mrs. Seyder, they totally misunderstand your honor or dignity. On the outside they seem sensible and open-minded, but in the family they behave… They are beating themselves up wild. Nothing against your son. I hope he becomes a national player one day and makes a lot of money with his legs. Fingers away from my daughter though! She is the most sacred thing I have. I have to pay close attention.
– Mehmed, I don't know you anymore. You… You have always been kind to me, even though I am Croatian and Catholic. What's going on with you? You are not allowed to generalize. This is prejudice.
– Mrs. Seyder, Marina knows where I work. This is a crash clinic! Should I tell you what I experience there every day? How often do you have to save the badly targeted foreign women at the last second? From all countries, but mostly Muslim women. Beaten in blood by the husbands, by the brothers, by the lovers… They have no protection, not even in their own families. The police are only reluctant to intervene or not at all. This is unfair, no, this is insane to let women suffer like this in a human rights country. I don't want my daughter to go through this. I must protect Enisa.
– I didn't know, I didn't think you thought that. This generalization is sick, Marina said quietly.
– For these women, it doesn't matter whether we generalize the situation or not. The fact is, they suffer and they have no rights.
The Chancellor only spoke about the “cityscape”. About what goes on in open room. But it all starts in the families, in the cultures of origin. Violence against women also.
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