“Can I ask you something?” Yvonn asks me. “Can you lead a German course from the adult education center through the Landesfunkhaus? Some people already know some German, others not so much. So you would have to speak more slowly and use simpler words than usual,” she continues. “What do I have to do? Speak more slowly? You know that’s not my expertise,” I interject. We both laugh. I really need to practise that!” The handshake is still valid.
And then the group is there – in the foyer of the large former barracks. I greet the Syrian-born women, the Afghans, the people from Russia and Ukraine, Bangladesh, Syria and Indonesia. And I can see immediately that some of them understand me clearly, others are still thinking about what I might have said and others are just guessing. I can see it in their eyes, in their approving or questioning look.
And then I start talking about the broadcasting center, about MDR. Slowly, deliberately, in short sentences. MDR is a big company. Many people work here – in radio, in television. The headquarters are in Leipzig. But there are also locations in Halle, Erfurt, Magdeburg and Dresden. And we are very successful in television and radio. That’s all true, but it still feels strange. I would never talk about my employer like that. It sounds stilted to me. Nevertheless, I know that if I want others who don’t speak my language to understand me, then my box sentences, my switching back and forth with my thoughts, my key words are out of place.
However, we saw everything, almost everything that morning at the Funkhaus. And we met many of my great colleagues, whether on the radio, in the announcer’s booth, in graphics, in the news section of Sachsenspiegel, in editing, in the control room, in the studio.
It was a wonderful moment, there in the empty, large, green room with all the cameras and lights and the big table. The large group stood there and marveled. Not just at the gimmicks with the color green, at the elaborate technology. Suddenly there was a great silence. Somehow we all wanted to record this visit. I have no idea what was going on in one or the other of us in this situation. But it was obvious that everyone was pursuing their own thoughts, dreams, desires, fears and uncertainties.
Maybe that’s why I said it, loud and clear, in simple sentences: “You absolutely have to learn the language. That’s the most important thing. You really have to work hard. Only then will you have a future here in Germany.” And I suddenly heard and saw myself talking, as fast as ever, gesticulating wildly as so often. When I noticed this, I flinched briefly, then I saw the shining eyes. And beamed back. But these shining eyes of this group, I won’t forget them in a hurry.
Adina Rieckmann
Dresden spricht …
Workshops, tours, writing and printing workshops under the motto “Dresden speaks many languages”
Period
03-12.2024
Porject coordination
Yvonn Spauschus (Projektleitung)
Yulia Vishnichenko · Moussa Mbarek · Nadine Wölk · Rosa Brockelt · Yuliya Firsova · Martin Mannig · Marco Rademann (workshop leader)
Rosa Brockelt · Rosa Hauch · Falk Goernert · Birthe Mühlhoff (moderation, documentation)
Adina Rieckmann · Lydia Hänsel · Anna-Thilo Schmalfeld (tourguides)
Inge · Karin · Salome · Stellus (voluntary help)
Cooperation partners
JugendKunstschule Dresden – Standort Passage, Omse e.V., Nachbarschaftshilfeverein, Stadtteilverein Johannstadt e.V., Malteser Hilfsdienste e.V., Montagscafé am Staatsschauspiel Dresden as well as Chinesisch-Deutsches Zentrum e.V., Lebenshilfe Dresden e.V., GEH8 Kunstraum und Ateliers e.V., Umweltzentrum Dresden – ABC Tische, Internationale Gärten Dresden e.V, ColumbaPalumbus e.V., Ausländerrat Dresden e.V., Blinden- und Sehbehindertenverband, Löbtop e.V. and many more
Supported by
The project is funded by the State Ministry for Social Affairs and Social Cohesion. This measure is co-financed with tax funds on the basis of the budget passed by the Saxon state parliament within the framework of the state programme Integrative Maßnahmen.
