Three hands holding strings. A heart is in the center. The world map is in the background. ©Goethe-Institut / Ruya; Sara Amin

Dossier Diaspora and Exile

Migration is as old as humanity itself. People leave their home countries for a variety of reasons, from war and persecution to the search for opportunity. Some settle in their new environments, while others stay only as long as necessary. What is the current situation of the various diaspora and exile communities, some second- and even third-generation, from and within the MENA region? What are their stories? What challenges, but also what successes, have they experienced? With testimonies from Sudan, Lebanon, Mauritania, Syria, as well as the Palestinian, Assyrian, and Tuareg communities.

An illustration of a heart with a house built into it, surrounded by olive branches. ©Halima Aziz

Diaspora and Exile2 min
 Not from here - About loss, home and Gaza

What does it mean to be a second-generation Palestinian in the diaspora? Two years after the start of the war in Gaza, German-Palestinian Neveen Issa (pseudonym) recalls, in a very personal story, the loss of her father and everything he represented: security, home, and the roots in which she was never able to grow up.

Palestinian territories
Somehow, anxiety still haunts within me, but it is no longer confined to small things. © Hind Sourig

Diaspora and Exile3 min
 If borders disappeared, what would your morning look like?

What remains in one’s memory when departing from one’s homeland? The neighborhood where they were born, the familiar clamor of the streets they grew accustomed to? In a personal account of leaving home in Sudan, Hind Sourig narrates a story about a family struggling to soothe the pain of departure, holding onto the hope of return, and creating new memories.

Sudan
Colored linocut, depicting a man from behind, walking through a desert landscape, with the blue sky in the background. A tree is on the right, and a large, round, blue circle is in the center. ©Moussa Mbarek

Diaspora and Exile4 min
 Scattered in all directions

In Germany, many doors close before a window opens. I see living here as a phase of my life, with a clear beginning and an uncertain end. A personal essay by Tuareg artist Moussa Mbarek.

Libya
Fadua Elena Fayad reflected in the photograph of her grandfather Farid Naffah and her grandmother Fadua Baruque, Honda, Colombia.. ©Salym Fayad

Diaspora and Exile3 min
 A Lebanon imagined in the diaspora

More than a century after the great Lebanese migration to Latin America, descendant families continue to search for their roots. This is the story of one of them: a journey through family memory, inherited myths, and a reunion with their homeland.

Lebanon
canva drawing in black and white of a woman lying on her back in traditional Lebanese clothing. © Roberto Khatlab/CCAB, USEK Library

Diaspora and Exile3 min
 Arab Presence in Brazil: A Slice of the Middle East in the South

From literature to media and culture, the Arab diaspora has shaped a hybrid imaginary, where Brazilians have become “Arabized” and Arabs have become “Brazilianized”. From the journalistic production of children of immigrants to the incorporation of references to the national literary narrative, the Arab legacy is an essential part of the Brazilian cultural universe.
Many Lebanese have emigrated from Lebanon © Canva

Diaspora and Exile4 min
 Lebanese emigrants and NGOs: A bridge to the roots

Throughout its history, many Lebanese have emigrated during various periods due to economic and political circumstances that pushed them to seek a safe haven away from ongoing conflicts and the specter of poverty.  Hanan Hamdan explores the role of non-governmental associations in connecting Lebanese emigrants to their homeland.

Lebanon
Alfreda is sitting on a roof top and looking at Midin village ©Private

Diaspora and Exile4 min
 A Lost Daughter of Assyria

As a distinct ethnic group with their own language, culture, and indigenous to the region, Assyrians maintain a unique cultural identity, despite displacement and emigration. Alfreda Eilo recounts what it means to hold on to one's heritage and to be part of a marginalized group in the diaspora, weaving intergenerational sentiments from and into the homeland.
Diam Min Tekky ©Diam Min Tekky

Diaspora and Exile2 min
 Diam Min Tekky : Music from exile to preserve memory

What if you were forced into exile to continue making the art you believe in? Faced with the choice to stay and confront the dictates of censorship, or to leave while carrying their land and their homeland in their hearts, Mar and Ousmane chose the latter scenario. From their arrival in the cold weather of Brussels to their concerts and workshops, Diam Min Tekky survives as a group to give voice to all Mauritanians.

Mauritania
Congress of the German-Syrian Research Foundation (DSFG) ©DSFG

Diaspora and Exile3 min
 Diaspora Networks: Building Bridges, reviving identity

Since the outbreak of the war in Syria in 2011, hundreds of thousands of Syrians have come to Europe, with Germany being the most prominent destination. Highly qualified Syrians had to adapt to the new country, but how amidst linguistic, cultural, and bureaucratic obstacles? 

Syria