The principle of hope

22.02.2017 Kings daHEIM

„Noi siamo bene tutti... noi siamo la franca.“

On October 8, 2016, Valbona and Freddie, Brisilda and Denis got on the plane from Berlin to Prishtina. There, Freddie’s father would wait for them and take them “home”, to Tirana. Their application for asylum had been dismissed as “manifestly unfounded”.
They had been hoping and waiting for a year and a half. Always wavering between desperation and fury for feeling powerless. Freddie would cover leaden times at the café. Valbona would leave Heim less and less. Now, about four months later, they set out again.
This time, France shall be their promised land, the country to claim right of residence, and to expect sympathy when looking for a place where their son Denis will be given adequate medical help as he is autistic.
It was February 21, 2017 when Freddie sent a message via WhatsApp: “noi siamo a Rennes” (we are in Rennes).
When reading this, I confused Rennes with Reims – after all, the latter would fit perfectly into our current project of KINGS.

During the 100 Years’ War, the 17 years old French peasant Joan of Arc led French forces into a number of stunning victories over the English, until Reims, the traditional city of coronation, was captured in July 1429. Later that month, Charles VII was crowned king of France, with Joan of Arc kneeling at his feet.

Back then, Rennes - located 500 km North-East of Reims - did belong to the duchy of Brittany. But Joan of Arc fought against Burgundians and the English, not against the Bretons. Anyhow, today even in Rennes not only public institutions like the lycée Jeanne d’Arc and a church are named after the national heroine but an entire urban district.

Thence, this is where Valbona, Freddie, Brisilda and Denis are right now.

On which side would the Maid of Orleans, who fought against England for the throne of France, stand today? Would she be a European or a nationalist? Would she hold her flaming speeches for La Gauche, the Left, or shoulder to shoulder with Marine Le Pen?
What made Valbona and Freddie go to France in the first place? Why would they hope for asylum in a country that is ready to vote for a right-wing extremist to become their next president? What triggered their hopes?

“It was love
that made two princes – one based in the city of Masyaf belonging to the Hama governorate, the other the sovereign at Schmemis castle (the sun castle), located on a plateau near Salamiyya in the Eastern part of the province – compete in a challenge to dig a drain, 150 kilometers long and through dry land. Princess Apamea had chosen water for her city as the price of her love.”

This story from ancient Syria is 2000 years old. On February 21, 2017 – the same day I received Freddie’s message – Mohamed al Subeh tells us the story while we are looking at a skyline – possibly the skyline of Miami beach -  painted in those dramatic colors that artists would use in the 1970s. With only half a head turn the illusion is destroyed though, when looking out of the window next to it at Rathaus Spandau (the town hall) and a little further the district’s true landmark, the high-rise building which marks the shopping mall Spandauer Arkaden.

The chairs we are sitting on, have armrests, upholstered in orange-colored artificial leather, giving the Florida ice cream parlor on the pavilion’s first floor a distinctive yet astounding feature: it seems as if the room fell out of time and place, bearing up against 2000 years old love stories. 

It is part of Mohamed’s profession to trace lost kingdoms. As an archaeologist at the Ma’arra Museum in Idlib he dedicated himself to the historical art of mosaic, that the museum was famous for. However, the pictures on his tablet PC show nothing but piles of rubble. Most objects of cultural value were destroyed by precision bombing.

Next to the archaeologist is Atef, having an espresso. Both men are from Idlib. They met in Berlin.

Both have lost their respective kingdom in bomb blasts.

“The canal through which the water flows from Hama to Apamea”, Mohamed says, “is still there. It is called the canal of love.”

The principle of hope.

foto Brisilda Cani

Denis und Freddie in Rennes

KUNSTASYL_Koenige_Atef

Atef