"Dyz, my hometown"

Visiting Lagija Veliu at August 31, 2016. The Small village of Dyz is the hometown of Bashkim, Fahrije, Fatime, Omer and Oldi. The Kosovarian family applied almost two years ago for asylum in Berlin.

Just in time for dinner the lights went on.

Proudly, Bashkim's family had presented their water supply well on the compound. However, electricity could not be scooped with the help of buckets. They had gotten used to being without electricity. It was part of their daily life. But as soon as the lights went on unexpectedly in the family's living room everybody's mood would instantly brighten up as well.

"My hometown Dy…" over and over we would listened to the voice message, the cell phone pressed to the ear. Bashkim's hometown belongs to Podujeva, a municipality consisting of 80 villages. It stretches from Bajqinë to Zhiti in the directions of all four cardinal points. Two years ago, the then 14 years old Latif had set out from Podujeva to Germany together with his family. "Once, I lived in a city called Podujeva near the capital …" His Nike air max, those shoes that he wore when walking the Balkan route, being the first to cross the Serbian border, are now at the Museum Europäischer Kulturen in Berlin. Since July they are part of the exhibition and - together with the record of a conversation - remind us of the friend. Latif's hopes were finally shattered October 1, 2015 when the police deported the family. It would slingshot him back into a life without soap bubbles.

"I don't think it is a good idea to come here" is what he wrote December 17, 2015 when we reminded him of the KUNSTASYL promise to visit with him and his family in Podujeca. There were difficulties between the lines of his message, somehow connected to his return and it seemed as if he did not want to be reminded of those two "years of constant fear" at all. "I have my problems and you have yours. Trust me, it is better that way." And then Latif would break tie.

Now Dachil and I were standing on Podujeva's main street, checking the total costs at the city's Byrektore and Kebaptore. The classic of Kosovar fast food are promoted in huge letters: Bürek 20 cent, Kebap 1 Euro - just like Latif had told us every single time we would bite into a Döner for 3.50 Euro.

"My hometown Dyz." On the hill and after those last houses are behind you, against common sense go straight ahead, and then take a right at the first junction. Right before the path leads abruptly into a valley there is a sign welcoming all visitors: Lagija Veliu, the Veliu's neighborhood.

Back in Berlin Fatime did not know that her chicken were depleted by one to honor our visit and that the "Pula" had become a feast on our plates. Even though she had been gone for two years, the status of the 9-year-old did not change: she was still the mistress of all chicken at the Veliu's joint farm. Just as her brother Omer was undoubtedly the owner of the goat.

Property is a big word for small belongings. Solemnly, Bashkim's 15-year-old sister Dona showed us the freezer and the fridge - tall as a man - when giving us a tour of the house and the yard. Two acquisitions in cool white, wrested from live and shimmering in the dim hallway. We had ice cream on the edge of the bed.
If ever Bashkim's family's application for asylum will be declined, all five of them will again sleep in one double bed: Bashkim, Fahrije, Fatime, Omer and Oldi. They will have even less privacy than they had at daHEIM in Berlin, room 109 with its 25 square meters. Everything they have left is stored in bags and suitcases on top of the closet.

There is still hope in those questions about the family that tried to escape life in Kosovo, asked by mother and father, Bashkim's brothers, uncle and aunt. So far the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees has not yet delivered its judgment, the "letra," that letter of fate, has no postmark yet.

"Fatime …" every time her name is spoken out, there is admiration too. Admiration for the girl who was best of her class in Dyz. Since she came to Berlin she does not only learn for school subjects but - casually - on asylum law too.

"Fatime …" it sounds as if the girl might turn their fate.

_{Dona, Bashkim's sister, documented that day in Dyz.}