Integration through sport – as sport helped me to gain a foothold in Germany

It was night when I arrived in Germany in 2016. It rained in Berlin, the whole city smelled of rain. I saw the many trees and found it strange that there are so many trees in a city. It was autumn and very cold. We were brought to an underground area where at least 1000 people must have been. It was loud, but sure, I no longer had to be afraid.

I was so tired, I just lay on the floor. When I fall asleep, I saw that everyone slept in the field beds. I was six years old at the time.

The next morning I went up the stairs and there were so many people again. Again it was so loud. I went out to eat and it was very tasty, I still taste it today! There were noodles with tomato sauce. I ate it for the first time.

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The first few days in Berlin were pure chaos, all the authorities, it was so incomprehensible and endless. All the papers could not be understood for my dad. The loneliness slowly ranked up at me. I longed for the familiar smell of the bread that baked my grandma. And more I missed her voice and hugs.

I was homesick. To Afghanistan, to my home village of Tepa in the province of Kundus. Nice memories: As I had put stones on the street with a friend and the cars drove very slowly and we were able to secretly hang out in the back and drive to the next village. There we just jumped off and ran back home. We laughed and laughed.

But now I was in a foreign country, longed for my home and missed my friends. My dad brought me into a group in which German and refugee football played, but I couldn’t talk to anyone there. The Afghans were all adults. So I was very frustrated. But then the German children and I still managed to communicate with hands and feet. And suddenly football was fun. That made me happy. And I think it was the first time that I really gained a foothold here.

I then went to football every day, it was the only escape point in front of the hall with the field beds, where everyone only talked about war, politics and dead.
I started learning German there and getting used to the differences. In Afghanistan, for example, there is no alcohol advertising and no underwear advertising. This is normal in Germany, but I found it strange because I only knew the advertising from Afghanistan.

At some point my family moved. The new place was horrible, a room for us six. There was no longer a place where I could do sports. After a few months we moved again, for the second time. This time near the Prenzlauer Allee. I was now in a school and there was a huge soccer field. Children and adolescents played on this during the break. I asked with gestures and simple words whether I could play along. Yes!

From then on we played together every day and it became my first friendship in Germany. At this point greetings go out to Ella and Lara! Although we could only communicate with simple words and gestures, we became friends.

When my family had found my own apartment to stay, we moved again, this time to the Märkische Viertel. I still live there. At that time I found the huge houses overwhelming and wondered why they didn’t fall over. Unfortunately, I lost contact with my friends from Prenzlauer Berg there.

At my new place of residence I tried a few sports. I played football again, but I was no longer fun. Ella and Lara were missing, it was no longer the same. Then I registered with the baseball.
I played it for a year, but then stopped because the people there weren’t nice. Finally I spoke to my sports teacher and she told myself to try athletics.

I went to the Finsterwalder Straße stadium and saw a group trained. They jumped over the hurdles, threw spears and ran over the lanes. I listened to the rhythmic clacking of the spikes for a while and finally I dared to go to the coach. I asked if I could participate and he invited me to be there.

Everything was new to me during trial training, but my heart was happy. Finally sport again. I enjoyed running, throwing, jumping, jumping, and people welcomed me. I became a member of TSV Berlin-Wittenau 1896 e. V.

My greatest success was when I took part in a competition for the first time: I was very nervous. At the start signal I ran too quickly and that was a mistake-in an endurance competition. It went up and down and it was hell, but I didn’t want to give up. In the end I was among the first 20 and so proud of myself.

But then the German children and I still managed to communicate with hands and feet.

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I still train at TSV Wittenau. My favorite disciplines are sprint, shot put and long jump. I train five times a week, plus the tasks for at home. My dream is, even if it is very unlikely to take part in the Olympic Games and, in the best case, to win in my discipline.

Athletics is an integral part of my life. I regularly take part in competitions. Sport gave me the mental strength to help my family with all the wrangles with the authorities and to support them in parents’ talks and discussions in the youth welfare office. Through the people in sport, I learned what it is like to live in Germany.

I love sport. It is still my escape from all the problems of everyday life. I forget my worries there. It is not easy to learn the language in a foreign country, to go to school, to help the family, to have good grades and to find their way. The sport helps me keep a cool head. Athletics is the right sport for me because the wind blows into my face and then I feel free – like a bird that flies in the endless sky.

Ali Mohammad Safdari is 16 years old and a student intern at the »ND«.