Refugee Centre

It was snowing slightly when Claudia came and picked me up. We took the subway to get to the refugee centre. We bought coffee on the way. The place was very small and so I didn’t take many pictures. Only two.

Claudia went through 5-6 cases on various issues; most were in German but she was kind enough to take the time and explain to me what the cases were about. One funny case was this: this refugee from Azerbajian has sought asylum in Germany with a fake name and address. He even has a wife to which he is not legally married to; only in church. He was a big man, who looked like the fatter version of Sylvester Stallone. He was very flirtatious and even his translator was embarrassed of him. He kept asking me my name and then said I was very beautiful. He said all 3 of us (Claudia, the translator and me) were so beautiful, like roses; he didn’t know how he married his wife!! He even said I looked Indian (and he didn’t even know my full name; just Shakun). When I told him that I was indeed ethnically Indian, he started singing the “Made in India” song. He had such a convoluted story, from being the “most wanted” in Azerbajian and Moldova, to being a champion fighter/boxer. At first it was interesting to hear him, but after awhile, it got stale. He was so proud of his lies etc.

That is just one story. The rest I heard really hit reality as those were the everyday issues that everyday people face, that both you and I don’t usually hear about. It even made me wonder whether there is a refugee centre in Penang!

The session was supposed to end at 1pm but it ended only at like 1.45pm as there was a last minute person. After that, Claudia and I rushed back to the office as she was supposed to have a meeting at 2pm! On the way back, we grabbed some Indian food. J I had chicken and vegetable curry with rice. It was surprisingly good as I expected it to be Germanised! Lol!

After eating lunch at the office, I went to my work space, only to notice that my old trusted boots was breaking at the sole! Looks like I’ll have to buy new boots even sooner! Hmmm…

Oh ya…I talked to Claudia about my trip to London (I told her I was invited and am planning to go in March). She said no problem. I told her that I didn’t want to take advantage and that I did not want to just forget about my responsibilities here. She said she understood and that is why she said it’ll be good if I can go to Hamburg and Brussels. In fact, she said that this trip is such a good opportunity that it would be stupid not to take the advantage and go see places I want. I guess that means it’s a YES! J I’m quite excited! I’m not sure what I’m going to be doing for all the February weekends, but at least for March I know! Haha! Even my mum agrees with me not to travel alone to different countries; not at these times. But London should be fine since I have people there. J

It looks like I will be going to the party tomorrow night. So let’s see. I hope to take many pictures (and also be in them)! 

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