'I don't just want to sit around'

DW: When did you come to Germany?

Ebrima: June 9, 2013. I was at 17 years old at that time.

ASYLUM

How did you apply for asylum?

When I first came to the city of Bremen I didn't know anybody here. I asked where I can go to seek asylum. Someone pointed me toward a police man who escorted me to the local Bundesamt [Federal Office for Migration and Refugees] in Bremen-Habenhausen. That was very easy, I didn't have a problem to get to that place when I arrived here.

When I got there I told them that I was new, I didn't have anybody and wanted to apply for asylum. That's how my road started here in Germany.

What happened next?

An officer wrote down my name, my age and took me to a house where I could sleep. It was around 9 or 10 at night. In the morning, he came for me and took me to the office where I applied for asylum. I told them everything, how I came here and my whole story. IThey also took my fingerprints and checked them to see if I had been to any other country in Europe. But they didn't find anything, everything was clear, that this was the first place in Europe I had been to.

They told me "Ok, you are 17 years old, so we will provide someone to take care of you, since you are still a minor." Back at the refugee house, a "Betreuer" [state-assigned caretaker] came to me and told me he would be responsible for me until I was 18 years old.

Did you show authorities your passport?

No. I didn't come with anything, I didn't have any documents, so I couldn't show them a passport. I just told them I'm from Gambia, but I couldn't prove it. I fled the regime and it was hard coming here, so I couldn't bring anything with me. But you know Bremen? Bremen is the best in all of Germany. So it was ok.

So were you granted official asylum?

No. I told them I wanted to go to school, integrate in the German system. I was so young, I was scared when I first asked them for asylum. I will try again later with asylum. Right now, I want to concentrate on my job training. They gave me permission to stay here as long as I'm doing that [this kind of permit is called "Duldung" in German refugee law speak], so I don't have anything to worry about for now.

FAMILY

Did you want to bring your family here, too?

I don't have a big family, I just have my mom and my little sister. If possible, one day, I would love to bring them here. My father is no more.

EDUCATION

How did you start going to school? Who did you ask where to go?

My Betreuer who helped me with everything, found me a school. You have to go to school here: everyone who comes here must integrate, must go to school and learn the language. I was lucky, I found a school, the ABS [Allgemeine Berufsschule, a vocational school], where I was doing German, maths, politics and stuff like that. That's where I was for one year. I was lucky to get a place in a normal school right from the start, not just lanuage training.

One day, some people came to our school to tell us about the chance to do an vocational training with a company or an office, just like the regular German students. But first, we'd have to do a preparatory year. I applied and was called back. I went for a three-day trial and everything worked out! That's how I started the prep year.

What happened next?

They told us "You do this one prep year and if that works out, if you have a good report card at the end of this prep year, you can do the real vocational training with the city of Bremen." I spent that year with the "Aus- und Fortbildungszentrum" for Public Officials in Bremen. It was in the same field as what I'm learning to do now: office management. I went to school three days, worked in the office for two days. Every Saturday, I went to German class. Every Monday after school I went to a tutor who helped me with my homework. That was hard, but I wanted to integrate and I wanted that vocational training spot. That's why I pushed so hard.

At the end of the, thank God, I got my spot and on September 1, I became a trainee with the city of Bremen. I will work in different city offices during my training.

HEALTH

Who did you ask about seeing a doctor when you first got sick in Germany?

When I first came here, my caretaker took me for a medical checkup. Then I was sick two months later and he took me to a doctor again. I could always call him with any problem and he would come and pick me up. I also have an eye problem, so later we looked for glasses together.

Did you have to pay for the appointments or the glasses?

No, everything was paid by the state welfare office.

Did you get a "Gesundheitskarte," a health insurance chip card?

Yes. It took some time, they had to fill out some forms for me, but after one or two months, I got it. It didn't take long.

LIVING SITUATION

What was the place like where you first lived?

It was a big house where many people lived, where everyone in Bremen who applied for asylum first went. Usually, you stay there for some days and then get transferred to other places. But I was not lucky when I came: the nicer places where the kids and youth go were all full, so I had to stay at the large home with all the older grown-ups.

There were many people in that house. I had to go to school every day, but I couldn't go to sleep early, the light was always on. They were always talking, smoking in the house. It was hard to wake up in the morning to go to school when I couldn't sleep at night. I couldn't read there. It was tough before I got transferred.

When you got transferred, did you have to look for an apartment yourself?

Not alone. They gave me someone who was going to help me find an apartment. She worked with AWO [Arbeiterwohlfahrt, an aid organization]. She was really nice, she helped me find a place and that's the place where I'm living right now, in Bremen-Gröpelingen.

For how long did you have to look to find the apartment?

It took almost nine months. For that long I had to stay in that large house with everyone else. During that time, I went to the library to read, because I wanted to learn German as quickly as possible. So I forced myself to not hang out with friends, just study, study, study. It was hard.

DAILY LIFE

How did you get clothes and things you need?

Every two months, the city gave me a little money to go shopping. They helped me get clothes: winter clothes for winter, summer clothes for summer and so on.

How do you make a livelihood, how do you buy food, pay for your apartment, etc?

Before, the city welfare office paid for things. But that will stop now, because I'm doing my vocational training. Starting September 1, I don't get any money from the city, I will pay for everything myself. It's going to be very hard for the next three years. But I'm looking for an additional job, maybe every Sunday for two, three hours. I don't just want to sit around. My pay from the training alone will not be enough, because I have to pay for my apartment, I have to eat, I have to pay some bills, pay for the gym and also party a bit.

LEARNING GERMAN

You didn't speak German when you first came here. Was it difficult to follow classes at the vocational school, like math and physics?

Yes, because when I came to school, I found there were many people there who had been here for a long time and they spoke better German. But I would read a lot and my Betreuer bought me a German-English dictionary. So I always had that small dictionary with me. And I had been to school in my home country, too, until ninth grade, so the material was ok for me.

What are good tips to learn German for someone who's new in Germany?

You have to force yourself. It's hard, the language is difficult, but you will make it if you work hard. Don't just say "Oh, this is hard," and then sit and fold your hands. You are in a new country and you have to try your best to integrate. The only thing that will help you to stay in Germany is the language. If you speak German, you have many, many chances ahead of you. That is my belief. It's quiet in the library, so I studied there.

FREE TIME

What do you do in your free time?

I still go to the library, I like it, I was there yesterday. I go there maybe one or two times a week.

I also go to the gym, I play basketball and then go party on the weekend some time. There are some German people I work with, others I know from school. Others I met at the disco. And I also like football, watching football on TV, when Ghana plays . Those are my hobbies.

Sometimes, I play basketball. My friend plays in a sports club. It's a small basketball team, just for fun. I got there through this friend, whom I met at the disco some time ago. I don't pay anything to play Basketball. I just pay for my fitness studio. That's just a five-minute walk from my house. When I'm lonely, I just spend one hour, one-and-a-half hours there and come back home.

CULTURE

What are big differences between German culture and the way you were used to doing things in Gambia?

A big change for me: In Germany, when you live alone like I do, you stay alone in your apartment. You are alone without any family, without mom and dad when you are older than 18. You have to do everything by yourself. At home, my mom would do everything for me. She washed my clothes, she cooked food for me. And in Gambia, we all ate from one big plate, not like here where everyone has their own plate. We also all stay in one big house. So that's a very big difference.

The weather is also very different. It was a bit hard for me, because it's always cold here. In Gambia, it's always almost 40 degree Celsius. In winter, it's 17 degrees. So the weather was hard to get used to - the food also. But I have better chances here than in my home country.