Book launch with Fatih Çevikkollu, in conversation with journalist Fatma Mittler-Solak

When Fatih Çevikkollu's mother died, it was a turning point for him. She suffered from psychosis and was no longer socially acceptable in old age. And he asked himself: is there a connection between her mental health problems and her fate as a so-called guest worker in Germany in the 1960s?
All migrant workers know her, because she symbolizes the dream of happiness in her homeland: a whole wall of cardboard boxes in which everything that was beautiful and valuable was stored - for her later life in Turkey. They were not welcome in Germany, but what can you put up with if it's only for a short time? It wasn't worth learning the German language, nor was it worth creating a home, as they were soon to return. The children were sent back and forth as suitcase children. What does it do to people when they realize at some point? The dream of returning has not come true?
Fatih Çevikkollu describes his life and that of his Turkish family, the dreams and disappointments of his parents, and he talks to experts about the consequences of labor migration, which has left wounds in families to this day. A topic that has so far only been dealt with in specialist circles and urgently needs to be at the center of the debate.

In cooperation with Literaturhaus Stuttgart