"Das können wir uns nicht leisten" : Was es bedeutet in Deutschland arm zu sein

In the organizer's words:

"In Germany, they say I grew up in relative poverty. Worn Victory shoes from Deichmann instead of Nikes, but hey, at least I had shoes. Walking to school because the family has never owned a car, but hey, at least I got an education and even went to a grammar school - the place that children in poverty are often denied. Born into a family that grew up even poorer than me, I learned one thing above all: don't complain, you're doing relatively well." The shame of not belonging has shaped Miriam Davoudvandi at least since she started school. And while she puts a lot of energy into hiding her circumstances and trying to fit in at all costs, she hears one sentence in particular over and over again at home: "We can't afford that." She has now made it, has risen socially and earns more than her parents ever did. Her conclusion: money makes you very happy. But at what price? Miriam Davoudvandi's account of what it means to be poor in Germany is as disarming as it is touching. She not only looks at the obvious scenes of poverty, but also at aspects such as dating, friendships, health and psyche and life as a first-time graduate. And shows why even dying and mourning in this country is only for the rich, because although there are countless mathematical approaches to measuring poverty, they don't help us understand what poverty feels like and what it does to us in the long term. Poverty hurts, but nobody wants to hear these stories. Yet poverty is something that - in theory - could easily be eliminated. The fact that we can't do this in Germany is embarrassing - for all of us. We are aware that not everyone can afford culture. As far as we can, we are giving away 8 free tickets for the reading. If you would like to claim a free ticket, please send an email to tara.falsafi@pavillon-hannover.de by May 14. We will allocate the tickets at random. With the HannoverAktivPass you also get 50% off tickets (at the Infothek). This content has been machine translated.