Dear Ms. K.

Being a refugee in Germany means hoping and waiting for a decision to be made.

Being a refugee in Germany means hoping and waiting for a decision to be made. Months, years, and even decades might pass before you’re sure if you will be permitted to stay or not. The fault does not always lie with the authorities. Often it is the immigrants themselves that drag out the asylum-seeking process. They have destroyed their passports, because at home someone has told them that that would make it easier for them. Yet, this life is not easy. They are not allowed to work, must live in institutionalized homes, may only go to certain areas, and receive state assistance that is less than the usual amount. In Germany right now, about ninety thousand people are only here upon sufferance. Half of them have lived for more than ten years in this murky situation. At any time they might receive a letter informing them that they are being deported.