Life is a journey: Live it (Part 57)

The other autobiography
For us to move forward everything is based on an address. To get a visa extension, jobs and health insurance cover, a physical address was needed. The famous German literature figure ‘Hauptmann von Köpenick’ written by Carl Zuckmayer came into play. No address no passport no passport without address. As we stayed at Sarah’s apartment and paid rent to her we were not the tenants of the landlord Genossenschaft Dennerstraße. Therefore to get a confirmation paper from the landlord to present to the authorities was impossible. To stay for a short time at a friend's place, according to German law is not a problem. The rest of the tenants of the apartment block got suspicious and one lady reported the matter to the landlord. We had to move out as fast as possible. But what to do?

A friend advised us as we were factually homeless with no income in Germany to present ourselves to the authorities. In the Bezirksamt Wandsbek responsible for Rahlstedt, we met a very friendly civil servant. He had fond memories of his dancing lessons as a teenager in the dance school Heerde. In Hamburg, only two family lines carry the name Heerde. Only twelve people in all. Before (Leon) Alexander Heerde was born I was the last male heir able to pass on the name as I had already told you. Now, this nice man said I had to report myself to Altona Bezirksamt as before I left Hamburg I used to live in Sülldorf. I went there and waited for my turn. A Manager from the HSV Football League Club waited with me and we started to share ideas about professional football. He strongly rejected my claim that professional football is a modern form of slavery.

The lady who asked me to come into her office told me she knew our situation well. After graduating from Hamburg University she left for the USA. Ten years later she returned to Germany. Before settling down all that was possible was couch hopping from friend to friend. Germany in this regard is not helping Germans at all. While for foreigners private and governmental help is provided so not for Germans coming back. My suggestion to allow Germans for six months to rent a post office box as an interim address to receive communications that can be booked before arrival in Germany was seen by her as a viable option. But not for Germany. As we stayed in Rahlstedt we had to see the nice civil servant again responsible for us by Hamburg law. Truly and typically I was back where I was born, Germany.

We were booked into a camp for refugees in Kollaustrasse 15 Hamburg Lokstedt. We left with the admission papers and the comment of our helper only God knows why we were in the situation we were in. Not a pleasant situation but an interesting situation to learn from and get insights into life’s matters we otherwise would have never seen and felt. He was so right. And we are so grateful to God for having seen and lived through what most of us will never experience and never fully understand. Sarah drove us with all our belongings to Kollaustrasse 15. It is a light grey container camp for two hundred refugees. We got one small room in one container with a shared bathroom and kitchen. Our immediate neighbour was a young German woman with her Afghan boyfriend. Close to the stairs was a family from Syria constantly fighting and mistreating their children. Social workers from outside the camp were constant visitors to that family.

The moment we signed the contract with the manager of Fördern und Wohnen, the charity which set up the camp for the government of Hamburg we had an address. Jesus Christ in heaven after! After months of fighting for an address had achieved our happiness and our wonderful future to come. With this address Alberta got her visa extended as a residence permit for three years. We joined TKK health insurance, Alberta, and found a job in around two weeks cleaning rooms for Hamburg University near the prison to hold suspected offenders around Stephansplatz. Soon after that she worked for a bakery in Neddefeld and when she stopped joined SBB school in Süderstraße for a course to become a professional cashier. During the COVID-19 epidemic, Netto Discounter employed her in Meiendorf where she was loved by customers and most colleagues. She enjoyed her job. Due to long unfavourable working hours with Netto and personal contact with the Budni owner family, the best known drugstore chain in Hamburg and the outskirts, she works as a cashier in different Budni branches enjoying the job and the customers.

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