ʺIn foreign lands, the trees speak Arabicʺ
Usama Al Shahmani fled Iraq in 2002 and has since become a wanderer between worlds. He taught himself German and now works as a translator and cultural mediator in Switzerland. In his novel, he describes how hiking helped him process the loss of his homeland. By Volker Kaminski
Shahmani – protagonist in his own novel – hears the word ‘hiking’ for the first time in a hostel for asylum seekers in Aarau. He does not know what it means; Iraqis do not go walking in the woods or climb mountains. People do not have positive associations with the woods, which, in his homeland, is composed of date, olive, pomegranate and lemon trees. At most, they will visit the woods to tend to the trees and to pick fruit. Surprised, he asks himself how the Swiss came up with the idea of ʺwandering around in any old wood?ʺ