Speak English German

Speak English German

That’s what I hear

My nickname Herman

Still, some people fear

My opinion, said Mehmet

My story to stir

The heart, which I couldn't neglect

Adnan, was his name, his father a Turk

As teenager, we would hang out every day

When it came to friendship, background didn’t lurk

At the back of our mind, so he would stay

My best friend and my kind to that very moment

Where new things came to his life and change

The way he treated his friends, as if everything came to an end

He kept us on distance, friendship was out of range

I didn’t ask but thought, well, there’s no other way

I have to respect his choice and let him go.

Mehmet was the one, who wouldn’t let me say

That Adnan changed, who has been very low

Adnan was in a low state of mind

There were issues I  didn't see, maybe I was blind

His passport name Erhan, family name Bilgin

His family at crossroads, what will tomorrow bring

Grinding with teeth, as he is facing deportation

Back to Turkey

Germany was home, since Turkey was never his destination

'We can't bury our heads in the sand but need to hurry'

That's what Mehmet said

That's how much friendship never got mislaid

Being put in a situation, where we didn’t know what to do

We could only tell the family 'We stand by you'

Heard for the first time, his family classed as immigrant workers

Always saw them as my neighbours, never as foreigners

1961 is when his father was offered work in Germany

Working and living here with his family

That’s what many immigrant workers were hoping for

After all those years, hardship was still in store

Immigration is an issue on both sides

Each party thinking, the other is telling lies

Immigrants tainting other immigrants name

Country of immigration is forced to treat them the same

So who is to blame, who is doing wrong?

It’s a difficult issue, debated for so long!

These were the 1980s: United Kingdom and France

United States and Canada, immigrants given their chance

Issues with immigrants

In the news, always the same rants

Left home and friends

That’s how the story ends

Adnan spoke German

Born in Germany, unlike Herman

He got deported, unlike Mehmet Derman 

P.S. Here an excerpt of Adnan's letter

Dear Mehmet, life turned to the better

Turkey became home

Friends and family, I'm not on my own

Learnt in school about Turkey's agreement

with Germany: That's how the story would end

Speak Turkish German

That’s what I hear

My nickname Herman

Still, some people fear

My opinion, said Pen 'N' Paper

My story to stir

The hearts, be my guest and neighbour

Mit freundlichen Grüßen

Erhan Bilgin

Pen 'N' Paper

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