From one day to the next, I had to leave. I had been active against the government, at some point targeted, recognized, then everything had to be completely; Go fast. There was the death penalty in Iran.

I was scared not only for my own life, but also for the lives of my loved ones, so I fled at 29. No one knew where I was. The moment I had been recognized, I was no longer allowed home, was no longer allowed to have contact with relatives, acquaintances, friends. That was tough, really fierce, you can't describe it, an incredible grens-situation. You can't eat and drink in the situation, you can't sleep, you can't think. Fortunately, I had a visa that I could come to Germany as a tourist, which was a crazy coincidence, because this visa only applied for one day. That said, on Thursday I flew, then only had a valid permit for Friday to stay in Germany.

But I had absolutely no choice. At Tehran airport I was then asked if I wanted to escape, I only had one day, that would be strange. Since I replied that my sister had an accident in Germany, was in a coma, I had to go there, that I would have to renew my visa in Germany, that this excuse worked, I was allowed to fly.

My first stop was Hamburg. There I contacted acquaintances of my sister, who put me on a train to Hanover. From the main railway station I then had to go to Langenhagen. That's where my details were taken, then I got a provisional ID and a train ticket to Oldenburg.

I came to Oldenburg sometime that night via detours. My acquaintances in Germany told me if you have a problem, you go to the police. That was very funny for me, because I had constantly fled from the police in Iran. In Iran, I have always tried not to have anything to do with the police, so as not to have problems. In any case, I couldn't imagine that policemen are people who not only don't make problems, but even eliminate problems, so they really help me, so I was skeptical. But now it was in the evening, I was at the train station in Oldenburg, it was bitterly cold, I was foreign, and I absolutely didn't know how to get into the home. The policemen were very friendly and accompanied me to the bus stop. Because I probably seemed nervous, they stayed until the bus came, spoke to the driver, told him to give me a sign about when I needed to get off.

Then I went to the Asylum Home in Oldenburg. I remember this home very well. By the time I arrived it was already dark, the building was in the woods, looked like a prison. A security guard with a dog stood in front of it, the dog seemed dangerous, and I was scared of dogs. In Iran, I'd seen a few films about World War II.

In some films you could see camps housing the prisoners of war, of those very camps for prisoners of war reminded me of the grey, sinister building. The impression was scary, I wanted to go back, but of course that didn't work.

I wasn't sure if I was right here, if I was safe. When you arrive somewhere in the darkness, you have a different impression of a place than in daylight that is the case even on holiday, when you arrive at a holiday resort at night, it is always strange. You don't know where you ended up, you have an eerie feeling. But soon I got used to it, I then stayed in this home for three months before moving into an apartment.

The first time in Germany was difficult for me. A lot of people treated us very kindly and humanely, the social workers, the doctors, that was one side. But there was also the other side, including, for example, the behaviour of people in the authority. Their basic attitude towards us asylum seekers was that we lie. They made us feel that they believe we are only here in Germany doing illegal business . I had hired a lawyer, I had been told I needed to do that to finalise the asylum application. This lawyer sent a power of attorney to the federal office, then the correspondence could run over him, that's how that works, he has said. One day I had an appointment in the authority, a survey. During the interview there were difficulties with the translation, because my interpreter came from Afghanistan, while I am Iranian and speak Farsi.

to be continued ...