Goodbye to Berlin - Why I'm Leaving After 15 Years
HEIST founding editor Ruthie Weissmann sits down with Zara Rahman to unpack her widely discussed essay explaining why she decided to leave Berlin.
Show Notes
"Once you've seen and felt the Islamophobia at that level, you can't unsee it. Which really sucks."
After 15 years, a 300-euro WG at Hermannplatz, deep roots in civil society, and even getting German citizenship, writer Zara Rahman packed up and left Berlin.
Why? What makes someone walk away from a city they once saw as a progressive sanctuary?
In this episode, HEIST founding editor Ruthie Weissmann sits down with Zara Rahman to unpack her widely discussed essay explaining why she decided to leave Berlin. Zara opens up about the "masks off" moment following October 7th, the hypocrisy of Berlin's faux-progressive left, and the stark divide in how people of different backgrounds experience the city's political realities.
Links & Resources:
- Zara's essay on HEIST
- The German version of the essay at taz
- Zara's essay at Nicht deutcher Zukunft
- Keep up with HEIST on Instagram: @heistberlin_.
- Support worker-owned Berlin journalism and subscribe to HEIST.
Music and sound by Patrick Nininger.