Refuge for writers

Faraj Sarkohi's apartment in downtown Frankfurt is full of books and souvenirs from Iran, his home country. But he has lived in Germany for the last 10 years.

In Iran, Sarkohi was an advocate of press freedom and spoke out against censorship by the mullahs. The price he paid for that was nine years in prison, where he was tortured.

"One of their favorite methods of torture was to plan executions from A to Z and then call them off at the very last minute, when you already had the rope around your neck," he said, fingering his cigarette. "They tried to break me with this uncertainty, this fear."

After Sarkohi was released, he was accepted into the PEN center's Writers in Exile program, which helped the 62-year-old get started in Germany by providing him with everything from trauma therapy and German language classes to financial aid. Still, many hurdles remained.

"You have to completely rebuild your life, and get to know a new society," said the writer. "But the worst part is losing your language and direct contact to your own readers."

To provide a platform for communication, the PEN Writers in Exile scholarship recipients meet regularly. They read from their newest works, network with translators and exchange ideas. Members of PEN - which is short for "poets, essayists, novelists" - also assist the scholarship recipients in making contact with German publishers.

Germany's historical responsibility

The government-funded Writers in Exile program was founded 10 years ago not only to save the lives of writers living under intolerant regimes, but to keep writers from falling silent. In 2008, some 200 critical authors and journalists were prosecuted worldwide and nearly 20 were killed.

The German PEN center initiated the project, in part because of Germany's own tragic experience in the mid-20th century.

"During the Nazi period, many German artists and authors found refuge in other countries and were able to survive in exile," said Johano, Strasser, president of the German PEN center. "With this program, we want to pay back part of our debt of gratitude."

As Nazi Germany expanded across Europe, thousands of other journalists, artists, writers and intellectuals opposed to the Nazi regime were also forced to flee their home countries.

Safe, but uprooted

Itai Mushekwe from Zimbabwe is another one PEN's current scholarship recipients. The 25-year-old lives in Cologne - one of four cities where PEN provides scholarship housing - and cannot return to his home country. He landed on the secret police's black list in Zimbabwe after he uncovered a corruption scandal in President Robert Mugabe's government circles.

"Working in Zimbabwe as a journalist is like walking over a landmine," said Mushekwe. "Just a few weeks ago, the editor-in-chief of the newspaper where I used to work was arrested."

The same thing would happen to Mushekwe if he were to return to Zimbabwe. In Germany, however, he publishes articles on the Internet and continues to write for Zimbabwean media.

"I have a 1-year-old son who I haven't seen for months," he said. "That's really hard."

Officially, the Writers in Exile scholarship lasts one year, though it can be extended. Many participants apply for asylum in Europe after their scholarship ends. If it is granted, they're safe, but have lost their homeland - in many cases for good.

If asylum is denied, however, they are forced to rely on further sponsorship programs and often have to relocate yet again.

Author: Aygul Cizmecioglu / Kate Bowen

Editor: Sean Sinico