People

This is Gulnar, the head of the facility. The birth of a disabled grandchild motivated her to establish the center. Together with her daughter-in-law and son, they now run the family business, which was financed through bank loans. Parents bring their children based on recommendations from doctors and acquaintances, sometimes for the whole day, sometimes just for a few hours. The reason: the visit of the children must be paid for by the parents. Accordingly, their expectations are quite high, as the investment must bring about positive changes in the children. Gulnar is very diligent in ensuring that I lack for nothing.

Bagdat, 24, is my interpreter here. He is a freelance English teacher, meaning he offers online courses and gets paid for them. Bagdat has learned English through self-study and also with the help of an online course from a teacher in Birmingham. His pronunciation is distinctly British. I had the impression he had grown up in the UK, but he has never been there. His background includes having been arrested and mistreated by the police for participating in a demonstration against the former president.

He is very interested in German history and loves German cars.