“Living in Finland was very cozy. In a way, it was living in an ‘automatic pilot’ mode. Everything is so organized and you feel like you are a part of big matrix. For me, living in such a matrix was a little bit like having a ‘mental axe’ that was hovering over my head. That was one of the reasons I moved to Tel Aviv. Here there is a different matrix: it’s less organized and coherent then Finland, but you have a feeling it’s an organized chaos – in a good way. if I need to live in a matrix, I prefer it to be the Tel Avivian one.”
Meet Roman. “At first glance you probably won’t think I’m working as a medical aid personnel. In the hospital I don’t have the chance to dress like this, but I always dress as respectable as I can. My profession doesn’t define who I am, and neither do my clothes, but they do give you self awareness. I can’t imagine myself throwing a cigarette butt dressed like this”.
“Dust in the wind is more than a line from a song – it’s my existential condition. Being an asylum seeker is like being a ghost. Because I escaped from Eritrea, a place best described as “The North Korea of Africa” I have permission to stay in Israel until it will be safe to go back but in the meantime I have no status or legal rights to live as a Human being. I’m like the Dust King from behind. With one wipe I can be disappeared. I can be arrested for a couple of months, released and than arrested again or I can be deported to a third country with a “one way ticket” to Hell. I’m supposed to be happy that I’m still alive after the ordeal I went through in the past few years, so the grin from the Dust King is a good description of my Life in ...
“I always wanted to play the piano but it took me 99 years to actually go for it. There were always more important things to do then learning music. In the modern era there is never any time left for doing the things that we really want to pursue. Don’t wait 99 years to accomplish the things you really want to do in your life. Follow your dreams. In the worst case scenario you will be a little bit out of tune.”
