Yade Yasemin Önder

Lale's almost ten and can't speak mama's language. She has practiced with her brother Lilo. The verbs and the nouns. The numbers and the tenses. Even Mama's favourite song. But the words don't want to get into Lale's head. Lale and Lilo live together with Mom and Dad somewhere in Germany. Mama used to work as a journalist in Istanbul and Ankara. But now Mama is no longer allowed to write. Papa often loses his temper lately. When he gets in a fight with Lilo. When Mummy secretly delves into her notes. Then there is icy silence. They do that very often lately. Silence - each for himself. Until Mama disappears without a trace! Without delay, Lale and Lilo set out to search for her. The two cross a sea of letters and words, even fly across Europe with their living room couch awakened to life. Will they ever find Mama again?

In this piece, Yade Önder interweaves questions about (language) identity, generation conflicts and homeland with socio-political themes such as freedom of the press and activism. The boundaries between Turkish and German are fluid in this text and allow a poetic access to the languages that shape our everyday perception of the world - to the words that belong to each of us.