Does success alienate family, Tahsim Durgun?
Born 9 November 1995 in Oldenburg Profession Author and Influencer Education Teacher training in German and History in Vechta and Oldenburg Status Maternity leave
His mother: stateless, with barely any German language skills, a cleaner, and, according to him, "the poet from the scaffolding landscape." He himself: born in Oldenburg, studied German and history to become a teacher, and became a comedian and bestselling author. Tahsim Durgun receives a lot of attention, and one cannot help but mention his mother—the reason and subject of his work—in the same breath. Durgun became known through videos on Instagram and TikTok, in which he corrects the grammar of right-wing hate speech or asks his mother if she likes the AfD (the answer: "No, I like Angela Merkel"). His first book, "Mama, bitte lern Deutsch," is also about her. Durgun tells the emotional and dryly humorous story of growing up in a country that still refuses to admit it is a country of immigration, where he and his siblings took on responsibility early on, translating Aldi brochures and official letters for their mother. He tries to understand why, after 30 years, his mother still can't speak German. "I've always only thought about working and surviving," she says at one point. And: "We can't go on like this. You have to dream." Listening to Tahsim Durgun on talk shows, it seems as if he still considers his success a dream.
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