Mercedes
Mercedes has been living in Würzburg for several years now – and although she comes from a big city, the feeling she has found here is anything but a matter of course for her: safety. “We are often very critical of our surroundings,” she says in conversation. “But we live so well that we sometimes forget how extraordinary that is.”
She remembers places she has lived in the past, cities where she couldn't go out alone at night – and certainly not her daughters. “It's different here,” she says with palpable relief. "In Würzburg, my children, even my girls, can walk home without fear. I don't know that feeling from many big cities – not even in Germany."
Of course, there are also things that sometimes annoy Mercedes. Too many cars, too few parking spaces, traffic lights that are always red. She laughs about it, because in the end, these are “just little things.” She often finds that it has almost become fashionable to criticize everything. “When I look beyond my own nose, I realize how good we actually have it here.”
Mercedes particularly appreciates Würzburg's cultural diversity. “Everything you want to try is here,” she says enthusiastically. Art, music, events – for her, all of this contributes to keeping the city lively and open.
For Mercedes, Würzburg has become a place where she can relax without standing still. A place that makes it easy to feel at home and where her family can move around freely. “That's not something to be taken for granted,” she says. “And it's something I really appreciate.”
For the future, Mercedes hopes above all that this feeling of security will remain—and that we will learn to look more gratefully at what makes our everyday lives so special.
You can find more stories like Mercedes' in our series #endlichankommen.
Listen to the podcast PEACE OUT – 1,000 experiences – wherever podcasts are available.
More info: www.endlichankommen.info
#endlichankommen #pics4peace #democracy #Würzburg #society #dialogue #future #arrival #voicesofthecity #integration #respect
Das Projekt
in aller Kürze
Jeder Mensch - egal wie alt, egal woher - will irgendwann endlich ankommen. Wir zeigen 1.000 Menschen aus Würzburg, jeden mit seiner eigenen Geschichte.
Über diese Geschichten, Kunst, Diskussionen und kreative Formate laden wir alle ein, miteinander ins Gespräch zu kommen, gemeinsame Werte zu entdecken und sie im besten Fall gemeinschaftlich umzusetzen.
Dass Diversität im eigenen Umfeld als Chance begriffen werden kann, will das Projekt ebenso erfahrbar machen, wie das Glücksgefühl, das sich einstellt, wenn man selbst etwas verändert.
