A Poem by Jonas, 18, Palestinian-German

My name is Jonas,

but it’s also يونس.

I speak English,

Bahky 3araby,

Und ich spreche fließend Deutsch.

My blood, Palestinian,

my accent German,

but my heart?

undecided.

I speak German when it’s convenient,

as if one language holds power, while the other proves my ethnicity.

I have two passports, a German and a Palestinian one,

but it doesn‘t seem to be enough.

Every time we flew to Palestine,

we passed through the airport, where we were told not to speak Arabic.

Not because we were ashamed,

but because speaking the wrong language could bring the wrong attention.

Because questions would follow,

because racism does not need a reason,

because silence was safer.

So we spoke in German,

not because we wanted to,

but because it kept the path smoother.

I was born to carry my Arabic like a whispered secret,

because sometimes, even a wrong decision can feel like a burden.

They looked at me like I was naive

for thinking I could be both.

As if identity was something to be weighed,

measured, split into percentages,

75% German, 25% Palestinian,

but it was never quite enough.

I grew up in Palestine, where everything felt familiar -

the streets, the language, the way life went.

In 2015, we moved to Germany,

and since then, I have lived here,

returning to Palestine season by season, year after year.

In Germany, I am the Palestinian, never fully German.

In Palestine, I am the German, never fully Palestinian.

As if identity were something others got to decide for me.

As if I had to be one or the other, but never both.

I grew up knowing that identity is not just a word,

but something weighed, judged, watched closely under a lens.

I grew up hating my dark hair, my striking eyebrows, and being quite tall for an Arab,

I had a face that made people ask,

“Where are you really from?”

As if my name and my passports weren’t answers enough.

As if I had to prove that I belonged somewhere.

But now, I have stopped searching for permission to exist.

I am from everywhere my heart has ever called home.

I am from two worlds, two languages, two histories.

I am from Germany and Palestine.

And if that makes people uncomfortable,

then they are the ones who don’t fit in.

My name is Jonas.

But it’s also يونس.

I speak English.

Bahky 3araby,

Und ich spreche fließend deutsch.

My blood, Palestinian,

my accent German,

but my heart?

Somewhere in between.