Helene
Querer: I Am Free!
My name is Helene and I am 24 years old. I grew up in East Germany and I experienced the fall of the Berlin Wall firsthand. Growing up in the East and being so close to the West was harder than most people here in the U.S. can ever imagine. Our lives were grey and hopeless. I always dreamed about seeing places like Paris or New York, but at the same time I had to realize that it would always be a dream.
We all knew that getting out was impossible and that every attempt to do so would cost us our lives. Our own fellow countrymen in uniforms would not hesitate to kill every one who tried to cross the border. As a child, looking out of my grandmother's kitchen window, I could see the West and longed desperately to go there, where the people looked happy and content. I will always be eternally grateful to Mr. Gorbachev, whose reforms were the reason for my freedom. After graduating high school I was able to go to the West and then later move to the U.S. I love my freedom. Thank you Gorby!
My name is Helene and I am 24 years old. I grew up in East Germany and I experienced the fall of the Berlin Wall firsthand. Growing up in the East and being so close to the West was harder than most people here in the U.S. can ever imagine. Our lives were grey and hopeless. I always dreamed about seeing places like Paris or New York, but at the same time I had to realize that it would always be a dream.
We all knew that getting out was impossible and that every attempt to do so would cost us our lives. Our own fellow countrymen in uniforms would not hesitate to kill every one who tried to cross the border. As a child, looking out of my grandmother's kitchen window, I could see the West and longed desperately to go there, where the people looked happy and content. I will always be eternally grateful to Mr. Gorbachev, whose reforms were the reason for my freedom. After graduating high school I was able to go to the West and then later move to the U.S. I love my freedom. Thank you Gorby!
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