Kampala – Hamburg. Roman einer Flucht
(Kampala -Hamburg: Novel of an Escape) Book not yet available in English
Summary:
Of course, it’s just a crazy coincidence that they’re both called David: David from Hamburg, in Year 11 at a comprehensive school and already 18 because he had to repeat a year – and David from Kampala, the capital of Uganda, who is only 16 but knows he has to leave. At all costs. It’s no coincidence at all how they find each other: on the internet, where David from Kampala clicks through to David in Hamburg on Planet Romeo because there’s something in his profile that could lead to seven years in prison in Kampala: ‘I support the rights of sexual minorities in Africa!’ David in Kampala can’t get this sentence out of his head. He knows that he could end up in prison for life if he doesn’t get out of Uganda soon. That is, if fanatical Christians don’t lynch him first – like his friend Isaac. David has no time to lose. Will David from Hamburg keep his word in the end? Kampala – Hamburg is a moving story about young people fighting for their right to recognition – in Uganda and in Germany.
Edited by: ALEKI - Arbeitsstelle für Kinder- und Jugendmedienforschung
Comment:
With Kampala – Hamburg, Berlin-born author Lutz van Dijk, who lives in Cape Town, South Africa, builds bridges. He skillfully combines fiction and reality, connects continents, and brings people together. David from Germany and David from Uganda meet on a dating platform. Against the backdrop of Hamburg’s drizzling rain and the noisy diversity of the African cities of Kampala, Uganda, Kigali, Rwanda, and Lagos, Nigeria, van Dijk highlights the contrasts between their family and social situations as homosexuals. He weaves both storylines into an emotional and informative dialogue. In their search for friends and for themselves, the two boys also find strong similarities: their worries about whether their escape will succeed and their dream of simply being allowed to fall in love with impunity.