“Everyone Needs to Belong Somewhere”

Hawaii. Anyone who associates this with the idyllic island in the Pacific is way off the mark. Hawaii—the Heilbronn neighborhood with a dubious reputation—couldn’t be more tangible or closer to home. The origin of this euphemism is unclear, according to the young author. Perhaps an ironic reference to the brutal reality of the 1980s and 1990s, when the Hawaii district was plagued by crime and drug trafficking?

The director of the theater project, Leni Karrer, guides the audience through the evening. And asks Acar about his motivation for the novel. “I wanted to write about a place I knew well. And that was neither Istanbul nor Berlin—I studied in both places—but Heilbronn, near where I grew up.” It was important to Acar to portray the neighborhood in a human way, without sensationalism.

A Wanderer Between Worlds

He proves this with the many scenes from his novel that he presents throughout the evening. The attentive audience learns more about the Turkish-born protagonist Kemal from the Hawaii neighborhood. The author calls him a “wanderer between worlds.” Kemal is a young former professional soccer player, disoriented and searching for identity and direction: at a Turkish wedding, on the street with friends, in the kitchen, where his mother watches soap operas from back home on the small TV.

The question of belonging runs like a thread through the book. That this also relates to the author’s own biography becomes clear in the lively Q&A session that follows. The theater ensemble wants to know whether he feels more Turkish or German. Acan pauses to think and replies: “You shouldn’t have to choose. You should take as much as possible from both sides.”

Upward Trend in Heilbronn

The author confirms that Heilbronn is developing positively: “Whenever I drive through the city, something new is being built.” Heilbronn, the city of 150 nations, is moving forward. That is why, Acar emphasizes, it is all the more important that neighborhoods like Hawaii are preserved. Because exchange can only happen through places that foster a sense of identity.

The premiere of the play “Hawaii – From Here” will take place on June 27 at the Augärtle Community Center in Heilbronn.