Jawad and Omid are part of Champions Ohne Grenzen, a soccer initiative and mentoring program for young refugees.
“They are really cool guys, they always help us.” Jawad is having a great time, but even in the most lighthearted of moments, recent experiences are a constant frame of reference. After an especially difficult wall, his hands feel raw and won’t stop trembling: “Ouch!! This hurts!! I think if they want to fingerprint us now, there won’t be any lines left for them to record...” There's an added irony inherent in this group outing to an indoor bouldering club in Kreuzberg – the last time the two young Afghans went hiking and bouldering, through actual mountains, they had Iranian border guards shoot at them.