Humans of Groningen

"If you had the opportunity to wish anything you want, what would it be? "Ánything I want?" "Anything." "Just seeing my unborn daughter happy and healthy."

“Be whoever you want to be.”

They see me rollin’..

This is a part of a poem written by a 35-year old homeless man. Dumpster-diving at supermarkets and restaurants provide for his daily bread, and he's currently writing a book. "The world is difficult, but I never blamed anyone or anything but myself", he says. That doesn't mean he is not critical towards what he sees, saying that "money used to be a means for us human beings to live happily, but eventually became a goal in itself. And now love is a means for to earn more money for many people, unfortunately."

"Sometimes I'm asked for advice. But the best advice is always within ourselves, so look inside yourself - that's my advice."

“Ik ben een stoute oma, hoor!”

"I used to feel ashamed of myself and thought I can't do anything myself. Back Saddam's Iraq, we had to produce almost everything ourselves due to the sanctions regime. But I never believed when people told me I did a good job. It didn't feel honest. Now I'm confident that people mean what they say. It makes me proud to see the joy of people when they see how their old shirt became a boxer short."

"Eventually I want to become a car mechanic. In a few weeks my education in engineering will start. I already called garages in town to ask for an internship. 'No, no, they said, 'you cannot do an internship here as you will distract the men as a female.' So I replied that I could dress up like a man, wearing a cap and sunglasses. But that didn't convince them."

“My first husband passed away and I divorced my second. As a single mother, I have no other choice than to work, but I also like it and it’s healthy. Sometimes it happens that people that are able to work, don't do it. I believe that is partly due to the social benefit system. You can sit on the couch but still receive money at the end of the month. That makes you lazy! I told that to the Minister of Education, Culture, and Science when she visited us. But of course, an opportunity for work has to be given. And I was given that opportunity here.”

“We are waiting for the champions!”

"Everyone wants to take a photo with or of us. But we haven't done anything special - we're just the grandchildren!"

"What's the best advice you can give young people?" "Don't join the army." He smiled. "Whenever your freedom is threatened, stand up. Stand up for your rights and defend them."

"It's hard to say what freedom means or is, if you've always had it." --- The Battle of Groningen took place during the final month of the Second World War. The 2nd Canadian Infantry Division fought against a mixture of German soldiers, Dutch and Belgian SS troops. This man was one of the Canadian soldiers that liberated Groningen. Seventy years later, he returned to commemorate those that fell.

"Being there for others is often quite unsexy. Think of actions such as calling your dad spontaneously, asking him how he is doing, or offering your roommate to go the supermarket because he or she feels ill. They require us to step over our ego, to adapt a vulnerable position. This is something which almost feels uneasy in a time wherein we seem so fixated on the “I”, in a time wherein we construct Facebook profiles that make us feel cool, or walk into a party with an indifferent facial expression, flying high on the idea of the invulnerable self. The vulnerable, repetitive, minimal, unsexy, ways we are there for others, is, however, what makes us truly human beings."

"He was selling newspapers outside of the shop where I work. My colleagues told me to 'check out that hot guy'. I observed him from out of the shop, but didn't dare to say hi to him. My colleagues, however, talked to him and asked for his name. They gave it to me, and when I came home that night I immediately wrote him a message on Facebook." "What did it say?" "It was a long story in which I apologized for writing him a message. But we're together now for almost two years."

"There is a crater on the moon that bears my name."

"I'm from Iraq. The first thing my neighbor asked me when I moved into my new room was 'Are you related to the Islamic State (IS)?' I didn't even want to reply. I've been a victim of them myself."