Page 36 of Views
“And I’m supposed to be the cynic...” Yasira murmurs.
But her partner is right. The rapid arrest will make headlines, and at best it will deter other would-be homeland protectors from taking up arms. Unfortunately, Tesfaye Yemane won’t be benefiting from this.
They are already on their way back to Berlin when the boss calls. He is just as happy about the success as Michael is.
“You’ve bought yourself some time,” he says. “You’ve boughtussome time.”
“But...”
“But nothing!”
So Yasira remains silent.
“The interior minister is holding a press conference this evening,” says Gebhardt. “Make sure you come.”
“What?” Yasira asks in surprise. She’s startled by the idea. “Why? That... that’s... that’s not the usual procedure.”
“Politics thinks in images, Ms. Saad. In emotions. The interior minister wants to make sure that it’s not just a bunch of white men sitting in front of the cameras in this case.”
“But that’s not my job at all,” Yasira protests.
“You’re the face of these investigations,” says the boss. “The interior minister has requested that you be present, so you will be present. Understood?”
Yasira sighs. “Understood.”
She hangs up.
“What’s up?” asks Michael.
“I have to go to the press conference,” moans Yasira.
Michael laughs, knowing how much Yasira hates public appearances.
“That’s not funny!” she says and punches him on the shoulder.
Before the conference, Yasira sits with Jenny in the room behind the podium going over the key points. She’s more nervous than she was before the raid at noon today.
“What was the victim’s name again?”
“Tesfaye Yemane,” says Jenny. “Tesfaye means hope, by the way.”
“How do you know that?”
“I googled it.”
Yasira shakes her head. “Hope. How sad. Do you sometimes also feel like fate is playing a perfidious game with us?”
Jenny doesn’t get into it. “We’ve tried to locate relatives, but haven’t had any success yet. It seems like he came to Germany on his own.”
“And in Eritrea?” asks Yasira.
“What do you know about Eritrea?” asks Jenny.
Yasira thinks about it. “Practically nothing.”
“They call it ‘the North Korea of Africa,’” reports Jenny. “The dictatorship is iron-fisted, censorship is omnipresent, and forced labor is commonplace.”
“It’s not a particularly cooperative regime...” Yasira suspects.
