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I was born in Berlin

July 22, 2022

Ali is from Syria. He was assigned female at birth but struggled to identify as such. Raised as a girl and given the name Oula, he was later married to a man and lived according to the strict traditions of his family.

https://p.dw.com/p/49D9O

When the revolution against the Al-Assad regime broke out in 2011, Ali, then still known as Oula, became involved in the opposition. He was arrested. While in prison, Ali made the momentous decision to finally embrace his identity as a man. "Oula, the woman, died there in prison, and she will never come back," remembers Ali. "Deep down, I feel that I am Ali." Only a short time later, he was released on bail - on the condition that he leave Syria. In the summer of 2015, he arrived in Magdeburg, having travelled to Germany via Turkey on the Balkan route. Shortly thereafter, he moved to Berlin, where he could finally undergo gender reassignment surgery. Ali also changed his name in a Berlin court. The film accompanies Ali from the years 2016 to 2020. It is an intimate portrait of a young man who, having lived as a woman for years, can finally be the person he feels he truly is.

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DocFilm

Exciting stories, a wide variety of topics, fascinating pictures: every day, half or three-quarters of an hour of carefully researched background reports from the worlds of politics, business, science, culture, nature, history, lifestyle and sport.