Away from Home
Cristobal Martin was born in Granada, Spain, 38 years ago. "Granada is the most beautiful city in the world," says Mr. Martin. "Its sun is warm and its air is clear." Today, Mr. Martin works in Germany, where the weather is often cold and rainy. But in Germany, he works in a factory and makes a much better pay. In Granada, there is very little industry. I was only a farm worker. When the German company came and offered me a job, I took it right away. "Mr.Martin works in a chemical factory. He works from 7:00 am to 4:00 pm. From 10:00 pm to 1:00 am, he has another job cleaning out the office of a doctor in his neighborhood.

Mr. Martin does not speak much German. "I wish I had time to go to school and learn more. It would be easier to live here. I have sat with the same men at lunch every day for four years, and we never talk to each other. They think of me as a ‘foreigner’, "he says.

After work, Mr. Martin rides home on the bicycle he brought with him from Spain. "I live in a small room that I don't like very much. But I know that a better room is not why I came to Germany." Mr. Martin hopes that in two years he will have enough money to return home. "I want to open up a small shop, find a wife, and have a satisfactory life for me and my family. "

Mr. Martin lives in a neighborhood with Italians and Spanish people. "We think alike," he says, "and we don't mind the noise of the wives and children that the Germans complain about. I am thankful for the jobs Germany has given me. But Germany is not the proper place for me. It is nol my home." 

Mr. Martin works in a chemical factory at night.