ProtagonistIbraimo Alberto

Ibraimo Alberto was born in 1963 in Mozambique on a farm owned by a Portuguese landowner. He had to fight for his right to attend school. It was only in 1975, after almost 500 years of Portuguese rule, that the country gained independence. Alberto came to the GDR as a contract worker in 1981, hoping to be able to pursue sports studies there. Instead, he was trained as a butcher in a Berlin meat processing plant. After the expiry of his first contract and a short period of time spent back in Mozambique, he returned to the GDR in 1986 and was given the role of group leader for Mozambican contract workers in the VEB Stralau glassworks in Berlin.

Alberto started training as a boxer straight after arriving in East Berlin, and later took part in many competitions both in East Germany and abroad. His sporting achievements resulted in partial naturalization in 1988: he competed for the GDR internationally, but did not receive full citizenship.

In 1990 he moved from Berlin to Schwedt and boxed for the Schwedt PCK refinery’s club in the national league for ten years. He qualified as a social worker. In Schwedt, Alberto was city councillor and commissioner for foreigners for several years. He and his family left the city in 2011 after experiencing constant racist attacks. Today he lives in Berlin and works with migrants and refugees.

The following book has been published about Alberto’s life:
Ibraimo Alberto with Daniel Bachmann, Ich wollte leben wie die Götter,, Kiepenheuer&Witsch, 2014