When we arrived in the GDR, there was no more mention of training.
In the mornings we had German lessons, but apart from that we worked in cargo handling.
Or as we said in those days at the port: hauling sacks.
The worst was when we had to haul half pigs
or bags of cement.
Half pigs weigh 50kg and they’re cold and slippery.
And the cement would eat into our skin and hands,
so that by the end of our shift our hands and bodies would be almost bleeding.
Hauling coffee sacks, they weigh around 55kg and I only weigh 50kg.
The whole shift, 8 to 10 hours,
always the same movement, haul, haul, haul.
I couldn’t bear it.