Go, Went, Gone

The next day is October 3. Richard finally unpacks his books and begins putting them on his shelves. It takes three days. On Tuesday morning he goes to the nursing home and asks to speak with the refugees. The receptionist tells him that he needs to make an appointment with the director of the home: “The birth of questions is something that always delights him. The appearance of the refugees in this suburb is just such a moment. Fear produces order, he thinks, as do uncertainty and caution” (43).

The director tells Richard that the men are staying there provisionally. The facilities are not in good condition for a long-term stay. He says there are too many men and then situation is not ideal, but they decided to help because no one else wanted to. Richard asks if the men wanted to leave Oranienplatz. The director replies that that is a “difficult question.”  

The director takes him to the third floor of the red-brick building where the men are staying. Richard enters a room filled with cots where some men are watching TV. The director introduces Richard as a professor who wants to do interviews for a research project.