ABOUT
Martina Dahlmanns
I have come to this work via many detours, ‘wrong’ turns and false starts. From living as a translator, teacher and tour guide in Taiwan, to earning an honors degree in Communication Science at the University of Fine Art in Berlin, to dabbling in radio and journalism before leaving Germany and emigrating to South Africa I have met with the biggest challenge of my life when I became a parent to children who happen to be black and (possibly) queer. Parenting my children in this deeply divided, racialized and largely queer-phobic society led me to question my entire worldview and everything I thought to be true about myself.
In an attempt to educate myself and acquire tools along the way that would enable me to become a better parent I earned my degree in psychology with focus on counselling within marginalized communities. My subsequent work in NGO spaces opened my eyes further to the ongoing injustices in our society mirrored within organizations with no capacity to truly understand, see and advocate for those they are supposed to support.
After many years of working as a counsellor in organizations that support our trans-community, and are advocating for the rights of sex-workers, I opened my own online mainly pro-bono practice to support marginalized individuals over and above the pre-prescribed confines of organizational ‘goals’ and ‘deliverables’ and away from the western solution based and mostly pathologizing approach.
Facilitating my client’s growth and learning enables me to continue working on myself, to recognize my many blind-spots and most importantly acknowledge the collaborative nature of this work. My clients meet me in a space where we connect to their own wisdom and deep trans-generational knowledge, an aspect of my work that brings me fulfillment, joy and hope for a humanity beyond the manifestations of destruction and hatred we all witness daily in this divided world.
In 2018 I published my first book, a kind of memoir tracing my journey as an adoptive parent. I have subsequently earned my MA in non-fiction writing and am hoping to find the time to work on a second book, a collaborative work diving deep into inter-racial friendship/relationship dynamics.
"If you are tired of hearing about ‘whiteness’, and if you think racism exists in the hearts of evil others, or you believe that having a black friend unshackles you from racism’s hold, I dare you to read this book."
PUMULA GOBODO-MADIKIZELA
Author and Research Chair in Studies in Historical Trauma and Transformation at Stellenbosch University / South Africa