in the middle
Days after the attack, the grief is palpable in Solingen. This is mixed with anger about how the attack could have happened. While some are looking for coping strategies, others are demanding consequences.
Philipp Müller watches as the last parts of the stage for the Solingen city festival are stowed in the truck. “We’ll see you again next year,” the co-organizer calls out to the workers. He worked on the event for nine months. After just a few hours, it came to a terrible end.
“That’s a lot of breaking down inside me,” says Müller. “On top of that, I saw the population, which is completely empty. Even after a few days, it’s not much better.”
Three red candles stand in front of the closed stage at the Fronhof in Solingen. They show the places where people died. There is sadness in the city, but also anger, says Müller. It is now time for consequences. “People are saying that politicians have to do something,” says Müller. “We want to see results. Especially in this city that has been so badly hit.”
Memories of 1993
Solingen – many people associate this with the right-wing extremist arson attack of 1993. Five people of Turkish origin were murdered at the time. Now the city is in the headlines again with a gruesome act of violence.
“Of course you ask yourself: Why in Solingen again? It was a terrible experience back then,” says Peter Graetsch. Others are simply at a loss for words. Most are stunned by what happened on Friday evening.
And so some are looking for opportunities to talk. The Protestant church in Solingen provides these opportunities. Around 50 emergency chaplains are active here. Since the attack, at least half of them have been on duty almost continuously.
One of them is Simone Henn-Pausch. “We have had countless conversations,” she says. “And there have been many tears, a lot of exhaustion and sometimes resignation.”
Emergency chaplain in use
The emergency chaplains want to remain present in the city at least until the end of the week. To give people the opportunity to share their fears and worries. And yet: Henn-Pausch is certain that Solingen will put these difficult days behind it. “It takes time. Once the shock has worn off and the first, let’s say, everyday weeks are over, normality will return.”
A normality that seems far away for many refugees. Khaled Al Khalaf is Syrian, like the perpetrator. The 20-year-old came to Germany eight years ago and is active in an association that aims to promote cultural exchange. His grief is mixed with fear.
“We are currently living in great concern,” says Al Khalaf. “We saw at the last demonstrations how people tried to exploit this for their own ends, and of course we are afraid that it will now escalate.”
Hope for peaceful coexistence
He feels the same horror at the crime, the same lack of understanding, the same pain. “We can only say that we feel for the people in Solingen. We are Solingen residents,” said Al Khalaf. “We are affected, we pray for the people. We are angry, we are sad and we hope that we can live together again.”
The perpetrator does not speak for the many Syrians who live in Germany. And certainly not for their community in Solingen. It is here in particular that people have lived together wonderfully in recent years.
And that is exactly what Khaled Al Khalaf wants: that the people here grow together again, that they live together peacefully. And that Solingen can find peace again.