As of: 09/21/2021 1:23 p.m.
Two initiatives by relatives of the victims of the racially motivated attack in Hanau are awarded the Aachen Peace Prize. The award also goes to an interfaith women’s initiative in Nigeria.
This year’s Aachen Peace Prize goes to two anti-racism initiatives related to the attacks in Hanau and an interreligious peace project in Nigeria. Despite their own dismay and trauma, the three groups are committed to peace, awareness and education, as announced by the Aachen Peace Prize Association.
The “February 19th Hanau Initiative” was founded by the relatives of the victims of the racially motivated attack last year, in which a 43-year-old German targeted nine people. With the initiative, the bereaved want to give their solidarity and the demands for clarification and political consequences a permanent place. In the immediate vicinity of one of the crime scenes, the group also created a social center as a place for meeting and counseling.
On November 14th, Serpil Temiz Unvar also founded the “Ferhat Unvar Education Initiative”, named after her son who was killed in the attack. Among other things, it offers anti-racist workshops in schools and is also the point of contact for children and young people who have experienced racism and their parents. The two groups from Hanau will be honored together.
Award for “Mothers for Peace”
The association also honors the interreligious women’s initiative WIC (Women’s Interfaith Council) in Nigeria, also known as “Mothers for Peace”. She has been campaigning for a non-violent coexistence between Christians and Muslims in the crisis region of Kaduna since 2010. After attacks on village communities or individual people, Christian and Muslim members of the initiative seek out those affected and take care of the victims. Many of the women should have watched their husbands and children being murdered.
The award ceremony on November 13th is expected to take place online and in person. The Aachen Peace Prize was awarded for the first time in 1988. The aim of the award is to honor individuals or groups who contribute “from below” to peace and understanding. Last year, the Catholic priest Antoine Exelmans, who is involved in refugee work in Morocco, and the Brazilian human rights organization Centro Gaspar Garcia received the award.
The prize is divided into two parts, with both sponsors receiving 2000 euros each. The award is intended to help the initiatives to attract more public attention and thereby protect groups working in difficult conditions from repression and violence.