It’s not over. 30 years have passed since 400,000 people took to the streets in Munich, many with a candle in their hand. They protested against what was then called “xenophobia”. They set an example and sent a message to those who had become the target of attacks and attacks: You belong here, you belong to us. On the evening of December 6, 1992, the chain of lights was born. The world looked at Munich, positively amazed.
It still exists, the chain of lights, and has long been a registered association. With many projects and campaigns, he fights against racism, which then and now is the cause of misanthropy that leads to hatred and violence.
On December 6, 1992, 400,000 people took to the streets in Munich with flashlights, lanterns, candles and lanterns to protest against xenophobia and right-wing extremism.
(Photo: Argum Photojournalism)
The SZ spoke to five residents of Munich, who are involved with many other people in the association’s current campaign. “Mensch. Deutschland” is its name, a commitment to diversity. Starting this Tuesday, the videos will be gradually played out on all internet channels as a “digital chain of lights”. The three women and two men share how hurtful it is to be put down. “It starts with looks,” says Fadumo Korn. “The looks are just as bad as words can be.”
“It is not an isolated case that people move away”
Lise-Christine Kobla Mendama, stage name: “Queen Lizzy”, 21, model, musician, Vice-Miss-Germany, co-organizer of the big Black Lives Matter demo 2020
“Meanwhile, I don’t feel everyday racism as much as I did when I went to school. Of the 700 students at my high school, only seven were black. The teachers were not trained in matters of racism, from bullying to I have had a lot of negative experiences there. It used to be very busy and stressful for me, although I’m actually quite quick-witted. I often came home, was exhausted, cried. Today I go out on the street much more confidently. That’s also the reason because I travel a lot, I’m often invited, people look after me, also because I’m well known.
I appear more self-confident to the outside world, but behind the scenes it doesn’t leave me cold when I experience racism. For example, when people look disgusted. I’ve gotten into the habit of always putting on headphones when I’m on the subway or S-Bahn, then I’m in my world and at least I don’t hear what others are saying or whispering. It is not an isolated case that people move away, I hear that from many black people. I’ve gotten into the habit of only thinking about what I can change. I can’t change my skin color. If someone reacts to how I look, that’s not my problem.”
“I attribute many of my experiences to my headscarf”
Feriha Ipek Akti, 24, educator, social work student at a Munich university
“I didn’t start wearing my headscarf until I was 17. It was voluntary. I was aware that I was offering a target for certain people. But I didn’t expect this level of Islamophobia. Nor that there would be structural racism in the schools After secondary school, I trained as a teacher. Although I was actually overqualified in the first few years, I did worse than my German classmates. I looked for the mistake in myself until I realized something was wrong.
Like when I got an ex back with a four. I compared my work to that of my classmates and noticed that they got credit for certain points and I didn’t. When I pointed this out to my teacher, she said it was a mistake – and gave me a two instead of four. That has happened to me more often. Two notes difference, can this happen accidentally? In German I always got a three. When I asked my teacher what I could do to improve, I was told: settle for a C, that’s a good grade for people like you.
It wasn’t until I finished my training that I had the time to reflect on all of this. There were quite a few such incidents. During this time, in January 2021, I wrote a poem out of frustration and disappointment. This spring I shot the video for the poem with a friend. It is entitled “Never enough” because as a Muslim with a headscarf I can never please the majority of society. I attribute many of my experiences to my headscarf, since I can compare it to the time before that. I’ve never had any problems like that.”
“If I want to fix something, I’m asked: Can you do that at all?”
Mohammad Ali Mosavi, 22, electronics engineer for energy and building technology
“I was born in Afghanistan and came to Germany in 2015. I have negative experiences almost every day. When I arrive at a customer’s, the door may not be opened for me. Or if I work in a basement and someone sees me, “I’m asked to show my company ID. For a year now I’ve always had business cards with me, so people can call my boss if they don’t believe me. If I want to fix something, I’m asked: ‘Can you even do it? If I can.’ If I say that I did an apprenticeship, they say: “I don’t think so. It’s mainly older people who behave like this.
Yes, I’m a refugee, but I’ve been in Germany for seven years. I went to school here, did an apprenticeship, learned the language, integrated myself. When I then hear: You are only a guest in Germany, that hurts me the most. And it makes me feel so insecure. But what you shouldn’t forget, I’ve also experienced a lot of positive things. More common than the negative. I get good feedback from customers, which gives me the strength to work. In the company we are almost exclusively foreigners, our boss is fully behind us. Recently someone insulted my colleague with the N-word, and my boss immediately reported it.”
“They automatically assumed that I was a refugee”
Fadumo Korn, 58, author, cultural mediator, campaigns against female genital mutilation
“There are so many small and big things that I experience as a black woman. You experience so much rejection. It starts with looks. The looks are just as bad as words can be. I’ve learned to defend myself, but what my clients report: I was born in Somalia and have had a German passport since 1997. When I wanted to have it extended in autumn 2022, the responsible office first sent me to a security check be a refugee.
Once I wanted to board an ICE train when the conductor said to me: You can’t afford this train anyway, a regional train is coming soon. I recently walked to the tram at Rosenheimer Platz. A woman was waiting at a traffic light on a bicycle, she had a bag in the back of her basket. As I passed her, she turned around in a flash and grabbed her bag. She obviously saw me as a potential thief.
Recently one of my clients, a black woman, was tricked by a company into signing a contract and terminating one at a Munich company. I then called this company to reverse the whole thing for them. On the phone, an employee of this company ranted about the stupid blacks: They all come to us, multiply, let themselves be tricked and we have to take the blame. When I told this employee that I’m black too, she was mute. A bio-German white man cannot imagine what we black people experience every day.”
“Being Jewish in Germany is not a matter of course”
Louis Levitan, 67, psychologist and business coach
“I’m Jewish, so what? I don’t wear a kippah or any other external signs of my religion. From France I’m used to separating religion and state, which I think is very important. For me, religion is something private that I don’t disclose to the outside world That’s why I don’t feel anti-Semitism directly.My non-Jewish friends tell me what’s being said about Jews in their circle of acquaintances, that they are greedy, have too much influence and don’t want to put an end to the past.
Being Jewish in Germany is not a matter of course. There are no-go zones in this country where Jews, Muslims, foreigners and those who think differently are not welcome. It’s fortunate that, as a Frenchman, I’m counted among the nice, sympathetic foreigners. Israelis, on the other hand, are often abused as murderers. I feel safe in Munich. Munich may be colourful, but the proportion of brown is definitely too high.
It is not yet a matter of course to meet in front of the synagogue without being told that a larger gathering can be dangerous. 77 years after the Shoah, the Jewish communities are under police protection, day care centers and schools are guarded, unfortunately this is part of Jewish normality. As a psychologist, I wonder if that’s normal.”