She was an “unshakeable symbol of reconciliation” and at the same time “a symbol of a German tragedy”. The Ditib Federal Association paid tribute to the peace ambassador Mevlüde Genç from Solingen on Sunday, who lost five family members in an arson attack in 1993. She died at the age of 79. With her, “our country loses a great example of reconciliation.
Like few others, Mevlüde Genç embodied the belief in the good in people,” said North Rhine-Westphalia’s Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst after her death, according to the Düsseldorf State Chancellery. “We will painfully miss Mevlüde Genç and her work. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family,” said the CDU politician. Mevlüde Genç would have turned 80 next February central memorial service will be held on Tuesday instead of.
A “role model” for Cem Özdemir
Mevlüde Genç and her husband Durmuş Genç lost two daughters, two grandchildren and a niece in May 1993 after right-wing extremists threw incendiary devices into their house in Solingen. On the night of May 29, 1993, the four right-wing extremists set fire to the house of the Turkish family in Solingen. 17 family members were seriously injured. Shortly after the assassination, Mevlüde called for reconciliation.
In an SZ interview on the 20th anniversary of the attack, when asked why she stayed in Solingen, she said: “I’ve always lived here. Both the good and the bad of the city belong to me. I see Solingen as my home as well like Turkey and love it here just as much. The painful and the beautiful side are part of it. I know every street here. I know my way around here. I don’t feel strange here at all. I’ll stay here until I die. My children and I .”
In 2018, the NRW state government donated a Mevlüde-Genç medal in her honor for special services to tolerance, reconciliation between cultures and the peaceful coexistence of religions. “Mevlüde Genç has always put peace and reconciliation first. She knew how to transform the immeasurable pain inflicted on her into strength to stand up for other people. She has the hatred, violence and resentment who hit her back as generosity and tolerance,” said Wüst.
Federal Minister of Agriculture Cem Özdemir (Greens) said: “After the racist attack in Solingen, she refused to hate the murderers. Racists live from hatred – that’s exactly what she never gave them. She will always remain my great role model.”
The NRW Integration Minister Josefine Paul (Greens) also commemorated Genç in a statement from her ministry after her death: “All her life, Mevlüde Genç called for tolerance and peaceful coexistence between cultures. For that, I thank her and that of our entire society. My thoughts are with the family and friends of this amazing and strong woman.”