How many more murders until structural racism is consistently and resolutely exposed and combated?

Berlin, March 29.05.2023th, XNUMX.

30 years after the assassination attempt on the Genç family in Solingen, we still see racist hatred, attacks and no prospect of justice. We remember, demand consequences and wish the relatives the necessary clarification.

Racism persists and attacks like the one in Solingen in 1993 are not isolated cases. There are racist continuities that permeate our society from Hoyerswerda, Rostock, Lichtenhagen, Mölln and Solingen to the attacks in Halle, in Hanau, and others. All these cases show: racism lives and racism kills.

Today we commemorate above all the people who lost their lives in the most brutal way 30 years ago. We remember them, the survivors and their families. Among the victims were 28-year-old Gürsün İnce, 18-year-old Hatice Genç, nine-year-old Hülya Genç, her four-year-old sister Saime and XNUMX-year-old Gülüstan Öztürk.

The annual balance of the victim counseling centers of the association for counseling centers for victims of right-wing, racist and anti-Semitic violence shows that this violence is increasing. In 2022, a total of 16 right-wing, racist and anti-Semitic attacks were registered in ten out of 2.093 federal states. It can be assumed that the number of unreported cases is significantly higher. Anti-trans and queer attacks are on the rise, resulting in one fatality. At least five people are victims of right-wing, racist or anti-Semitic violence every day. This balance also emphasizes a serious underreporting of right-wing violence by law enforcement agencies - even in the case of serious violent crimes. Racism, anti-Semitism and right-wing extremism are poorly and incompletely recorded and falsified by the police and judiciary as motives for crimes, and they downplay the extent of the threat and the dimensions of right-wing violence, thereby also letting those affected down.[1]

Today we demand justice for the victims and their families, but we know that this can never make up for the losses suffered. "The perpetrators of this terrible attack have been at large for many years. That's not justice. Racism and right-wing extremism are deadly! They must be fought with all democratic means. To do this, we need society as a whole, which resolutely opposes extremist ideas in all situations!”says Dr. Soraya Moket, deputy managing director of DaMigra eV and project manager of the anti-racism project women rais.ed.

It is essential that racist attacks are given greater visibility in our society, in the education system and in politics. Only if we keep reminding ourselves that racist ideologies can lead to violence and even murder will we take the necessary steps to oppose them firmly and give them no space. Even after 30 years, the arson attack in Solingen remains a reminder of how insufficient visibility, insufficient processing and lack of prosecution provide fertile breeding ground for misanthropic ideologies.

So we continue to demand remembrance, justice, education and consequences for the relatives and survivors of this terrible attack. Only by fully addressing structural racism can we ensure that such tragedies will never be repeated.

30 years of Solingen - never forget!

DaMigra eV represents the interests of women migrant organizations and their concerns and advocates equal opportunities, equal participation and the equality of women with a history of migration and refugee experience in Germany. DaMigra follows the approach of anti-racist feminism.

[1] https://verband-brg.de/rechte-rassistische-und-antisemitische-gewalt-in-deutschland-2022-jahresbilanzen-der-opferberatungsstellen/