Commentary

Remembrance

27. Feb. 2017
Mahmoud Hassino by Merja Hannikainen

Feb. 28, 2017 – Berlin is one of the easiest cities to call home. It has a strange, wicked charm that makes you love it, even after having hated it. I lost two homes before: Syria and Turkey. Both were hit by conflicts and terrorism. Recently, terror struck Berlin. It hit home once again.

Last year started off badly for Germany. Twelve Germans were killed in a terrorist attack in Istanbul’s Sultanahmet area in January 2016, marking the highest number of German casualties until the attack at Breitscheidplatz in December. Sadly, it seems that everyone has forgotten about those coincidental victims.

It was disconcerting to follow the news about the Breitscheidplatz Christmas market. At first, people argued about using the safety check offered by Facebook, who named it “The Attack in Berlin”. Many objected to the preemptive use of the word “attack”, claiming that there was no proof at that point. I can understand the cautiousness, as almost everything is being politicized nowadays. Still, I used that feature. After all, I am known to be a fan of Weihnachtsmärkte and their notorious Glühwein, and I won't keep my friends worrying about me because of wording.

In Arabic Facebook groups, refugees started to panic. Some posts read, “I hope the attacker is not a refugee” and “we need to do something to show the Germans that we are not terrorists”, whereas a few read “It’s Berlin, the city that hosted us and became home. I am as sad for this city as I am for Syria.” I only clicked “like“ on this last one.

On the other side, right-wing populists continued to blame Chancellor Merkel and her so-called open-door policy. Racism and Islamophobia thrived on the blood of the victims as they were being transferred to emergency rooms.

Political conflicts have polarized people in my two previous homes. They are doing the same in Germany – especially with the Bundestag election coming up this year. It's aggravating to see that we have lost our sympathy for other humans’ suffering. Innocent lives are being used for political gains. No one mentions the twelve victims of Istanbul’s January 2016 attack, because their deaths aren’t relevant to the current political battle. Refugees who fled wars and terror feel it’s become a duty to renounce such attacks and distance themselves. Not only are they being terrorized by those attacks, but also by generalization and racism.

In 2003, when George W. Bush called his war on Iraq a “crusade”, Syrians and Iraqis didn’t blame all Americans for waging a religious war. It is quite astonishing that those who lived under dictatorships knew better than those who claim to defend democratic values. I wonder when we will realize that we can learn from each other. This might not happen before the elections. For now anyway, the only Facebook posts that will get my upturned thumb are the ones that don't neglect the victims, especially while politicians continue to do just that.

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