“We are dead only when we are forgotten”
Serpil Temiz lost her son Ferhat Unvar two months ago in Hanau. She is calling for support so that the victims of the racist attack are not forgotten and such acts are not repeated.
Just over two months ago, on 19 February 2020, a 43-year-old German man killed nine people with foreign roots with racist motives in Hanau. The "Institute for Tolerance and Civil Courage - 19 February Hanau” was founded by members of the Hanau Foreigners' Advisory Council to provide a platform for the victims' relatives. The association wants to make the attack and its victims unforgettable and support the relatives. With own projects a "committed, powerful and united appearance against right-wing extremism and xenophobia" is intended to be promoted.
One of the relatives is Serpil Temiz, who lost her son Ferhat Unvar in the attack. She wants to become an honorary member of the association and says: "As long as my strength is enough, I will fight for my son and his friends, so that their names are not forgotten and the crime is fully solved".
Although two months have passed, Serpil Temiz has not yet found an answer to her questions. She spoke to the Yeni Özgür Politika newspaper and said: "I wrote a letter to Angela Merkel but didn't get an answer. I also know nothing about the investigation. Nobody gives an answer about the status of the investigation and whether the demands of us as families of victims are being met. The agenda in the country has changed, but I will continue to follow the events."
Serpil Temiz said that she expects support for this, because the case concerns everyone: "As long as attacks of this kind are covered up, they will continue. I ask that everyone does what they can. We have to create publicity and keep asking the authorities to comment. And we must never forget the murdered young people."
Last Sunday the victims of Hanau were commemorated at the scene of the crime. Next to photos, candles and flowers, there was a sign saying, "We are dead only when we are forgotten." Ferhat Unvar shared this sentence on his Facebook page in 2015.
The victims of Hanau are Ferhat Unvar, Said Nesar Hashemi, Vili Viorel Păun, Mercedes Kierpacz, Sedat Gürbüz, Kaloyan Velkov, Fatih Saraçoğlu, Gökhan Gültekin and Hamza Kurtović.
