It is difficult to find the right words for this. Yesterday was a dark day: On the night of 19 February, a far-right gunman opened fire outside two shisha bars in Germany. He killed at least nine people. All of them PoC.
May their souls rest in peace.
I don’t have to tell you that these things don’t happen in a political vacuum. And I don’t have to tell your that the number of far-right attacks (and I only mention two in this comic) is growing globally. From Christchurch to the Halle synagogue shootings to regular fire attacks on mosques and refugee homes. There is so much hate towards people because of their names, their looks, their religions.
And it is becoming more violent. Shootings are not an “American thing” anymore. And for many years, governments chose to be blind to far-right attacks, to not see the big picture.
Originally, I was going to write that I feel Germany is slowly waking up – “too slowly and extremely late. But still.” And that I chose to see positive change in Germany. But somehow I am not sure about this. I fear that it’s my wishful thinking.
Because yes, there is some minor changes (for example in how the words racism or far-right terror are used), but it is because there is simply no way the big picture can be ignored anymore. The changes are not because we have been warning against right-wing threat and that it starts in everyday racism, all those years. It is because people were assassinated. People from various faiths and backgrounds.
Please take BIPoC seriously, we ARE the target, we are not playing the victim, we are not exaggerating.
Please show/keep showing your solidarity, don’t accept the hate and racism as the norm. Be proactive. Don’t fall for all those powerful people who pretend to care now but fuelled the hate all those years. Don’t rest because you shared a post on instagram or even went to one protest. Let’s stay indignant, let’s protect our society.
And especially for my BIPoC friends: Take your time to feel the pain, the fear, the anger, to mourn..