The arsonists came on the night before Adolf Hitler's birthday. After attempting to burn down an Asian fast-food stand on a square in front of the train station in Blankenfelde, a town in the eastern German state of Brandenburg, they turned their attention to the adjacent doner kebab stand owned by Haci D., 39. The fire quickly burned through the wooden side wall and engulfed the entire stand. By daybreak on April 20, Haci D. had lost his livelihood.
Haci D. had tried repeatedly to get insurance to cover his business but hadn't managed to find a company that would take him on. Fire insurance for a Turkish doner kebab stand in Brandenburg? Officially, says Haci D., the insurance companies cited "construction risks" as their reason for rejecting his applications.
These "construction risks" now affect the very foundation of a society in which right-wing extremist violence has become normal. "Right-wing extremism is part of everyday life and only attracts attention when the crimes are especially horrific," says Wolfgang Thierse, the Social Democrat vice-president of the lower house of the German parliament, the Bundestag.
The statistics are alarming. In 2007, the number of reported arson attacks committed by right-wing extremists climbed to 24 from 18 in the previous year. The targets are foreigners, including immigrants' mosques, cars and cafés.
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The right-wing extremists have been especially effective at spreading fear among Turks, says Kenan Kolat of the Turkish Community in Germany, a group which campaigns for immigrant rights, doner kebab stands are seen as an especially easy target. This, in turn, has created a market niche in the insurance business. Because German insurance companies are refusing to provide fire insurance for people like Haci D., small, specialized providers have contacted the Turkish community association to offer fire protection and alarm systems. The representatives sell their services to local Turkish businesses by maintaining that an alarm system will ensure that "the same thing doesn't happen to you."
On a visit to the western city of Solingen last week to commemorate the 15th anniversary of a deadly arson attack on a Turkish family, Kolat was able to get a firsthand look at what life can be like for Turkish immigrants threatened by right-wing extremist violence. On May 29, 1993, four men from the local skinhead community set a fire in the entrance of a house owned by the Turkish Genç family. Two women and three girls died in the incident.
The survivors remained in Solingen, where they built a new house -- surrounded by a fence and protected by 24-hour video surveillance.
Source: Spiegel (English)
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