Background:
After the far-right terrorist attack in Hanau, Serpil Temiz Unvar founded the initiative on 14 November 2020 – on what would have been Ferhat’s 24th birthday. It is also a political response to structural racism in the German school system – a racism that Ferhat and his family experienced personally.
Already in fifth grade, teachers told him: “You will never achieve anything” – not because of his abilities, but because of his Kurdish background. Later, despite excellent grades, he was rarely invited to job interviews. Yet Ferhat remained open-minded, caring and hopeful. Just weeks before the attack, he completed his training as a heating and gas installer. For him, education was more than individual advancement – it was the key to justice. He encouraged others not to give up, whether in school, training or university.
That is why the initiative addresses young people who experience racism and exclusion in their everyday lives. They should not only be heard – but be empowered to actively shape their future.
Goals and Activities:
- Remembrance as action – keeping memory alive means not only recalling the past, but acting in the present.
- Educational work – workshops and events take place where young people live and learn: schools, youth centres, universities, workplaces. Racism is named, its effects understood, and strategies against exclusion developed together.
- Empowerment – young people learn to raise their voices, to know they are not alone, and to build a community that stands strong against racism.
- Rethinking remembrance – focusing on the names and stories of those affected by racist violence, like Ferhat Unvar, while also confronting the structural conditions that enable such violence.
“Helping to shape the future of young people is a reason for me to keep on living.” – Serpil Temiz Unvar