30 years after arson attack, Turkish-origin family calls for stronger unity in Germany against racism

SOLINGEN, GERMANY 

The Genc family, which was the victim of the 1993 arson attacks, has called for stronger unity against racism and right-wing extremism in Germany.

Kamil Genc, who lost two daughters, two sisters and his nephew in the racist attack, told Anadolu that memories of the tragic night are fresh even after 30 years.

He said although many promises were made in the past years to combat racism, the far-right remains a serious problem in the country.

“I very much hope that one day we’ll get rid of racism. But as long as Nazi groups continue to exist even within the state, I don’t think that this will easily come to an end,” Genc added.

The house of the Turkish immigrant family was set ablaze on May 29, 1993, by four far-right extremists, who were later arrested and sentenced to 10 to 15 years in prison.

• Racism
• Solingen arson attacks in 1993
• Turkophobia