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City takes a stand against racism in the Heimstättensiedlung housing estate
The city of Darmstadt officially inaugurated the new "Ali Bayram Park" at the entrance to the Heimstättensiedlung housing estate on February 18th. By naming the green space after him, the city commemorates Ali Bayram, a father of two who was murdered in 1994 for racist reasons, and sets a lasting example against racism, violence, and exclusion.
In the presence of the Bayram family and the Turkish Consul General Nagihan İlknur Akdevelioğlu, Mayor Hanno Benz, City Councillor Paul Georg Wandrey, and City Council Chairman Yücel Akdeniz officially inaugurated the facility. This was based on a resolution passed by the City Council in December 2023.
Remembering the 1994 attack
Ali Bayram was shot dead in his apartment on Schiebelhuthweg on February 18, 1994, by a neighbor with far-right views. His twelve-year-old daughter was injured in the attack. While the crime was long perceived by the public as a neighborhood dispute, the city now emphasizes the racist background of the offense.
Mayor Benz stated that the dedication was also an act of belated recognition of the family's suffering. The design of the memorial site would be developed in dialogue with the bereaved.
Continuity of right-wing violence
The dedication of the memorial places the attack within the context of right-wing violence in the 1990s. Speeches highlighted a continuity of racist violence stretching from Rostock-Lichtenhagen and Mölln to Hanau. The new green space is intended to be a visible place of remembrance in the daily lives of many people.
The dedication ceremony was accompanied by personal words from the family and musical performances. A temporary memorial plaque was initially installed until the final design is completed. In the future, Ali Bayram and all victims of right-wing violence will be commemorated at the Ali Bayram memorial site every February 18th.
(DARMSTADT – RED/PSD/dk)
Featured image: Science City of Darmstadt
