I'm sure you've heard the story of the 9-month old baby dropped from the window of the burning building in Ludwigshafen, Germany. But are you aware of the racial tension throughout Central Europe?
9 people were killed (5 children), 60 injured, all of them Turks or German Turks. Just 2 years ago, the building was bombarbed by a Molotov Cocktail. The door of the Turkish cultural center inside the building was painted with Nazi-slogans. Two girls saw a "German-looking" man light a baby carriage on fire in the foyer.
This would be the worst Nazi-attack on Turks in Germany's history. Turkey's Prime Minister arrived in Nordrhein-Westfalen, the state where Ludwigshafen lies, and spoke with Kurt Beck, the state's Prime Minister. They asked the crowds to hold off judgment before anything became known. During the speech, 2 right-wing extremist youths were detained just 1 block from the crowd for violating an existing restraining order.
The 2.6 million Turks of the country (and countless others in Austria and other neighbors) are angry. They are scared. One 18-year old Turkish woman hoped that it was not a Nazi-attack. "Otherwise there will be war here in the streets." (Sonst gibt es Krieg hier auf den Straßen.) Let's hope she's wrong.
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