The Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency’s head, Ferda Ataman, has expressed concern over a growing number of racist discriminations in everyday life. Five years after the Hanau attack, migrants in Germany today have more fear than ever, she told the Funke Media Group newspapers. “We observe a significant increase in racist discriminations in everyday life.”
The agency has seen a surge in the number of consultation cases related to racism, with over 20,000 cases reported. In total, from 2006 to December 2024, the agency received 21,600 inquiries about racist discrimination.
People reported cases of racist bullying at work, doctors refusing to treat Muslim patients and students being called “little terrorist” at school, Ataman said. Instead of strengthening the sense of security for migrants, they are currently being portrayed as a security problem more than ever.
In Hanau, a right-wing extremist had murdered nine people with a migration background on February 19, 2020. “The Hanau attack was a shock for all migrants and their descendants” Ataman said. Since then, however, the state has not made up for its failures: migrants and their descendants are not better protected from discrimination, hundreds of right-wing extremists still roam free, a genuine investigation into the authorities’ failures is lacking and the families are still being harassed.
Ataman called on the next federal government to send a clear signal that it takes the fears seriously and does not tolerate racism. “A response to Hanau must be a National Action Plan for Anti-Discrimination that brings concrete improvements” she demanded.