today ismet tekken's bistro
is also a memorial site to a customer of
his kevin schwarze
who bled to death here
[Music]
no matter how hard you try you can't
forget it
outside the door a plaque commemorates
the two people
who died in the terrorist attack in hala
on october 9 2019 in downtown hala
a heavily armed right-wing extremist
went on a shooting spree
his real target was the town synagogue
he was out to kill jews
but he failed to break through the door
he shot down a woman
passing by and then attacked the turkish
bistro
ismat tekken was lucky he'd gone
shopping
his brother was able to flee the
attacker but there was no escape for
kevin schwarzer
but once the official commemoration was
over ismet tekken felt left alone with
his own memories of that day
what came after was disappointing nobody
came by and nobody showed any
interest we felt abandoned
and then came the covert 19 pandemic the
few customers who still came were only
allowed to order takeaways
tekken who came to germany from turkey
twelve years ago
faced financial ruin but then help came
from an
unexpected quarter igor matviets from
the jewish community
the intended target of the attack and
others
called on people to buy vouchers for one
thousand kebabs
and the jewish student union collected
another thirty thousand euros
they are there to support fellow members
of halle society
thanks to this solidarity the
neighborhood kebab shop
will stay on as a place where we can
pick up something to eat
anything else would only serve the aims
of the attacker
and this person doesn't deserve any
has been gaining confidence again for
himself
and the fight against hatred that's via
mess with halton that we all stick
together more
as immigrants and journalists
no matter what our nationality or faith
only a few hundred meters away hala's
synagogue has been under constant police
guard since the attack
matriarch says now the house of worship
is well protected
but as a jew in germany he no longer
feels quite as safe
so he would like to see that as many
people as possible become aware
that this danger is real not just
because of october the 9th
2019 in hala but also because of many
other horrifying events
the majority of society has to be aware
that minorities
don't feel safe in germany and much more
has to be done
those who feel threatened plan to take
action for themselves
jews like mattviats and muslim
immigrants like ismat tekken
the attacker nearly destroyed his
livelihood but now
at the age of 36 he's setting out to
remodel his bistro
set up tables in the rear room and make
it an inviting place to eat
once again
and more dishes than just kebab
we'll offer different meal combinations
every day
so people can get another perspective
many of ismet tekken's customers have
already gained another perspective on
his life
the people of hala are showing
solidarity with a bistro owner
after the attack we were going as much
as twice a week
in the long run that's not good for your
wasteland but we still try to come here
as often
as possible and ismit tekken knows he
can continue to count
on the help of igor matviaz and the
jewish community
every kebab he serves is a gesture of
defiance against hatred and violence
and for solidarity