Serpil Temiz Unvar’s son Ferhat was one of nine people killed in Hanau, Germany on February 19, 2020. The shooter, motivated by racist beliefs, targeted places popular with immigrant communities.
Unvar and close friends founded Bildungsinitiative Ferhat Unvar, an education initiative, on November 14, 2020 in memory of her son.
Unvar said her late son had proposed a program to educate children in schools about opposing racism and promoting democracy. “That’s what we did, and now it’s being taught in schools,” she told Rudaw’s Diaspora program that aired on Friday.
The goal of Bildungsinitiative Ferhat Unvar is to combat structural and everyday racism and promote a society where, in its words, “no child is ever again killed by the hand of a racist terrorist.”
Unvar has actively promoted democracy through peer‑led anti‑racism workshops and educational outreach across schools and communities and she has recently received two honors.
She was named an Ambassador for Democracy and Tolerance by Germany’s Federal Agency for Civic Education in May. The ambassadors are recognized for their commitment to democracy and combatting extremism and violence. Unver was named an ambassador for her fight against hatred.
In June she received the Volunteer Service Award from GVV Kommunalversicherung in Cologne for her dedication to democracy and diversity.
Unvar, who was born in Turkey, said she has traveled to several countries and met with presidents but has yet to return to her homeland.
“I haven’t been able to go back to Kurdistan and see my homeland,” she said.
She has met with Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani, who she said told her she was “struggling for [her] nation’s cause” and opposing extremist nationalism.
