At eleven o’clock it became quiet in Berlin’s classrooms. The impulse from Education Senator Astrid-Sabine Busse (SPD) to hold a minute’s silence on Tuesday was taken up in countless schools. Especially since an immense number of students are directly affected by the earthquake through their family connections.
The reports from the young people are “heartbreaking”, says headmaster Engin Catik. At his Johanna Eck School in Mariendorf, too, students and employees lost relatives. Apart from the minute of silence, there are many other ways in which attempts are now being made to process what is happening. One of these ways is for the young people to collect money: “We had a bake sale all week,” reports the headmaster.
Solidarity is above political differences, that’s a nice signal.
Bunyamin BaykusHeadmaster in Spandau, has the Even loved ones lost in the quake
But there are also attempts to address the subject in class. It is often the ethics and religion lessons that are used so that the students can exchange their needs and questions. At the Johanna Eck School there are also special subjects such as “Happiness”, “Responsibility”, “Future” and “Attitude”, which are now welcome to put into words what is hardly comprehensible.
The concern is particularly great in Berlin because an above-average number of descendants of former guest workers from Turkey live here. Many of them, in turn, came after the great Turkish earthquake of 1966: They had lost everything at home, and the Turkish state arranged for them to come to Germany and, above all, to Berlin. In this respect, many of the current generation of grandparents should still know exactly what it means when an earthquake takes everything away.
Schoolchildren everywhere are starting aid and fundraising campaigns
How many of the more than 400,000 Berlin students have relatives in Turkey cannot be said because all but about 4,000 have a German passport. But there will be tens of thousands whose ancestors gained a foothold in Berlin as guest workers or as spouses. There are also around 10,000 Berlin students who only came from Syria in 2015/16. Many of them are also affected in some way by the earthquake.
“The shock caused a wave of actions,” reports Karin Kullick, who heads the Neukölln Albert-Schweitzer-Gymnasium. A large donation bazaar raised 1700 euros, and the student body decided that the money should go to “Save the children”. “Everyone took part,” says Kullick, many families came to the bazaar and also brought hygiene items, including baby powder and warm clothing, to help the homeless people who lost everything. In “every class” there are those affected, some are still worried about missing relatives.
The schools also use a lot of imagination to collect money for the earthquake areas. On Monday, for example, children from the German-Turkish Aziz European School could be seen in Bergmannkiez selling postcards, bookmarks and buttons they had made themselves. “We’re also organizing a donation purchase,” headmistress Demet Siemund reports after talking to the association.
The Syrian students should not feel forgotten
A lot of talking and explaining, that’s how he helps himself, says Bünyamin Baykus. The headmaster of the free Wilhelmstadt schools in Spandau completed the minute’s silence together with his 600 middle and high school students, with roots in 25 nations, outdoors in the schoolyard. At 10:55 a.m., everyone met outside, says Baykus, and he first explained what a minute’s silence is and why something like that is done. “And because I also have students from Syria, I emphasized how badly not only Turkey but also your country was hit,” says Baykus. Afterwards, a girl who had fled to Berlin before the Syrian civil war in 2015 thanked her for this attention with tears.
Baykus’ own thoughts still revolve around Turkey: His family comes from Elbistan, the epicenter of the quake, of all places, and has lost several relatives and acquaintances. Some family members and friends are on site to help. Baykus reports that his school community also took action immediately: Pupils sell waffles in the schoolyard – as with the flood disaster in the Ahr Valley, Baykus proudly recalls, they then personally handed over the money to an affected elementary school.
In the next few days and at the weekend there will also be a waffle stand and live music from students at the Havelpark shopping center to collect more donations. Business people in parenthood have already joined forces and organized 200 dixiklos for the disaster area. The huge solidarity, especially in the Turkish community, in the city and worldwide, helps him in his grief just as much as the many conversations, says Baykus: “She stands above political differences, that’s a nice signal.
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