Now living in fear

Pig’s head found outside Muslim family’s door

Accompanied by a hateful message, a pig’s head was found early Thursday morning outside the door of a Muslim family in Hall in Tirol. The police have confirmed the racist incident.(Bild: privat)

A Turkish family found a severed pig’s head and a note reading “Happy Ramadan, you monkeys!” in front of their apartment in Hall in Tirol. The police have launched an investigation, and the mayor of Hall has offered a reward of 10,000 euros for a decisive tip.

When the mother of the five-member Turkish-Muslim family was about to leave for work last Thursday around 4:30 a.m., she made the gruesome discovery: a pig’s head on the ground, and a note on the door reading “Happy Ramadan, you monkeys!” “I was very frightened and screamed. My daughter and husband then came to me. My daughter is 15; I really wanted to spare her from seeing this,” the woman described in a statement.

Car tires slashed, power cut off
The family wishes to remain anonymous—out of fear, as Orhan Gurcan of ADIF Innsbruck, the Association of Democratic Workers from Turkey in Austria, explains: They have been subjected to repeated attacks in recent years. Gurcan speaks of destroyed car tires and the electricity being cut off while the family was on vacation, causing the freezer to defrost.

“They went to the police several times and also wanted to install cameras in the hallway, but the property management won’t allow it.” The police could neither confirm nor deny previous incidents for privacy reasons.

Accompanied by a hateful message, a pig’s head was found early Thursday morning outside the door of a Muslim family in Hall in Tirol. The police confirmed the racist incident.(Bild: privat)

The animal’s head had been severed.(Bild: privat)

A note was taped to the door reading: “Happy Ramadan, you monkeys!”(Bild: privat)

Police questioning nine days later
In this latest case, the family also contacted the police. But, according to their criticism: “Unfortunately, they barely listened to us.” They were told that another person had already reported the racist incident and that the police would first question that person. “We explained that the incident was directed specifically at us and asked that they please speak with us,” the mother’s statement reads. They were sent home with nothing more than an email address to which they were to send photos—the pig’s head had already been disposed of by that point. 

The police state: “An informal, verbal interview and recording of the statements of those involved took place at the time the report was filed.” The facts of the case were reportedly forwarded to the district attorney’s office that very same day. The family now has a date set for questioning: this coming Saturday, nine days after the incident. According to the police, the timing of the questioning depends on the status of the investigation.

I was shocked that something like this is possible. This is appalling.

Christian Margreiter, Bürgermeister von Hall in Tirol

Mayor Offers Private Reward
Hall’s Mayor Christian Margreiter has offered a reward of 10,000 euros for the decisive tip leading to the perpetrator: “Because this upsets me so much. This is a malicious act by deluded people.” Margreiter assumes that the police will be able to track down the perpetrator. “The head looks to me like that of a suckling pig. When one is roasted, there are usually a lot of people around. So perhaps there’s a chance to get closer to the truth.”

The police are investigating an unknown suspect on suspicion of denigrating religious teachings; for tactical reasons, no further details have been released at this time.

Anyone with relevant information is asked to contact the Hall in Tirol Police Station (059133/7110).