Campaign Against Racism

After the pig’s head incident: “Let’s not allow ourselves to be divided”

Following the pig’s head incident: Several hundred people gathered on Tuesday evening at the Upper Town Square in Hall.(Bild: privat, Nicole Greiderer)

At a rally in Hall in Tirol, where a pig’s head and the message “Happy Ramadan, you monkeys!” had been left at the door of a Muslim family nearly two weeks ago, hundreds of people spoke out against hate and racism on Tuesday evening. The clear message from young people and retirees, Muslims and nuns, politicians and townspeople: “We will not let ourselves be divided.”

“This is naked, pure hatred,” said Bernd Leidlmair of the Social Democratic Trade Unionists (FSG) in no uncertain terms. He was one of about ten speakers listened to by several hundred people at the Upper Town Square in Hall—a colorful mix of young and old, people with and without immigrant backgrounds. 

“It shocked me incredibly”
Among the participants, some of whom were carrying signs, was Raphael. “It shocked and angered me incredibly,” explained the young man from Hall, accompanied by his friends. The topic had been widely discussed among their group in recent days. “Especially when you see the images, it takes on a whole new level of immediacy.” That is why it was important to him to show solidarity.

Sister Notburga Maringele invoked the equality of all people.(Bild: Nicole Greiderer)

Some participants brought signs.(Bild: Nicole Greiderer)

A wide variety of people gathered for the rally.(Bild: Nicole Greiderer)

Expressions of solidarity, but also criticism
Solidarity with the attacked family, and with victims of racism in general, was a recurring theme in the speeches as well. Mesut Onay from the Ali List said he was “relieved that so many people came to show the family that they are not alone.” He called for “good neighborliness” in the face of “power games involving pig’s heads.”

Something like this must never happen again—not in Hall, not in Tyrol, and nowhere in Austria.

Orhan Gurcan, ADIF

Criticism was also repeatedly directed at the police’s handling of the situation, though the family in question has since been interviewed. Their spokesperson, Orhan Gurcan of the Association of Democratic Workers from Turkey in Austria (ADIF), also praised the officers to the “Krone” for being very friendly and accommodating during the process. Nevertheless, he reiterated the demand that authorities must respond more sensitively to offenses of this nature.

Politicians and the media were also called to account, as their reporting and choice of words influence society’s view of migrants. “The danger lies not in hatred, but in habit,” explained Green Party politician Arslan. Attacks like the recent one in Hall must never become “normal.”

“We are all human beings”
Holding a burning candle in her hand, Sister Notburga Maringele of the Tertiary Sisters in Hall also made a statement. The incident had deeply affected her, and she feared a brutalization of society, she told the “Krone.” That is why she had to come here. In her speech, she summed it up with two stories from Judaism and Christianity: “Not the Christian or the Muslim, the left or the right—we must see the human being.”