Author: G Sudhakar Nair in Berlin
Publication: Rediff on Net
Date: December 31, 2000
Hounded by neo-Nazis and uprooted
from their home, an Indian family got a new lease of life in Berlin with
the help of several German well-wishers.
Jarnail Singh, 44, who owned a restaurant
called 'Gandhi', his German wife Ramona, and their four children are slowly
regaining their bearings in the capital after being forced to flee the
town of Meerane in the eastern state of Saxony in early October, some days
after a thrashing by extremists.
The couple have four children --
three sons and a daughter.
An official in the German foreign
ministry led the attempt to rehabilitate the shaken family and allowed
them to stay in her private flat till they were able to get new accommodation.
Though three months have passed
since the assault on Singh's family at the restaurant by skinheads, the
incident continues to haunt them after they were virtually driven away
by the extremists.
"Is he good or bad?" five-year-old
Jimi, the youngest child, asks his parents every time he sees a bald head
on the streets. Neo-Nazi elements usually have clean-shaven heads.
The Singhs and their eldest son
Jan were thrashed in the presence of the other three children by about
a dozen far-right extremists who demanded food free after barging into
his restaurant.
Uncharitable remarks were made against
Gandhi as the skinheads hurled expletives at the terrified family.
They also shouted anti-foreigner slogans and forced Singh to close down
the restaurant.
The attack was just the culmination
of a day of unpleasant incidents for the Singhs. While the children
were bullied by right-wing extremist youths on their way to school, Singh
himself was abused in the restaurant.
Though Indian nationals were not
specifically targeted in the xenophobic violence that jolted Germany in
2000, the Singh incident was among the four reported cases of attack on
Indians living in the country.
"They still cry each time they have
to tell the story," said the Berlin lawyer of the family, Ferdinand von
Schirach.
Ramona, who sustained head injuries,
said, "One tries to come to grips with normal life, but I think it will
take some time."
Offers of help have poured in.
A charity dinner was organised by Berlin businessmen and apartment associations
offered flats while individuals offered furniture and money. The
family received about DM 10,000 (about Rs 200,000) in donations from various
persons and institutions.
Singh is now looking to lease a
restaurant in Berlin. He sometimes yearns to return to his home in
Punjab, but says he would like to see at least two of his sons, Jan and
Sem, finish their schooling first.
Ramona, 35, said the attack had
left a deep impact on the minds of her children, though their new school
in Berlin was helping them forget it.
PTI