In July 1991, two youths punched Karamba Diaby in the face and chased
after him in a racist attack in Halle, an eastern German town with a
significant neo-Nazi problem. Now he's about to campaign in the city to
"It could be that some people have problems with the color of my skin," he told SPIEGEL. "But I hope I will be accepted because I am involved in many projects."
Diaby gained German citizenship in 1991, is married to a German and has two children. He doesn't like talking about what campaigning is like for a black person in Germany. He doesn't want to belittle the problem of racism in eastern Germany, but he doesn't want to accuse all voters of racism either. He'd prefer just to be able to ignore his origins and to focus the campaign on his pet issues like education, social justice and the environment.
Rampant Racism
That may not be possible though. Two years ago, the right-wing newspaper Junge Freiheit printed a photo of him on its front page and shortly afterwards Diaby, who was working on a project to help immigrants integrate into German society, was showered with abusive letters calling him a "Nigger" and telling him to "get back into the bush."
But he adds that he won't let himself be intimidated. "I'm an authentically eastern German politician," says Diaby.
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