As of: March 28, 2024, 9:53 p.m
By: Natascha Berger
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A student (11) wins a reading competition against 21 other children. The girl experiences one thing above all online because of her headscarf: hate.
Bonn – An eleven-year-old girl has a hobby that recently made it into the news: she loves reading. The student is particularly good at reading aloud. So good that she won the German book trade's Bonn reading competition. But among the congratulatory messages there were also comments online that were characterized by racism and hatred. And that's only because the girl is wearing a headscarf.
Eleven-year-old student wins a reading competition – the internet is all about her headscarf
At the end of February, the girl prevailed against 21 other children in the city decision of the 65th reading competition in Bonn. The eleven-year-old student is now one step further and will demonstrate her reading talent at the district level in Düsseldorf in April.
Because an eleven-year-old student wore a headscarf, she received numerous hate comments online. (Symbolic image) © IMAGO / Funke Photo Services
While her parents and the Bonn high school that the eleven-year-old attends are proud of the girl, various hateful comments are gathering online. Almuth Voß from Literaturhaus Bonn, co-organizer of the competition, made
the sad extent clear to the
Bonner General-Anzeiger
:
Of almost 1,700 comments, around 400 were hateful in nature. Many reactions related to her headscarf and her origins. Right-wing slogans were also commented on.
The organizer called in the police and consistently deleted the hate comments, which have increased on social media in recent years. Coletta Manemann, head of the Office for Integration and Diversity of the City of Bonn, finds clear words for what happened around the success of the eleven-year-olds in the reading competition: The victory was their very personal achievement and a good example of participation and diversity. Responding to this with “hate mail is racist and pathetic.”
Eleven-year-old (11) receives hateful comments about headscarf: family “just doesn’t listen anymore”
The successful reader's parents were born in Egypt and both studied in Germany. The family feels comfortable in Bonn. The Rhinelanders are friendly and open people, they tell the
Bonn General-Anzeiger
. Things were different in Leipzig, Saxony, where the family lived before moving to Bonn and where the four children were born. There is a “great hatred of foreigners” there. They have now arrived in Bonn, West Germany. Nevertheless, the hate comments show the father of the family: “No matter how long you live here. You will always be an outsider.”
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Despite all the negativity surrounding the reading competition, the family tries not to let the hate affect them. The eleven-year-old's older siblings say: They already know such reactions from their school life. “We've gotten used to it and don't react at all anymore,” says one of the sisters. And the other sister also agrees, saying they “just don’t listen anymore.” Queer young people are also particularly affected by hate online.
Despite hate comments: There was also a lot of positive feedback on the eleven-year-old's reading talent
Apart from the hateful comments, there were also many congratulations for the student, explains Almuth Voß in the
Bonner General-Anzeiger
. The Literaturhaus has received many inquiries from book publishers who would like to send the girl book packages or vouchers.
Despite all the new books, the eleven-year-old is now devoting herself to a recommendation from her sister. The book “Miracle” by RJ Palacio, which has already been made into a film starring Julia Roberts and Owen Wilson. The novel tells a story about exclusion. “We’ve all read that. We recognize ourselves in it,” says one of the sisters.
(nbe)