The first African-born MP to enter the German parliament has announced he will not be standing in next year’s federal election, weeks after he revealed the hate mail, including racist slurs and death threats, he and his staff had received.
Karamba Diaby, 62, who entered the Bundestag in 2013 in a moment hailed as historic by equality campaigners, said he wanted to spend more time with his family and to make room for younger politicians.
Diaby said the racist slurs and death threats were “not the main reasons” for his decision, having frequently emphasised he would not be cowed by threats. But they are widely believed they have played a part.
He has increasingly faced racist abuse in recent years. His constituency office in Halle, Saxony Anhalt, has been an arson target, and has had bullets fired through the window. Some staff have faced blackmail attempts to stop them working for him and have been subjected to and threats, Diaby said.
It sucks, for sure. As an American, I went through this back in 2016, and in the years since - with another notable wave occurring after January 6th.
It’s frustrating, but I genuinely do feel a moral duty to aggressively shun and abuse fascists, no matter how long I’ve known them or how I’m related to them before I found out.
It’s not just a moral duty, it’s a damn duty for your country. Those idiots shouting “We are the true patriots” have lost everything both our countries stood for since we lost the war and you won it. The respect for people, the respect for different cultures, the knowledge that many of the laws our societes stand on are written in blood - hell, the respect to disagree and the ability do have different opinions.