A Heart Pierced by Hate: Supporting a Path Forward

Dear friends and supporters,

On June 9th, 2023, at approximately 1 pm, I I suffered a life-threatening injury at the hands of an individual with extremist right-wing beliefs. Specifically, he was a young man I knew from the town. During our conversation that afternoon, he revealed he had been consumed by Nazi ideologies. I attempted to talk him out off the cliff of his hateful beliefs, but obviously that did not work. He was prepared to do harm to foreigners and ultimately did so, stabbing me in the heart.

Thanks to the swift action of a friend who, by a stroke of fate, was passing by and helped me call emergency services, I was rushed to the hospital in the nick of time. After losing over a liter of blood, being mere minutes from a fatal outcome, and undergoing emergency open heart surgery, I'm happy and grateful to say that I am alive and on the road to recovery. The perpetrator was apprehended that same day, and a trial is to be held within 6 months of the incident.

Physically, I still deal with some significant bouts of pain and have temporary limitations, but no long-term disability is expected. Between that prognosis and being saved just in time, it is a miraculous situation--somewhat remarkable in that it was not too long before the incident that I started to believe in miracles.

Despite the miraculous aspects to the situation, I still must humbly ask for support. I was freelancing and looking for more stable work at the time of the incident, and the incident only served to destabilize that situation further. And while the insurance system in Germany ensures that I won't be burdened with exorbitant medical bills in the long-term, there are still related costs, and the psychological trauma and its implications are another journey altogether that I will have to tackle once I have my feet back under me.

Your support will help me:

There is hope for compensation from a forthcoming settlement and possibly other federal aid, but none of this will come through until after the trial, and the bills and life won't wait. Your immediate support can make all the difference in alleviating the immediate financial burden, allowing me to focus on healing, settling into a new living situation, and preparing to return to work with full strength of body and mind.

For those wishing to learn more about the incident, here is a link to a local news story. Another recent article covered my attack in the context of recent acts of radical right-wing violence in the region, linked to here.