Neo-nazi victims to be remembered with Turkish poet's work

Hurriyet.com.tr

A poem by Nazım Hikmet (L) will be read in the ceremony, attended by German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Hürriyet, AFP photos

A poem by Turkish poet Nazım Hikmet will be read at a ceremony tomorrow to remember the victims of a neo-Nazi terrorist organization in the German capital.
 
The ceremony will be hosted by German Chancellor Angela Merkel as the German presidency seat is currently vacant, reports said. 
 
Merkel is set to deliver an opening speech which will followed by the reading of the poem "Davet" (Invitation) by prominent Turkish poet Nazım Hikmet in Turkish and in German. The poem will be read by Semiya Şimşek and Gamze Kubaşık, daughters of the first and eighth victims of the neo-Nazi terrorist organization National Socialist Underground (NSU), respectively. 
 
Nazım Hikmet's poem, which calls for peace and freedom for mankind, includes the lines, which could be translated into English as:  
 
“To live! Like a tree alone and free
Like a forest in brotherhood...”
 
An orchestra will play pieces from Turkish composer Cemal Reşit Rey and Johann Sebastian Bach.
 
Twelve candles will be lit in the ceremony; 10 for victims of the NSU, one for all past victims of racist attacks and one will be lit to give light to the country so that other racist murders do not take place, the report said. 
 
The NSU is accused of killing eight Turks, one Greek and one German policewoman in a racist killing spree that lasted for just over a decade. 
 
Germany apologized for not being able to prevent the deaths and failing to link the murders to right-wing extremists.