An assistant to an AFD parliament member of German state of North Rhine Westphalia suddenly collapsed during prolonged parliamentary commission meeting. A Social Democrat party MP with Turkish origins who previously happened to be a nurse immediately ran for help. After 12 minutes of cardiac massage, the AFD official’s heart revived and he was already conscious when the medics arrived. The reason why the incident went viral in Germany shows political polarization has transcended simple human values.
“I am not a hero. I just carried out a simple human duty. My simple humane help receiving so much attention shows how the social environment in the country has changed,” said Serdar Yuksel, the “hero” who saved the far-right AFD official.
German party AFD is known for its anti-refugee and xenophobic stance and has been on the rise ever since the refugee influx into Germany started a few years back. Variety of party officials have also made anti-Turkish remarks in the past year. However, those facts did not stop Serdar Yuksel whose ancestors moved to Germany from Turkey decades ago from running for help to save the AFD member.
Yuksel said he was shocked by receiving hundreds of messages and phone calls after the incident. “We are not supposed to forget we are all human beings regardless of our religion or ethnic background,” he reiterated.
Diaspora Daily 