Speak up. Even when it is uncomfortable.
Silence may feel easier in moments of crisis. But it is never neutral. In my latest monthly column for the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger, I write about what it means to speak up when war becomes personal, and why principles only matter if we are willing to defend them, even when doing so is uncomfortable.
Saturday, February 28. Like every Saturday morning, I drive to my parents to pick up the kids. As always, my father has prepared breakfast. On the way, I hear the news: the United States and Israel have attacked Iran. I immediately think of my cousin in Tehran, whom I spoke to just last week.
When I arrive, I ask my father if he already knows. He nods and hands my youngest daughter her sandwich. Then my mother comes into the kitchen. I ask her. She has not heard yet. It hits her hard. She switches on the kettle, and suddenly she starts crying. I have not seen her cry like this since I was a child. Three brothers, sisters-in-law, a niece, many friends. All in a country that is now being bombed.
I am Iranian AND German. This war affects me personally. But it concerns all of us. Not because everyone has relatives in Iran, but because what is happening there strikes at principles we all claim to stand for. Article 1 of our Basic Law states: “Human dignity shall be inviolable.” Not the dignity of Germans. The dignity of every human being.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the attacks on the same day. He referred to Article 2 of the UN Charter, which prohibits all member states from using force against the territorial integrity of another state. The Security Council convened an emergency session. The institutions have spoken. And Germany? It remains largely silent.
We, of all people, should know from our history: war means suffering. Always. For everyone. When our closest partners do something that violates the fundamental principles of the international order, silence is not neutrality. It is acquiescence.
Germany has derived a responsibility from its past that does not apply only to its own continent. “Never again” was never meant as a geographic limitation. Anyone who takes this seriously must speak up even when it feels uncomfortable and the other side is an ally.
What has surprised me recently is how few people have approached me. Those who did were cautious, almost hesitant. And still, I appreciated each one of them. Silence may be easy and comfortable. But as so often in life, what is easy and comfortable is not necessarily what is right. A sincere “How are you?” not as a formality, but with genuine interest, is enough. No one expects a political analysis. It is enough to show that you are not looking away.
The silence I am experiencing these days is something I know from organizations. It is the same attitude: do not offend, do not be wrong. Those who have learned to look away at work when injustice happens will also remain silent as citizens. The habit is the same. Leadership does not begin on a big stage. It begins in a conversation between two people who truly listen to each other.
So what should we do? Inform yourselves, not from a single source, not from a feed that only confirms what you already think. Talk about it, at the kitchen table, with colleagues, with friends. And let yourselves be guided by principles. If you have clear values, human dignity, the rule of law, the protection of civilians, then a clear statement may feel uncomfortable. But it is not complicated. Many things remain complicated only as long as no one has the courage to take a clear position. This is not naivety. It is taking a stand.
My mother cried that morning. I could not tell her that Germany is watching. But I could tell her: we are here. And we are not silent.
From nothing comes nothing.
