RESISTANCE, SOLIDARITY AND THE FUTURE OF DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS

The world is out of joint: international law is being ridiculed, authoritarian regimes are gaining strength, human rights are being called into question, minorities are facing existential threats - in Iran, in the Middle East, but also in the centre of Europe.

How can empathy for others be fostered in such an atmosphere? Perhaps even a sense of responsibility for others when their human rights are trampled upon? What holds societies together when violence, hatred, and polarisation are on the rise? And what role do those who refuse to remain silent play in this?

he war reporter, filmmaker and human rights activist Düzen Tekkal has dedicated her life to the fight for human rights. Together with her four sisters, she has now written a kind of manifesto on how the world can be changed through „sisterhood“ in the book „Anger and Warmth“. In their book, they share their experiences as the daughters of a Yazidi Kurdish refugee family and the value of cohesion as a political compass for standing up for one's fellow human beings. In conversation with journalist Solmaz Khorsand, they discuss key questions that we need to address between the commitment to universal values and the increasingly common selective empathy: How does political courage emerge? How can solidarity become concrete? And what does it mean today to actively defend democracy and human rights?

Düzen Tekkal, multi-award-winning journalist, filmmaker and human rights activist. As a war reporter, political analyst and founder of the organisation HÁWAR.help, she has been working for years at the focal points of persecution, war and political oppression in Iraq, Syria and, most recently, with regard to political prisoners in Iran. In 2021, she was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit in Germany for her services to the promotion of democratic coexistence.

Moderation
Solmaz Khorsand, freelance journalist, podcaster and award-winning author focusing on socio-political issues.

Düzen Tekkal | Tezcan Tekkal | Tuğba Tekkal | Tülin Tekkal | Tuna Tekkal:
Water and warmth. How we are changing Germany with sisterhood
Brandstätter Publishing, March 2026, €25