Racism is a big problem
But it's often hidden well
A night something happened
He slipped on the ice and fell

It felt so unreal and sad
Never to forget that day
A friend called and told me
How his life was ripped away

Pursued by a handful of nazis
That chilly Thursday night
They caught up when he fell
For his life he had to fight

But what odds did he have
He was just one against five
Maybe if someone had helped
He would still be alive

Everything happened so fast
He had been meeting with a mate
Together they started running
His friend realized it too late

Never did he hear his friend fall
Certain he was right by his side
When he turned and saw what happened
Then his friend had almost died

Judging the situation from a distance
Going back would get him killed too
So he had to stand and watch it
How his friend was stabbed by two

And this boy was only fifteen
He had his whole life ahead
Being most unfortunate one night
Meeting nazis that want someone dead

Much talk of getting revenge
Both from dark skinned and light
Everyone walked around in fear
Of what went on each night

Instead nothing bad happened
People were opening their eyes
Fight against racism blossomed
Because a kid slipped on the ice

Never to be forgotten
That late Thursday night
That cold day in January
When you couldn't keep on running
for your life...

Lisabeth - 26.02.04

The poem is based on a true story. 15 year old Benjamin was stabbed to death after being chased by some nazis. The nazis didn't have any reason why they went after Benjamin and his friend that night. They said they just wanted to have some fun. A cold Thursday, at the end of January 2001 this boy's life was ripped away, just because he was different...

Benjamin and his friend had been meeting in the late evening coz one just had something to give to the other. When they had seen the nazis pull over they had quickly realized it was a good idea to get away, so they started running. Benjamin's friend was sure they were running together, but after they had jumped over a fence, Benjamin fell on the ice on the other side, which his friend didn't notice. His friend blamed himself for Benjamin's death. After this happened, he couldn't eat or sleep for weeks. No one understood why it happened, and I don't think anyone understands it still, nor wants to understand.

Why am I writing about this? I have some friends that were really close to Benjamin, it was awful to see what happened to them and others. Since Benjamin was killed for no reason, others wondered what would happen next. Some spoke of revenge, to get back at anyone fair skinned, while others were ready to get back at anyone dark skinned, if anything happened to anyone fair skinned. A lot were afraid to go out at night, worried what could happen to both themselves and their friends. Fortunately nothing happened, and after a couple of weeks everything went back to 'normal'.

A week after his death, his mother along with his closest friends arranged a parade. Over 20.000 showed up in the freezing rain to show their support, against racism. The next day many also showed up for the memorial concert held for him, close to where he lived. The concert had also been arranged by his friends.

R.I.P. Benny

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Poem written February 26th 2004, by Lisabeth. Text written March 2nd 2004. Page designed by Liz (02.03.04) with images from paid cd collection. Candles by Lyns, used with permission. Designed with and for 1024x768.
©2004-2005, Liz Vefall