Germans mourn young heroine who died helping teens

Flowers and wreaths cover the grave of Tugce Albayrak in Bad-Soden Salmuenster, Germany, Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2014. Tugce had been in a coma since mid-November following an altercation at a restaurant in Offenbach near Frankfurt. AP

BERLIN, Germany — Mourners flocked to the funeral Wednesday of a young German-Turkish woman who has become a symbol of civic courage for giving her life trying to protect two teenage girls.

Calls have mounted in a mass online campaign for Tugce Albayrak, 23, to be posthumously awarded the Federal Order of Merit for her bravery in stepping in to help the teens being victimized in a fast food restaurant fracas.

Chancellor Angela Merkel has expressed support for the proposal to present the award which has garnered nearly 170,000 signatures in an online petition.

After confronting a group of men who were harassing the girls last month, the student teacher received a blow to the head that sent her into a coma.

Her family switched off her life support system on Friday, her 23rd birthday, sparking a wave of sympathy in Germany, in both social and mainstream media, and widespread revulsion over the attack.

At the funeral service, German and Turkish flags fluttered in the wind as around 1,000 mourners fell silent for prayers in a ceremony conducted according to Islamic rites and televised live.

The premier of western Hesse state joined the mourners who were bundled up warmly against icy temperatures for the service outside a mosque in the town of Waechtersbach.

The coffin was then taken for burial in nearby Bad Soden-Salmuenster, where Albayrak was born.

‘Role model’

A surveillance video posted online by German Bild daily shows the November 15 incident in the car park outside the McDonald’s restaurant in the town of Offenbach near Frankfurt.

It is unclear whether the young woman suffered the head injury from being struck by her attacker or in the subsequent fall.

An 18-year-old man is in custody and an investigation is under way.

The two teenage girls contacted police at the weekend after appeals to come forward but investigators have not divulged information about their statements.

Newspapers have hailed Albayrak as a role model in a country that is home to about three million people of Turkish origin, but which often struggles with its identity as a multicultural society.

President Joachim Gauck described her in a condolence letter to her family as having shown “bravery and civil courage in an exemplary way” and said she would always remain “a role model”.

Merkel has “great sympathy” for the idea of presenting the national award, her spokesman told reporters, but added that it was up to the German president to decide.

German media have closely followed the tragic fate of the attractive 23-year-old, including a tribute by a Frankfurt footballer who lifted his shirt after scoring to reveal the message ‘Tugce=#civilcourage #angel #courage #respect.

The tragedy has sparked a public outpouring of sympathy and grief, with a candlelit vigil held Friday outside the hospital where she was treated.

Bild said all of Germany was mourning the brave young woman “who stepped in when others only looked away”.

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