“Remember. Thoughts. Thank you. ”With this motto, 300 people came together on Saturday in the spa gardens in Bad-Neuenahr Ahweiler for an ecumenical service for the flood victims.
Around 300 people came to the ecumenical servicePhoto: Reinhard Roskaritz
Under a banner symbolically flickered red grave candles with dried mud sticking to them. While pianist Violina Petrychenko played pieces by Piazzolla and Bach, some of the guests in the audience wept.
Mayor Guido Orthen: “During the flood night, the world in the Ahr valley came to a standstill. 134 lost their lives, hundreds were seriously injured. 3 are still missing. Gaps have appeared in our lives, but people are not forgotten. They have left their mark, live on in our hearts. Nobody goes back to business unharmed. People have lost their houses, apartments, jobs and livelihoods. It is important now to look ahead to the structure. The people we lost would have wanted that too. “
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Courage to look ahead: Mayor Guido OrthenPhoto: Reinhard Roskaritz
City Armed Forces chief Marcus Mandt: “Rescue, extinguish, rescue, protect. We are always called when nothing works. But we were powerless against the Ahr. A feeling we don’t know. We were still able to save many people. But it gnaws at our psyche. The fire brigade was, is and will always be there. “
City Armed Forces Chief Marcus MandtPhoto: Reinhard Roskaritz
Dean Jörg Meyrer: recalled the great willingness to help: “The excursion paradise that we called home has been destroyed. We are grateful for the help, 50,000 helpers came to us. How should we have lived without her? Then God came on two legs, with gripping hands, a friendly smile and open ears. The helpers are our light. “
Dean Jörg Meyrer thanked the many helpersPhoto: Reinhard Roskaritz
Finally, all volunteers from the fire brigades, THW, paramedics and rescue services thanked each other.
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