Semra Ertan

Semra Ertan, born in Mersin/Turkey, in 1972 she moved to join her parents, who were living as labour migrants in West Germany. In 1982 she died in Hamburg. Ertan wrote over 350 poems and several satires. Out of this bundle of works, her sister Zühal Bilir-Meier and her niece Cana Bilir-Meier have initially published 82 poems in the volume Mein Name ist Ausländer/Benim Adım Yabancı (My Name Is Foreigner, edition assemblage) in German and in Turkish. In her texts she denounces racism, classism and ableism, and advocates for equal rights for the sexes.  She calls for solidarity and resistance, writing about love, rebellion, work, friendship and hope for a better present and future.