Journalist Güner Y. Balci initiated a postcard campaign against so-called honor killings in the Berlin girls' club "MaDonna," in early 2005, after a young Turkish woman was killed on the streets of Berlin by her brother. Balci asked young people to let themselves be photographed for it. Seventeen-year-old Sinan and his one year younger friend Saithan immediately agreed.

They thought it was important to publicly set an example against violence and repression. "Honor is fighting for my sister's freedom!" read the slogan on the postcard, of which 20,000 were printed and circulated last year.

The boys didn't inform their families. They assumed that their parents and relatives would not find out about it. But when the first article about the campaign appeared in the spring of 2005, media interest grew. In autumn, Saithan and Sinan won the taz newspaper's "Panther Prize," an award for civil courage.

The German and European press celebrated Saithan and Sinan as heroes, and media outlets asked them to appear on TV. At the same time they were forced to deal with the ambivalent reactions of those around them.

Suspicious of publicity

Their parents discovered what their sons were doing by chance, when they appeared on a television show.

"Sinan's father thought Sinan was celebrating my birthday at my place," Saithan explained. "And my parents thought I was invited to a birthday party at Sinan's. Then they suddenly saw us on the TV screen."

Saithan was lucky. His parents were not enthusiastic about their son's presence in the media, but they agreed with his engagement. "My mother is proud of me."