One week after Jewish Portland, Oregon resident Lauren Kafka complained to her building's maintenance company about a green and yellow Star of David and the phrase "Welcome to Treblinka" painted on a second floor balcony, the graffiti has yet to be removed.
"I'm a resident here and I have to look at it four times a day. It's traumatic for me," Kafka said in an interview with the Portland Tribune.
Kafka, who lost family at Treblinka extermination camp, contacted the management company in charge of The Yards apartment building, Income Property Management Co, and received a reply on April 29. The company stated, "Your allegations have been corroborated. Remedial action has been taken," reported the Tribune.
In a May 5 message to Kafka, they labelled the graffiti as "hate speech" and a "lease violation." Kafka was offered the opportunity to transfer to a different apartment in the building or another building under their management.
"We understand that the delay in removing the writing is upsetting and frustrating," wrote Angela Henry, vice president of residential property management. "Unfortunately, it can be a timely process that involves the court system to access the unit."
Kafka, who chose not to take them up on their offer and remains in her apartment, would like to know why the graffiti has not been more promptly removed.
"It's written on the building, and he doesn't own the building," she said.