Racist Assault in Berlin
The German newspaper the Spiegel reports that a woman threw a 19-year old Angolan man in front of an approaching train in Berlin on Sunday. That’s newsworthy in itself, but what’s even more newsworthy is that police said that the woman pushed the black man in front of the train because she’s a racist.
The incident occurred in the Frankfurter Allee local S-Bahn train station in eastern Berlin. The woman first approached the victim and hit him while he was entering the station at 6:55 a.m. on Sunday morning, police said.
“Minutes later on the platform, she suddenly pushed him onto the tracks. In doing so she is said to have shouted out racist and xenophobic abuse,” police said in a statement. Bild newspaper reported that she called the man a “shit nigger.”
Luckily for the innocent victim, he was able “to scramble off the track with the help of two passers-by seconds before the train arrived.” The engine driver “saw the incident, and operated the emergency brake but said he would not have been able to stop the train in time.”
The woman was later arrested while she was sitting in another train, waiting for it to depart.
The Spiegel adds that “Sunday’s attack is the latest in a series of racially motivated assaults
Read that article linked to in the above paragraph. It’s… troubling.
The eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt, which had the highest incidence of far-right attacks in Germany last year, has launched a parliamentary inquiry into the region’s police force following accusations that it has failed to investigate racist assaults properly.
The probe comes at a time of heightened public awareness of right-wing extremism in the east of Germany, following last month’s attack on eight Indian men
(more…) in the neighboring state of Saxony by a group of Germans shouting “Foreigners out!”
Police don’t seem to be too willing to investigate hate crimes like this, leading the average reader – like myself – to conclude that they’re probably sympathetic towards neo-nazis (eastern Germany isn’t exactly racist-free one could say).
It’s an article of September 2007, but still. One gets the distinct impression that racism is on the rise in Germany. And to say that this is troubling would be an understatement especially considering – yes – the country’s past.
From my personal experience, racism seems to be quite common in East Germany, including police. This is interesting, because very few immigrants live there. In West Germany, maybe 30% of the population have a background in immigration (they emigrated themselves or one of their parents did, ethnic Germans from other countries included) and there is much less racism here in the West than over there in the East.
This reminds me of Reform Rabbi and Holocaust survivor Leo Baeck’s statement: "If there had been a Jew in every family, the Holocaust would not have been possible."
If the East Germans actually knew immigrants as friends, human beings and family members, I think their attitudes would be different.
That could very well be the case AAB. Your idea is also supported by something I have noticed in the Netherlands: people in (small) villages, often are more prejudiced then those living in (the big) cities.
Having said that… Rotterdam, for instance, is a hotbed of people who are very critical with regards to immigration and integration. You could also call many people living their prejudices (or even racist). Yet, Rotterdam has a lot of immigrants.
I am not sure what the actual situation is in detail in Rotterdam. Do immigrants and people of Dutch origin live together or are there strongly ethnical areas? Do people feel their quality of life is harmed by immigration?
Statistics from Vienna for exmple have shown that people who depend on the social system themselves are more likely to vote for the neonazi FPÖ party than middle and upper class. The unemployed do not have the opportunity to forge friendships with immigrants at work, at the same time, they are afriad that immigration might make them lose their benefits.
Going a bit off topic, I think everyone who is able to work should work. We might pay them negative income taxes or whatever, but giving money to people who do nothing should only be an option for people who are unable to work for health reasons.
Hm, yes and yes I guess. "They’ve taken over entire neighborhoods," you often hear people say.
We can see the same thing happening here. The lowly educated ones are the ones voting for the far-right parties. They feel more threatened I think.
I agree with that and I think that Western Europe made a dramatic mistake by allowing immigrants not to work, yet receive money. One of the reason that immigrants in the US are better integrated is that they have to integrate; otherwise they can’t find a job, and if they don’t work they don’t have any money.
I have lived in Germany for many years and not found much racism at all (my wife is Asian), although we found people in the US a little more open and friendly overall.
Now, I haven’t spent much time in the Eastern half of Germany, but still, sometimes I am amazed at how much Germans bend over backwards to accomodate foreigners and minorites (too much, in my opinion).
Of course any country has its share of idiots and Germans are no exception, especially when they’ve been drinking.
As far as the story in the train station goes, I am a little skeptical until I hear more or have a little more information about the woman - I have seen too many stories on "racist" attacks later turn out to be hoaxes, lover’s quarrels, or mentally ill people instead.
Well, I am from Southeast Asia & studying in a city in the former East Germany. I have exactly two racist incidents. Both include groups of young people shouting "Nigger" at me.
For those who wants to know, the german word for nigger is Neger.
I wore black jacket & sweater both times but I don’t think they allude to my clothing.
I took martial arts lessons right after that! There’s no way I’m gonna let them beat me up. I’d do some damage to them too…
The thing is…MOST of the people here are VERY nice. Just a few…but still it’s frightening.
This is a city of 200k people. I seldom venture to the countryside, when I did, I made sure I was home before dark…
And yes…I am traumatic because of the two incidents. Even when I travel to the cities in the west, I made sure I am never alone after dark.
Just my two cents
In my opinion, German society is racist to its core. The phenomenon of a few violent thugs attacking immigrants/minorities/foreigners is only part of the problem – the rest of the rejectionist attitude towards others can be noticed in the openly intolerant rhetoric of the German political establishment, the press, media and the attitudes of many ordinary Germans who view the very presence of minorities and foreigners to their “Leitkultur” and frequent accuse them of failing to “integrate” simply for trying to maintain their identity.
Hi all,
I’m a black female lawyer from London and I’ve been asked by my company ot relocate to Berlin. In my investiagtions I’ve hear very few positive comments as regards integration and acceptance of foreigners in Berlin.
If I’m honest, I’m now more that a little frightened. I’m due to move in about 6 weeks and I am now seriously re-considering this as an option – is Berlin a safe place for a single, black, female, professional?