from
Thomas Balbierer
The bruises on his body have faded and new, tender skin has grown over the scratches on his legs and knees. It’s a gray Saturday morning in Berlin, Jörg Reichel is sitting on a park bench on Unter den Linden boulevard, the ZDF capital studio in the back, a police car is parked in front of it. Few people are still on the move, but Reichel’s gaze keeps catching on passers-by. Is that one of them? Four weeks ago, the trade unionist was attacked and injured by alleged participants on the sidelines of a prohibited lateral thinking demonstration. Now the opponents of the corona policy have announced new protests and are already bustling around in various parts of the city. The police are on standby, Reichel is sitting there scanning faces. There is suspicion in his gaze. He points to two men and a woman who are a little lost across the street. “They are also part of it.” He absolutely wants to go to the demonstration, even though the attack on August 1st not only injured him physically, but also traumatized him. But that shouldn’t matter. “I’ve attended almost 250 demonstrations and I know where my limits are,” he says. “I’m not afraid.”