In Grevesmühlen, 460 people gathered to form a human chain following a racist attack. The aim was not just to make a statement.
The symbol of solidarity in Grevesmühlen are short, colorful fabric ropes. On Thursday afternoon, you can follow them through the entire prefabricated housing estate on Ploggenseering; around 460 Grevesmühlen residents grab the ropes at one end and hold on to them. And with them, they also believe that their small town is more than what it has been in the news across Germany for in recent days.
There, Grevesmühlen was primarily known as the place where children and young people wear combat boots and shaved heads. Last Friday, some of them tried to knock over a little girl with Ghanaian roots on her scooter and later made racist insults to her family.
It is not the case that right-wing extremist youths in Grevesmühlen had particularly hidden their views before last Friday. According to the police, they chanted xenophobic slogans at a town festival, and some of them presented themselves on Instagram with the Hitler salute. star Several students at the school at Ploggenseering reported that children and young people with a migrant background are regularly insulted by their classmates.
“Go to the Bürgerpark after 9 p.m.,” whispers one resident. Right-wing youth groups are said to meet there regularly. “Then you’ll know what’s going on here.” But most people from Grevesmühlen don’t go to the Bürgerpark after 9 p.m.
It can be painful when the place where you live, or perhaps even grew up, makes negative headlines across the country. Some people therefore resort to rumours: “Were the perpetrators even German?” asks one. The police say: Yes, the suspects did not have a migrant background.
Settlement in Grevesmühlen: Here people with and without a migration background live together
© Alexander Schreiber/stern
The human chain is also about regaining the power of interpretation
Others are trying to regain control of their town with the human chain on Thursday. Mayor Prahler, for example, says that “numerous companies, institutions, clubs and private individuals” have demanded that the town send a clear message. For tolerance, against racism. The truth is that Grevesmühlen, 15 minutes by car from the Baltic coast, also lives from tourism, and the negative reporting is a risk for the local economy.
But there is more: There is another Grevesmühlen that is completely different from what it seems from the outside. There is “Das Eck”, for example, an open art space that brings refugees and locals together in projects. There is the owner of a kebab shop who says that young people are always friendly to him. Or the schoolgirl who walks through town with a jute bag from a left-wing party and says: Of course, many of her classmates have a completely different political view, but she has never had any problems because of it.
Already on Monday, some Grevesmühlen residents tried to counteract the impression that racism dominated the town. More than a hundred of them gathered at the edge of the football field of the club “Einheit Grevesmühlen”, where the father of the family from Ghana also trains. On a self-painted banner one could read: “Against violence, solidarity.” Another club in Grevesmühlen also condemned the attack and announced the exclusion of young people who were involved in the attack, such as the star experienced on site.
Signs of tolerance: These posters were distributed at the sports field in Grevesmühlen
© Valentin Dreher/stern
The human chain in the prefabricated housing estate is intended to underline this once again. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern’s Minister of Culture Bettina Martin (SPD) also came there. She joined the line, and is just one of many this evening. The agreement with the mayor: There should be no political speeches this evening so that no one feels excluded from the event. That is what we hear from the town hall. star Minister Martin said before the event: “We must remember We will never get used to incidents like the one in Grevesmühlen.”
And she warns: “Concrete measures are needed, which of course cannot be limited to pure symbolism. This includes many areas, from education to youth and social work to law enforcement.” She now wants to discuss with “everyone involved” whether more can be done in these areas.
Mayor of Grevesmühlen: “We can’t reach everyone”
For Mayor Prahler, this also means pressure from the very top. In the meantime, he is trying to limit the damage. After all, he has already done a lot to prevent racism in Grevesmühlen: The city has hired more school social workers, runs a youth club with the Diakonie and supports anti-racist projects. With regard to the attack, however, Prahler admits: “It is clear that we cannot reach everyone with these projects and constant offers.”
The incident in Proggenseering has long since become a political issue, probably also because the police initially portrayed the attack as more brutal than it was according to current investigations. On Friday, the police announced that the eight-year-old Ghanaian girl had been kicked in the face. The police later had to backtrack: no such kick had taken place. For the officers, this is a PR disaster. But Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser (SPD) was also quick to condemn the incident as a “brutal attack” and spoke of “unbelievable inhumanity”. This caused mockery online after the police made a correction.
Racist attack: Video apparently shows part of the confrontation in Grevesmühlen
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What is certain, however, is that a young man shouted at the Ghanaian family: “You little n**** pig! Keep being so cheeky and I’ll give you a slap!” This can be clearly heard on a video that was made available to both the star as well as the police.
Police investigate for assault and incitement
After that, things get confusing: Apparently, there was a physical altercation between the group and the family. The police are investigating several of the young people for assault, insults and incitement. According to the police, the investigation is also looking into whether one of the young people was carrying a knife. But a counter-charge has also been filed against the girl’s father.
The prefab building on Lake Ploggen is not just the crime scene. It is the home of the Ghanaian family, as well as that of some of the suspected perpetrators who live just a few houses away. The message of the human chain goes to all of them: We, who stand for solidarity and against racism, are here in the majority – at least for one afternoon.