Never R.I.P. -
Dorfplatz stays loud and dirty!
We want to add our points of view and perspective to the already published texts about the „Lange Nacht der Rigaer Straße“.
Friday
To start the „long night“ we had a discussion-event in the XB, where we were talking about the development of the squatting movement in the past 25 years and today. Here, we talked about the Mobivideo for the „long night“ and – beside other questions – discussed, why our fights are not like the one in Mainzerstrasse anymore and what our squats means for the kiez nowadays. We also discussed which function they could have for the scene and the neighborhood and which functions they really have right now.
They appear like foreign objects in the gentrificated neighborhood. Are they examples for the possibility of collective living under affordable conditions, or are they subcultural spaces, which are even contributing gentrification because of their exotic appearance?
We would have liked that more people from the „kiez“ or other projects would have taken part in the discussion. Having many open questions about our behavior in the „kiez“, like how to act towards the neighbors, etc., we see the need for a wider discussion and are hoping for it to happen in another moment.
Due to the rising rents, basing on the growing luxury and private flats („ziegert“ and co., „bambiland“), our neighbors have to move away and we're having the feeling to lose the contact to our neighborhood. At the same time, there are new neighbors we don't want to have contact to. So, we feel somehow like islands in the capitalist sea, even if we have to admit that we're also living a compromise, having a shitty contract, despite comparatively low rent and the opportunity to try to outlive as a larger collective. Are we even able to build up a connection to our neighborhood? Is everyone around us rich and hip? Or are they solidary? Do the people from Liebig14 even know why we are annoyed by them? Could it be, that we need our neighbors support in the future? We would like to discuss all those questions with other people.
We wish for more connections in the street and hope that the „long night“ helped to push that a bit forward.
Saturday
On Saturday we liked that – despite the bad weather - the street was crowded and that there was finally some life on the „dorfplatz“ again.
We all knew that the cops would come and try to make our „long night“ shorter and they partly managed to do so. But at the same time people were prepared, managed to surprise the cops and made them loose the control over the street in some moments.
We want to greet all people who got arrested and hurt: If you are facing any repressions, let us know and we'll do our best to help you!
As we were hoping to organize something in the street, to bring many people on the street and to take spaces for us, we're overall having a good feeling, since this worked out fine in many moments.
Being honest we have to say, that our goal for the „long night“ has not been to connect with neighbors who are not related to the scene. This would have been nice, but the whole thing was just not conceived for that.
The infoevent was an event for the scene (not because we decided this, but because we didn`t do anything to invite the neighbors) and we guess that we are generally more out-of-favor by the neighbors then before. At the latest when the sun was going down we stopped trying to be open.
This is not a critique: we think this is ok, as the focus was to take back the street, have fun and to show that we will fight for our places. But we want to note, that there are also other concepts or perspectives, which could be brought up in a wider discussion about the changes in the kiez, gentrification, rent, repression, etc. Maybe for next time?
Sunday
Until now, we could only read lots of grout in the newspapers about Sunday, so we want to say some words about that day, especially as only a few people know what was going on.
In the afternoon, some people met for a little rave on the „dorfplatz“. The atmosphere was relaxed, the people were in a good mood (at least the ones who like techno), the dorfplatz was colorful and a few kilograms of confetti did their best.
Two hours later, 50 masked people have been seen on the „dorfplatz“.
As the cops didn`t like the party at all, they came from three sides, started first to destroy the decoration and then „freed“ the street from two couches. Then they started to stress the people, probably full of frustration from the night before.
While doing so, they gave several dismissals, made ID-controlls, placed a flood light and arrested 5 people.
The masked people who built barricades and attacked the cops with bottles we could read about in the newspapers, were protagonists in a story told by the cops, probably invented because they started to feel a bit stupid between all the confetti (which the BSR tried to remove with an excavator...)
Trying to provoke, the cops stayed with several cars and civil police until Monday.
But all in all it was a nice party, thanks to all people before and behind the barricades who supported us during the weekend!
As far as we know, 14 people were hit by repression. They meant us all, so let's face it all together. We hope to have a productive reflection and many „long nights“ in Rigaerstreet and everywhere!
Your anarcha-feminist Liebig34