The night was ablaze; lit with our collective desires for freedom, against the prison society and the world of authority.
The Long night of Rigaerstrasse was a vibrant celebration of our strength as anti-authoritarian, self organized individuals, collectives and projects as well as a show of our resistance to the logic of authority.
On the 14th – 15th June, the Long Night of Rigaerstrasse animated the streets of Friedrichshain, Berlin in the vicinity of Rigaerstrasse. During the day there were various workshops and activities organized by the local anti-authoritarian projects including: Rigaer 94, Liebig 34, Fischladen, Rigaer 78, Schreiner and Convoy, and in the evening d.i.y. concerts and performances were held. Rigaerstrasse filled with people talking, dancing, and enjoying themselves and there was a good feeling out on the street. Our festivity only increased in the evening, as in another part of the city (Kreuzberg) an old hostel was squatted by refugees and others, another cause for celebration.
Then around 22:30 a number of cop vans gatecrashed our party. While the atmosphere was good up until this point, as they parked their vans on our street they were an ugly sight, taking up our space. Their unwelcome and repressive presence was not acceptable for us. At around the same time, news reached us that the newly squatted house in Kreuzberg had been evicted, with one refugee beaten up by the cops - a common daily occurrence for many migrants without papers.
The cops who invaded our neighborhood therefore became fitting targets for the fire that now filled the air, as barricades were erected and burned between Rigaer 94 & Liebig 34. Somehow the cobblestones lifted themselves up from their usual resting place on our streets, and found themselves tumbling onto the heads of these repressive functionaries of the state. During these moments of joyful attack, the cops didn't immediately manage to reinstate control of the situation and in vengeance against this transgression, later violently attacked people.
They aggressively beat people (including using pressure point tactics), arrested 3 people and erected massive flood lights in the street. Throughout the night small clashes with the cops continued along Rigaerstrasse in front of some of the projects. The night was long, and with fire in our bellies and rebellion in our hearts, we fought the police with the same joy as we danced.
For a free world and in solidarity with all who resist the dead embrace of authority.
Rigaer 94