BERLIN In German With Kübra C around his neck is a silver necklace in the shape of the old Palestinian territory. “Palestine” is written on it in Arabic. Israel is not drawn on it.
Kübra also has watermelon earrings, a Palestinian scarf and henna tattooed the pattern of the scarf on her right hand. Watermelon is considered the symbol of Palestine.
met Kübra on Wednesday, when he was preparing for yet another demonstration supporting the Palestinians in Berlin.
Two months ago, Kübra was kicked in the stomach by a policeman and was hospitalized after filming one of the protests on the front line opposite the police.
“Nazis out, Nazis out”, echoes rhythmically in the video of the incident. Who was meant by that?
– Police officers, says Kübra.
This is shouted because Kübra and the other demonstrators think that the police in Berlin are racist and behave violently towards Muslims.
There are usually counter-protesters, i.e. supporters of Israel, and they are protected by the police, according to Kübra.
According to Kübra, the policeman first looked him “brutally” in the eyes during the demonstration. Then he pushed his colleague aside with his hand and kicked Kübra in the stomach.
The video shows how Kübra then falls to the ground, holding himself against him, and the other protesters form a ring to protect him.
According to Kübra, there were more kicks. The recording does not show who kicked.
After that, the doctors who were among the demonstrators helped Kübra and then called an ambulance. At the hospital, Kübra underwent thorough examinations. According to him, several internal bleedings were found.
The police have the right to hit
There are many similar videos online.
Berlin police spokesman By Beate Ostertag according to the police were only doing their job in the situation.
– The police act consciously, based on the law. We have the right to use physical violence, and pushing, kicking and hitting are physical violence, says Ostertag.
According to him, the situation looks like a completely normal police procedure in the video.
– Here is a group that pushes against the police. We don’t see what’s going on in the background, whether a bottle was thrown, for example. Behind the police is a counter-demonstration that needs to be protected. Our troops are just making sure people go backwards.
According to Ostertag, the police identified a criminal in the same connection who was arrested among the protesters. In such situations, other protesters often try to prevent arrest and attack the police.
“Germany is racist”
Kübraa has only been encouraged by the incident.
– I really want to express my position and make it clear that I have a different opinion on the Gaza war than the German government, says Kübra.
Kübra, who is of Turkish background, says that she has encountered racism in Germany since she was a child. That’s why he doesn’t think the police or other German authorities are on his side.
– I was born in Germany. I have a German passport and I speak German, but I have never been German because society has never accepted me and many others like me.
Kübra has a theory why the police kicked him – so that he would be afraid and not return to the streets.
– I won’t give them that. And that’s exactly why I keep going.
Kübra says that he returned to protest a week after the incident.
“The demonstrations are becoming radicalized”
Police spokeswoman Beate Ostertag denies that it is racism.
– We take a neutral approach to every demonstration. If we detect criminal content in meetings of far-right or right-wing populists, we act as consistently as we do with violations of the law at pro-Palestine gatherings, he says.
According to Ostertag, the Palestinian support demonstrations have become more violent in recent weeks.
– Individual participants or groups become radicalized. Some attack the police and often the press as well. And of course then we have a duty to intervene.
Slogans prohibited
In Germany, there are certain slogans, the use of which is prohibited under threat of a fine.
It’s because Germany, due to its history, is strongly in support of Israel. Six million Jews were murdered by the Nazis. Germany’s support for Israel is also visible in the country’s media, which hardly mentions demonstrations in favor of Palestine.
One of the slogans banned in Germany is “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”. In Germany, it is considered to mean wiping the Jewish state of Israel off the map.
– There are other similar slogans that are allowed. But then the police chief says with a mutu feeling that we don’t like this, and they pull someone out of the crowd and beat them up, says Kübra.
This is only the word of Kübra and other demonstrators. According to the police, videos circulating online are often cut so that essential events are left out.
According to Kübra, racism towards Muslims has worsened significantly during the year. According to him, the new thing is that the shouting can come from anyone.
– In the metro, three middle-aged women made fun of us. One of them even pushed us and one put his fingers in his ears when he wanted to show that he couldn’t bear to hear us.
He shows the course of events on video. It shows, among other things, how one woman gets nervous about filming and violently pushes the cameraman. The situation is bad because the subway tracks are right next to it.
According to Kübra, the situation started when the women called the group of demonstrators terrorists and “shit foreigners”. On the recording, Kübra himself shouts at the women, shaking his finger.
Kübra says that she works in an office. His German colleagues know about his activism, and he does not hide it anywhere.
– In life, you get back what you give. If some roads close because of this, new ones will open. The most important thing is a good conscience, and no job in the world is worth keeping quiet for me, says Kübra.
Kübra says her parents are proud of her activism.
– I think it would be harder for them if I sat at home doing nothing during the ongoing genocide. That would be a bigger problem for them than my activism.
– Of course they are often worried, but it was much stronger at the beginning. In a year they are used to it.