The energy crisis affects people in poverty even more than many others. In Berlin today they want to become visible and demand attention for their problems.
Social organizations have recognized the movement #IBinArmutsaffected, which is organizing its first nationwide rally in Berlin on Saturday. “We have never had people show their faces in this way,” said the general manager of the joint association, Ulrich Schneider, of the German press agency.
Since May, people have been using the hashtag to describe their lives with very little money and their difficulties because of rising prices. The declared goal is to overcome the shame associated with poverty.
From Schneider’s point of view, this has changed the mood of society. “As I see it, the comments stopped first, based on the motto: If you still have something to eat, you’re not poor,” said Schneider. “This complete negation of poverty, this ignorance, I don’t see that at the moment.” He added: “The fact that this trivializing of poverty has stopped gives me courage.”
Political visibility required
The German Caritas Association also considers the movement important. “It is very important that people who are themselves affected by poverty actively participate in the political debate,” said association representative Birgit Fix of the dpa. “It creates a different sensitivity to this issue. It’s also good for democracy, because we know that people in poverty generally do very little political work.”
The impetus for the movement was a post by a single mother from the Rhineland on Twitter in May of this year. The hashtag #I am poor was used thousands of times afterwards. The “OneWorryLess” foundation supports the movement with public relations. A rally in front of the Chancellery in Berlin is scheduled for 1 p.m. today.
Source: Stern
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