Almost a week after the alleged racist incident in Grevesmühlen, there are demonstrations in the city against violence and for solidarity. In Schwerin, a human chain forms around the cathedral.
Less than a week after the alleged racist incident involving a Ghanaian family in Grevesmühlen, hundreds of people in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania demonstrated against violence with human chains.
According to police, around 460 people gathered in the small town of Grevesmühlen in western Mecklenburg, which has a population of around 10,500. The organizers spoke of 500 participants. They tied themselves together with colorful ribbons to form a chain through the Ploggenseering prefabricated housing area. The incident took place there on Friday last week.
Human chain as a sign against racism
According to the police, the demonstration was peaceful. However, some passers-by on the sidelines made derogatory remarks. Grevesmühlen’s mayor Lars Prahler (independent), Mecklenburg-Vorpommern’s culture minister Bettina Martin (SPD) and Wismar’s SPD member of the Bundestag Frank Junge took part in the human chain.
A human chain was also formed around Schwerin Cathedral on Thursday evening as a sign against racism. State Justice Minister Jacqueline Bernhardt (Left Party) and the Catholic Archbishop of Hamburg Stefan Heße took part. Mecklenburg belongs to the Archdiocese of Hamburg. The Schwerin Cathedral congregation had called for human chains to be formed around all churches in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Participants were asked to hold candles in their hands.
Racist remarks during an argument
According to the police, on Friday evening last week there was a physical altercation between a group of German youths and a Ghanaian father on Ploggenseering in Grevesmühlen, in which the man was slightly injured. He wanted to confront the group after an eleven-year-old boy tripped his eight-year-old daughter. Racist remarks were reportedly made during the altercation. According to the police, charges of assault were also filed against the Ghanaian father.
The case made national headlines when the police initially said that the eight-year-old girl had been kicked in the face and was injured. This information was later corrected. The girl was uninjured and was not kicked in the face. The eleven-year-old hit the girl with the tip of his foot when he blocked her path with his outstretched leg.
Was a knife involved?
The investigation into the case is not yet complete. According to media reports, some of the young people who are said to have been involved in the incident at Ploggenseering had just been expelled from the Grevesmühlen town festival after making xenophobic comments. The relevant authorities said they are investigating this.
In addition, according to media reports, a knife is said to have played a role in the incident involving the Ghanaian family. According to the “Ostsee-Zeitung”, a video of the incident shows a young man being held back by other youths, while in the background others are shouting: “He has a knife!”.
A spokesman for the Schwerin public prosecutor’s office told the German Press Agency on Thursday that investigators are currently evaluating the available image and video material, with a focus on the question of whether a dangerous object played a role.
Source: Stern
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