Paris, Istanbul, Brüssel, Paris, München. Auf einmal München. Mein MÜNCHEN. Für kurze Zeit mein zu Hause, seit dem vielleicht das Ziel auf lange Sicht, der Ort an dem ich mir eine Zukunft vorstellen konnte. Konnte? Kann. Können muss. Was sonst sagen, was sonst schreiben?
22.07.2016
Ich mache den Haushalt. Das Handy außerhalb der Reichweite, erst um halb zehn erfahre ich von Schüssen in München. Toten in München. Es ist wie damals von dem Attentat in Paris, von Charlie Hebdo zu erfahren, nur schlimmer. Ein Schlag in die Magengrube. Zu Hause. Wie geht es Freunden vor Ort, wer hat den Safety Check von Facebook verwendet? Wissen es schon andere, weiß es die Familie? Wie reagieren andere, wie reagiere ich?
Fragen, auf die es noch keine Antworten gibt, denn zum ersten Mal gibt es für mich die echte Wahrscheinlichkeit, dass jemand getötet wurde, den ich kenne. Den ich gern habe. Der Fernseher wird eingeschaltet, zum wiederholten Mal in den letzten Wochen suche ich aktiv nach der Tagesschau. Nizza, Würzburg, auf einmal München.
Seit Paris war da dieses dumpfe Gefühl. Dann die Ungewissheit in Hannover, doch die kurzen Zweifel, auf den Weihnachtsmarkt zu gehen, waren schnell beiseite gewischt. Frankreich wird immer wieder getroffen, die Euphorie und die Freude der EM waren ein viel zu kurzes Aufatmen. Plötzlich Nizza, vor Jahren noch ein Zwischenstopp auf meiner Urlaubsreise. Die Strandpromenade kenne ich. Doch macht man weiter, denn der Alltag ruft. Trauern um Menschen, die man nicht kennt? Wie viele meiner Freunde sehen mich verständnislos an, wenn ich sie frage, ob sie sich nicht betroffen fühlen. "Schlimme Sache, jaja. Aber ich bin ja nicht persönlich tangiert". Also ticke ich falsch? Muss aber schließlich auch weitermachen, lernen, studieren, leben. Nichtsdestotrotz einfach dieses Gefühl, dass sich etwas nähert. Auf einmal ist es dann da.
Wir haben die sich nun anbahnenden Diskussionen schon alle geführt, in Beileidsbekundungen für unsere Freunde, die schon vorher getroffen wurden. Frankreich, Türkei, Belgien. Die AfD stellt in Frage, wie man eine solche Flüchtlingspolitik betreiben konnte, ohne dabei etwas über die Hintergründe der Täter zu wissen. Die Gegenstimmen, die sofort verlauten lassen, dass es Einzeltäter sind, die nicht eine Weltreligion repräsentieren können und dürfen. Wasser auf die Mühlen derjenigen, die hetzen wollen, die darin eine Verachtung der Opfer wittern. Doch wer denkt wirklich an die Opfer außer den Angehörigen und Nahestehenden? Wenn jedem Beileid ein poltisches Statement beiwohnt, wie viel des Beileids gilt dann noch jenen, die gestorben sind? Gibt es noch unpolitisches Trauern, in einer Zeit in der man entweder Hetzer oder Gutmensch ist? Doch ist es wichtig in der Trauer nicht zu vergessen, was München und die Verstorbenen zum Ziel gemacht hat.
Eine Nation besinnt sich auf sich selbst, "muss jetzt an sich denken". Nimmt stumm nickend die Beileidsbekundungen der anderen Staatsoberhäupter an. Aber rücken wir als Menschen zusammen? Fangen wir nicht viel mehr jetzt schon an, nur wenige Stunden später, uns in Streitigkeiten zu zermürben und in die Hände derer zu spielen, die womöglich gar keinen so weiten Arm hierher haben? Wir wissen so wenig, streiten noch mehr und vergessen, dass Menschen gestorben sind, weil sie dem banalsten der Dinge nachgegangen sind. Sie waren einkaufen und konsumieren. Sie sind gestorben, weil die Täter mit ihrer Lebensweise und damit unserer Gesellschaft nicht konform waren. Die Opfer lebten in einer Demokratie, einem Rechtsstaat. Das war ihr Todesurteil.
Unabhängig davon, welchen Hintergrund die Täter hatten, ob radikal religiös oder rechts motiviert, in jedem Fall war die Demokratie und die Gesellschaft das wahre Ziel der Täter. Durch Radikalisieren von politischen Äußerungen, Verschärfen der Sicherheitsmaßnahmen, Begrenzen der Freiheit und am schlimmsten, dem Dämonisieren unserer Mitmenschen, schüren wir Angst und Misstrauen. Damit untergraben wir die Werte, die unsere Gesellschaft so weit gebracht haben. Wir reagieren so, wie von den Tätern gewünscht. Wir Marionetten.
Wir vergessen, dass diese schrecklichen Geschehnisse nicht nur von uns getragen werden müssen. Die Errungeschaft einer freien Demokratie teilen wir mit anderen Staaten der Welt, insbesondere leben wir in einer Wertegemeinschaft, die krisengeschüttelt um ihre Bedeutung ringt. Der Tod der Menschen in München ist ein Angriff auf die Bundesrepublik, auf die Grundwerte der Demokratie und auf die der westlichen Gemeinschaft. Wenn wir es schaffen, uns nicht zu isolieren, sondern gemeinsam für unsere Werte einzustehen, ohne uns in Panikreaktionen zu verrennen, können wir den notwendigen Widerstand gegen jene leisten, die uns von innen heraus zu Fall bringen wollen. Dafür dürfen wir den Blick für das Weltgeschehen nicht verlieren, müssen an der Europäischen Union festhalten und den internationalen Beziehungen mehr als nur wirtschaftlichen Wert beimessen.
Heißt das, dass wir nicht für uns trauern dürfen? Dass wir die Opfer vergessen und nur in globalen Maßstäben denken dürfen? Es kann so etwas nicht heißen, weil jeder für sich den richtigen Umgang wählen muss, um das Ereignis zu verarbeiten und einzuordnen. Doch müssen wir uns auf unsere Gemeinsamkeiten besinnen und näher zusammen rücken, unseren Mitmenschen beistehen, anstatt Hasskommentare in sozialen Netzwerken zu verbreiten, um das zu bewahren, was andere, gleich ihrer Motivation, angreifen. Unsere Gesellschaft und ihre Werte.
Ich kann mir nicht anmaßen nachzuvollziehen, was jene durchstehen, die heute einen geliebten Menschen verloren haben. Doch bei allen Handlungen, die auf den heutigen Ereignissen beruhen, dürfen wir eines nicht aus dem Blick verlieren: Wir müssen den Angehörigen jede Stütze sein, die sie brauchen und zeigen, dass der unfassbare Verlust, den sie erlitten haben, nicht bloß ein Spielball politischer Meinungsmache wird.
Stehen wir jenen bei, deren Angehörige heute sinnlos aus dem Leben gerissen wurden.
Eure Curlina
English translation coming soon.
Freitag, 22. Juli 2016
Mittwoch, 9. März 2016
Being Human - Part One
With the world making a major turn to right side of the political spectrum I feel as if it is time to throw in my opinion on what is going on in Europe and the rest of the world. This won't be as positive as my last post since - well - most of the headlines nowadays are simply terrifying. But I'll try something my most favourite TV show host does: If you read this quite saddening post you'll find a video at the very end of it of an armadillo playing and not being able to stand on its tiny tiny feet while trying to catch a pink teddy bear. It sounds awesome and it will make you adore an animal that I never thought could be cute. But it is, trust me. This is on the internet and as we all know - it has to be true. Thank me later. And John Oliver of course, too.
The title of this post says "Being human" which I chose because somehow the people who are trying to qualifiy themselves as our political leaders are lacking a certain quality: Humanity. I'll try to explain this with some examples which are mostly from Europe. Furthermore, since we can no longer ignore Donald Trump as the candidate for the republican party, the United States will be featured, too.
I love movies, especially comic book movies. Even though most of them are simply made for our entertainment, some of them have quotable dialogue.
Let's start with a country that should know better: Germany. The last time we made this horrible mistake of being led by a leader who promised simple solutions for complex problems, a single nation caused World War II and the Holocaust. A few generations later we are on the same damn path and the events of 1933 seem to repeat themselves.
Germany is good at exporting useful stuff. We are promoting our cars and quality. But do you know, what we are really good at? Exporting war. Germany is in the top five of the biggest exporters of military equipment.
Surprise, surprise: If you sell those tanks and automatic rifles to someone, they will be used sooner or later. I'm not going to talk about "right or wrong" when it comes to wars, because this is a topic that deserves a differentiated consideration depending on the individual case. Still, one aspect is simple: If you're selling arms and war equipment you should not be surprised that somewhere someone will be running from war, bombs and death. So while we are enjoying one of the best health care systems in the world and don't pay a single dime for education, this luxury is partly bought with death and terror.
This math seems to be way too complicated for a new right wing party. Although they started out as a party that saw too much power in Brussels and wanted more autonomy for the states within the European Union, the AfD (Alternative für Deutschland - Alternative for Germany) joined forces with the worried and is now a solid xenophobic group that manages to collect more and more votes.
They are spreading hatred and prejudices. Blaming the media, the government and in particular refugees, migrants or simply non-german people for things that did not even occur, causing fear and panic even though the situation is far from escalating.
What they are saying and what I do not doubt is that not all of those who are seeking for help at our borders are "real" refugees. Yes, many of those who are coming to Europe and in particular to Germany are economic refugees. This means they are not running for their lifes or are not threatened by war. They are leaving their homes, roots and known environment behind fleeing from poverty, hunger and economic hardship.
Shortly the typical things that make you "illegal" when you finally reach the promising european border. But this is the current law and my opinion on this one is: Maybe our international economical system should stop exploiting those nations that have little to nothing except for crises and corruption. Instead we should've thought about possible consequences before they started knocking at our door. Just saying that it can't be right to cause so much imbalance and then take no responsibility. We should stop reacting to the results of our actions and look at the problem's cause. This is the way we can change something for the better.
The AfD has other suggestions on how to gain back the control at the border. First they wanted a maximum for the number of asylum-seekers. Because those human beings with not much more than their lifes and families - those are considered the lucky ones - are being held responsible for crime and an overstraining of the welfare state leaving the retired, unemployed and others relying on the state behind.
When other more influential politicians from other partys supported this idea, some reasonable people asked the most important question: How?
It took them a few months to work this one out. The honest statement by Frauke Petry, the representative leader of the AfD was: Shoot them.
I'm not kidding you. This is what she suggested. It does not end here. It gets worse. Another party member that even has a seat in the European Parliament added, that if it ever comes to defending the border against asylum-seekers with armed force, the firing order includes families; children and women. Fathers with their children on their arms. Pregnant women. I guess she did not want to discriminate anyone based on their age or gender?! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU.
Basically it would work like that: Uhmm... 799 998, 799 999, 800 000 oh and there we have more. Well, how unfortunate. SHOOT.
Later on when the bashing would not stop (thank you united forces of the internet) the second lady clarified that she does not support violence against children. Nevertheless her party sees this as the last resort in order to stop migrants and asylum-seekers from coming to Germany.
This is madness in its pure form. In case you are not that familiar with german history here is a brief review: The Holocaust happened because people followed orders and the law allowed them to commit dreadful and cruel crimes against millions of people. When Germany was divided into two countries during the cold war the government of the GDR passed a law that included a firing order to prevent people from fleeing across the border. The border guards had to shoot everyone who was trying to get to the FRG, also known as West-Germany. We do call this the dark chapters of recent history and try not to talk about it. Maybe we should change this.
When World War II was over the "Radbruch Formula" was developed and it has been since used to convict those committing crimes based on certain statutes. It is based on the idea that if the legal concept behind the statute in question seems either "unbearably injust" or in "deliberate disregard" of human equality before the law the following action can not be right.
How is the last resort of the AfD any diffrent from the crimes in the past? Are they that big fans of the Radbruch Formula that they don't want it to be forgotten?
No, no armadillo yet. There is still more. But you deserve a break. Here, look at that cute Quokka, the happiest animals on earth:
To talk again about humanity. What if not mercy, kindness and helpfulness makes us human? Who are we to decide who is supposed to live and to die only based on the fact that they are seeking for help? The german law system does not even include the death penalty. Not that I want to change that, but if the cruelest murderer has the right to be treated like any other human being with dignity, how can we take that right from someone who has not even proven yet if he or she is nice, awful, great, mean, intelligent, and or whatever shapes his or her personality?
The AfD offers a less cruel recommendation, too. Of course. This solution is basically Peek-A-Boo for adults. If you don't look at the problem it should no longer bother you. And if you dare to risk a look? You'll have to bear the cruel images. People suffering. Crying children. Because this is common sense on how to solve a problem, right?
Apparently it is, because this is basically a translation of what Alexander Gauland (another representative) said. We are supposed to close the borders for everyone and find a way to move on knowing that there are people starving and dying because of us. And all those children you are asking? Those are only there to blackmail us with their children eyes! They are suffering to torture us! Learn to ignore it, we have to put us first.
Yeah. Great logic. Did he forget what can happen to your psyche if you close your eyes on the wrong things and decide to never ever talk about it again? Quick reminder, it is called posttraumatic stress syndrome.
Even if you look at this from an objective point of view, the main cause would be, that people would vanish into illegality in order to get into this country - at least somehow. I'm not that naive to believe that only nice and educated people are crossing the borders right now. It is absolutely normal that a large group includes good and bad people; not only academics but also criminals. You can't possibly want them to disappear, you have to maintain a certain control and overview over who is coming into this country.
I can only question his beliefs and everything he says, especially considering the fact that he escaped from East-Germany when he was a young man. Do you know why he decided to leave everything behind? Because he was not allowed to study in the GDR. No bombs were thrown at his hometown, no one threatened to kill his family, no one cut his access to essential supplies.
And no one threw stones at his new home and questioned the fact that a single young man fled from home leaving his family behind when he made it to West-Germany. He is supposed to understand those refugees or at least he should not be the one slamming the door in their faces.
Now you have an overview on who is gaining power in this country. Right now they are in third or fourth place, depending on where the latest polls were taken. Third place means they receive up to 19% of the votes. And they've been in the game for less than four years. I don't know what your thoughts are, but I'm scared of what they can become within another four years.
Now you deserve the armadillo with the teddy bear, have a look:
Thank you for staying with me till the end. I'm planning to write more on this topic, as you see this is only part one. I promise there will some positive posts, too. Stay tuned!
Lots of love,
Curlina
The title of this post says "Being human" which I chose because somehow the people who are trying to qualifiy themselves as our political leaders are lacking a certain quality: Humanity. I'll try to explain this with some examples which are mostly from Europe. Furthermore, since we can no longer ignore Donald Trump as the candidate for the republican party, the United States will be featured, too.
"There's a storm coming, Mr. Wayne. You and your friends better batten down the hatches, because when it hits, you're all gonna wonder how you ever thought you could live so large and leave so little for the rest of us." - Selena Kyle, The Dark Knight Rises
I love movies, especially comic book movies. Even though most of them are simply made for our entertainment, some of them have quotable dialogue.
Let's start with a country that should know better: Germany. The last time we made this horrible mistake of being led by a leader who promised simple solutions for complex problems, a single nation caused World War II and the Holocaust. A few generations later we are on the same damn path and the events of 1933 seem to repeat themselves.
Germany is good at exporting useful stuff. We are promoting our cars and quality. But do you know, what we are really good at? Exporting war. Germany is in the top five of the biggest exporters of military equipment.
Surprise, surprise: If you sell those tanks and automatic rifles to someone, they will be used sooner or later. I'm not going to talk about "right or wrong" when it comes to wars, because this is a topic that deserves a differentiated consideration depending on the individual case. Still, one aspect is simple: If you're selling arms and war equipment you should not be surprised that somewhere someone will be running from war, bombs and death. So while we are enjoying one of the best health care systems in the world and don't pay a single dime for education, this luxury is partly bought with death and terror.
 |
| The top ten exporters of arms. Source: SIPRI and Tagesschau |
 |
| That swoof looks suspiciously like the Nike logo. Let's just hope they don't stick with the "Just do it". Copyright by the AfD |
They are spreading hatred and prejudices. Blaming the media, the government and in particular refugees, migrants or simply non-german people for things that did not even occur, causing fear and panic even though the situation is far from escalating.
What they are saying and what I do not doubt is that not all of those who are seeking for help at our borders are "real" refugees. Yes, many of those who are coming to Europe and in particular to Germany are economic refugees. This means they are not running for their lifes or are not threatened by war. They are leaving their homes, roots and known environment behind fleeing from poverty, hunger and economic hardship.
Shortly the typical things that make you "illegal" when you finally reach the promising european border. But this is the current law and my opinion on this one is: Maybe our international economical system should stop exploiting those nations that have little to nothing except for crises and corruption. Instead we should've thought about possible consequences before they started knocking at our door. Just saying that it can't be right to cause so much imbalance and then take no responsibility. We should stop reacting to the results of our actions and look at the problem's cause. This is the way we can change something for the better.
The AfD has other suggestions on how to gain back the control at the border. First they wanted a maximum for the number of asylum-seekers. Because those human beings with not much more than their lifes and families - those are considered the lucky ones - are being held responsible for crime and an overstraining of the welfare state leaving the retired, unemployed and others relying on the state behind.
When other more influential politicians from other partys supported this idea, some reasonable people asked the most important question: How?
It took them a few months to work this one out. The honest statement by Frauke Petry, the representative leader of the AfD was: Shoot them.
I'm not kidding you. This is what she suggested. It does not end here. It gets worse. Another party member that even has a seat in the European Parliament added, that if it ever comes to defending the border against asylum-seekers with armed force, the firing order includes families; children and women. Fathers with their children on their arms. Pregnant women. I guess she did not want to discriminate anyone based on their age or gender?! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU.
 |
| There they are. From the left: Frauke Petry ("Shoot them") and Beatrix von Storch ("Yeah, the kids, too"). Source:imago / Christian Thiel |
Basically it would work like that: Uhmm... 799 998, 799 999, 800 000 oh and there we have more. Well, how unfortunate. SHOOT.
Later on when the bashing would not stop (thank you united forces of the internet) the second lady clarified that she does not support violence against children. Nevertheless her party sees this as the last resort in order to stop migrants and asylum-seekers from coming to Germany.
This is madness in its pure form. In case you are not that familiar with german history here is a brief review: The Holocaust happened because people followed orders and the law allowed them to commit dreadful and cruel crimes against millions of people. When Germany was divided into two countries during the cold war the government of the GDR passed a law that included a firing order to prevent people from fleeing across the border. The border guards had to shoot everyone who was trying to get to the FRG, also known as West-Germany. We do call this the dark chapters of recent history and try not to talk about it. Maybe we should change this.
When World War II was over the "Radbruch Formula" was developed and it has been since used to convict those committing crimes based on certain statutes. It is based on the idea that if the legal concept behind the statute in question seems either "unbearably injust" or in "deliberate disregard" of human equality before the law the following action can not be right.
How is the last resort of the AfD any diffrent from the crimes in the past? Are they that big fans of the Radbruch Formula that they don't want it to be forgotten?
No, no armadillo yet. There is still more. But you deserve a break. Here, look at that cute Quokka, the happiest animals on earth:
To talk again about humanity. What if not mercy, kindness and helpfulness makes us human? Who are we to decide who is supposed to live and to die only based on the fact that they are seeking for help? The german law system does not even include the death penalty. Not that I want to change that, but if the cruelest murderer has the right to be treated like any other human being with dignity, how can we take that right from someone who has not even proven yet if he or she is nice, awful, great, mean, intelligent, and or whatever shapes his or her personality?
“Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement.” - J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
The AfD offers a less cruel recommendation, too. Of course. This solution is basically Peek-A-Boo for adults. If you don't look at the problem it should no longer bother you. And if you dare to risk a look? You'll have to bear the cruel images. People suffering. Crying children. Because this is common sense on how to solve a problem, right?
Apparently it is, because this is basically a translation of what Alexander Gauland (another representative) said. We are supposed to close the borders for everyone and find a way to move on knowing that there are people starving and dying because of us. And all those children you are asking? Those are only there to blackmail us with their children eyes! They are suffering to torture us! Learn to ignore it, we have to put us first.
Yeah. Great logic. Did he forget what can happen to your psyche if you close your eyes on the wrong things and decide to never ever talk about it again? Quick reminder, it is called posttraumatic stress syndrome.
Even if you look at this from an objective point of view, the main cause would be, that people would vanish into illegality in order to get into this country - at least somehow. I'm not that naive to believe that only nice and educated people are crossing the borders right now. It is absolutely normal that a large group includes good and bad people; not only academics but also criminals. You can't possibly want them to disappear, you have to maintain a certain control and overview over who is coming into this country.
I can only question his beliefs and everything he says, especially considering the fact that he escaped from East-Germany when he was a young man. Do you know why he decided to leave everything behind? Because he was not allowed to study in the GDR. No bombs were thrown at his hometown, no one threatened to kill his family, no one cut his access to essential supplies.
And no one threw stones at his new home and questioned the fact that a single young man fled from home leaving his family behind when he made it to West-Germany. He is supposed to understand those refugees or at least he should not be the one slamming the door in their faces.
 |
| Maybe not the chosen one. But could he at least be a bit more sympathetic? |
Now you have an overview on who is gaining power in this country. Right now they are in third or fourth place, depending on where the latest polls were taken. Third place means they receive up to 19% of the votes. And they've been in the game for less than four years. I don't know what your thoughts are, but I'm scared of what they can become within another four years.
Now you deserve the armadillo with the teddy bear, have a look:
Thank you for staying with me till the end. I'm planning to write more on this topic, as you see this is only part one. I promise there will some positive posts, too. Stay tuned!
Lots of love,
Curlina
Dienstag, 9. Februar 2016
You Either go Big or go Home
A year ago I promised you guys to tell you more about something I truly love: travelling.
As some of you know, a year may go by like this and this one certainly did. Good things happened, really sad things happened but it depends on you, whether you decide to live in the past or not.
The past is already gone, it is you who keeps it up or decides to give the present a chance. Such as the future. You know, Lion King talk (Disney, don't you ever stop making movies, adults can also enjoy. Please.).
The past months were quite depressing. The world went crazy, my personal life got messed up and law school is still pretty exhausting. So time for a more or less fresh start. In Germany we say "Zeit für einen Tapetenwechsel" which can be translated as "time for a change of scenery". I started packing my belongings into some boxes and by doing this I found photographs that brought some sweet memories with them. The really good ones. So I decided to share them, because why not?
And here we go:
This was an amazing view. Imagine this: Being on the road for quite some days, trying the best you can to find a comfortable position while the train is constantly shaking and finally falling asleep for roughly two hours. But waking up to this view? Makes it all seem okay.
I like these adorable alleys with all their bars and cafes. Since I am a student, I was travelling on a budget. No limitless creditcard and but instead more or less 10€ a day for food. Needless to say, that choosing where to eat was incredibly hard. But you also learn, to enjoy the moment and not to cry over missed opportunities. Who cares, that the bistro on the other side of the street offered the same menu a bit cheaper? After all, the meal you just had was finger lickin' good! At least the one I had.
This is the only picture of me carrying the backpack. Usually I was busy not getting lost or missing the next train when I had it on my back. It's not even mine, I borrowed it from a friend. It did a great job, even though there is one mystery left: Why is there never enough space for everything? The first time I did Interrail I had two handbags. For two weeks. And somehow it worked! Fine, I came back with four... But the second time I had this huge thing and it was still not enough. Guess I just love shopping for souvenirs way too much.
Oh these wonderful creatures. I would've adopted all of them, even though I'm not sure, how many of them were hiding under these rocks. I immediatly lost my heart to all the stray cats I saw on my way through Europe.
Travelling on your own offers one major advantage: You are forced to interact with other people. May seem creepy when you are in a country surrounded by people whose language you don't speak. I won't lie to you: It can be scary or in the worst case even dangerous. But most of the time my experiences were great and I met some wonderful people. If you are an introvert, take small steps. Ask other people to take a picture of you. The results will be unique. You won't be able to try a hundred times until you get the perfect shot for your instagram. On the other hand you don't want to leave this place without some photos for your album, right? Oh and don't rely on the selfie stick, that's simply cheating!
This little turtle for instance was not bought. An awesome guy from Canada I met in France gave it to me when I had to leave to catch my train. It is a cute reminder, that you can meet the nicest people when you are exploring the world around you.
So this is it. A small peek behind the courtain if you want so. Hope I was able to encourage some of you to go on an adventure or at least leave the sad memories behind you and focus on the good things in your life.
Lots of love,
Curlina
As some of you know, a year may go by like this and this one certainly did. Good things happened, really sad things happened but it depends on you, whether you decide to live in the past or not.
The past is already gone, it is you who keeps it up or decides to give the present a chance. Such as the future. You know, Lion King talk (Disney, don't you ever stop making movies, adults can also enjoy. Please.).
The past months were quite depressing. The world went crazy, my personal life got messed up and law school is still pretty exhausting. So time for a more or less fresh start. In Germany we say "Zeit für einen Tapetenwechsel" which can be translated as "time for a change of scenery". I started packing my belongings into some boxes and by doing this I found photographs that brought some sweet memories with them. The really good ones. So I decided to share them, because why not?
And here we go:
 | ||
| No Photoshop whatsoever - somewhere in Portugal. |
 |
| This was taken in Santiago de Compostela. Especially during summer you will meet many pilgrims from all over the world. This city is heaven for Backpackers. It is also stunningly beautiful. |
I like these adorable alleys with all their bars and cafes. Since I am a student, I was travelling on a budget. No limitless creditcard and but instead more or less 10€ a day for food. Needless to say, that choosing where to eat was incredibly hard. But you also learn, to enjoy the moment and not to cry over missed opportunities. Who cares, that the bistro on the other side of the street offered the same menu a bit cheaper? After all, the meal you just had was finger lickin' good! At least the one I had.
 |
| Ready to leave Santiago de Compostela... |
This is the only picture of me carrying the backpack. Usually I was busy not getting lost or missing the next train when I had it on my back. It's not even mine, I borrowed it from a friend. It did a great job, even though there is one mystery left: Why is there never enough space for everything? The first time I did Interrail I had two handbags. For two weeks. And somehow it worked! Fine, I came back with four... But the second time I had this huge thing and it was still not enough. Guess I just love shopping for souvenirs way too much.
 |
| In Sitges, Spain. |
Oh these wonderful creatures. I would've adopted all of them, even though I'm not sure, how many of them were hiding under these rocks. I immediatly lost my heart to all the stray cats I saw on my way through Europe.
 |
| One day in Florence. |
Travelling on your own offers one major advantage: You are forced to interact with other people. May seem creepy when you are in a country surrounded by people whose language you don't speak. I won't lie to you: It can be scary or in the worst case even dangerous. But most of the time my experiences were great and I met some wonderful people. If you are an introvert, take small steps. Ask other people to take a picture of you. The results will be unique. You won't be able to try a hundred times until you get the perfect shot for your instagram. On the other hand you don't want to leave this place without some photos for your album, right? Oh and don't rely on the selfie stick, that's simply cheating!
This little turtle for instance was not bought. An awesome guy from Canada I met in France gave it to me when I had to leave to catch my train. It is a cute reminder, that you can meet the nicest people when you are exploring the world around you.
So this is it. A small peek behind the courtain if you want so. Hope I was able to encourage some of you to go on an adventure or at least leave the sad memories behind you and focus on the good things in your life.
Lots of love,
Curlina
Donnerstag, 7. Januar 2016
Köln Silvesternacht - Ein Kommentar
Eine Woche ist nach den Ereignissen in Köln vergangen. Anstatt heute zu reflektieren, wie uns Paris verändert und sensibilisiert hat, beschäftigen wir uns an dem Jahrestag der Charlie Hebdo Ereignisse mit ganz anderen Fragen. Grundsatzfragen. Integration und Kriminalität bei Ausländern. Wie sollen wir deutsche Willkommenskultur und fremde Kulturen von Flüchtlingen vereinbaren? Auf einmal macht ehemalige Pegida Hetze Schlagzeilen, weil sie sich bewahrheitet haben soll. Ihre Befürworter vertiefen die geschlagene Kerbe und laufen zu Hochtouren in den Kommentarbereichen auf. Nach Ausweisung wird gerufen. Oder besser noch, Kastration.
Alles das, weil dutzende Frauen beraubt und sexuell belästigt wurden. Sexuelle Misshandlung und sogar zu mindestens einer Vergewaltigung soll es gekommen sein. Über sexualisierte Gewalt wird berichtet. Weil die Ausländer diese mitgebracht hätten und ihre Triebe nicht im Griff hätten. Diese Barbaren. Das vor dem Kölner Wahrzeichen, in der Mitte der Stadt. In der Mitte der Gesellschaft. Nun kann man ja gar nicht wegsehen.
Oder kann man doch? In den Medien und viel besagten Kommentaren geht es um Hautfarben und Herkunft der Täter. Wie lange sie schon in Deutschland seien und welche Papiere sie dabei gehabt hätten. Doch wer sind die Opfer? An wen können sich diese wenden? Gibt es ausreichend Seelsorger bei der Polizei? Dieser Staatsapparat Polizei, der mal abgebaut und mal aufgebaut werden soll, je nachdem was die schwarze Null oder aber die Aufregung im Volk sagt. Da auch noch Opferhilfe, Seelsorge oder gar Prävention zu verlangen? Undenkbar. Es geht um die Schuldfrage, ausgefochten zwischen Polizei und Politik. Die einen hätten einfach machtlos weggesehen, die anderen seien zu menschlich zu Fremden gewesen und hätten damit die Frauenverachter ins Land gelassen. Diese Barbaren.
Frauen aber wissen, dass unser Geschlecht Gewalt anzieht. Sexualisierte Gewalt. Aus Gesprächen mit Freunden weiß ich, dass Männer es nicht immer so meinen. Einem nichts böses wollen. Es als Kompliment gemeint ist oder als Anmache. Völlig ok, oder nicht? "Stell dich nicht so an, wer solche Kurven hat, der muss doch damit rechnen, auch mal angeschaut zu werden".
Was in Köln passiert ist, passiert jeden Tag, überall. Die Frage ist nur, wie gehen wir damit um? Wenn es nur Flüchtlinge oder Menschen mit Migrationshintergrund wären, die Frauen als schwach und Objekt ihrer Triebe beachten, dann müsste man dem im Rahmen der Integration unsere Werte und ein Verhalten frei von Diskriminierung entgegen setzen. Die Gesetze im Falle des Verletzens im angemessenen Rahmen anwenden und im schlimmsten Fall die Menschen ausweisen. Aber wie wäre es damit: Man(n) könnte mit gutem Beispiel voran gehen. Es ist bei weitem nicht jeder Flüchtling ein Vergewaltiger und Frauenverachter, auch wenn Pegida und AfD gerne etwas anderes behaupten. Denn wenn dem so wäre, säße kein Deutscher wegen sexuellen Missbrauchs im Gefängnis.
Seit Jahren wurden mir Verhaltensregeln auferlegt. Komm nach Hause, wenn es dunkel wird. Fahr nach 23 Uhr nicht alleine mit der Bahn. Wer soll dir denn helfen, wenn was passiert und die Betrunkenen dich anmachen? Lass dich nach Hause begleiten. Oder nein, wir holen dich lieber ab.
Du fährst in den Urlaub? Hier, dein erstes Pfefferspray. Mama, ich fahre mit meinen Freundinnen. Egal, wenn da drei oder vier Männer euch von der Disco abfangen wollen, seid ihr auf euch gestellt, also nimm es lieber mit! Ist gut, Mama.
Du fährst mit einer Mitfahrgelegenheit und da ist sonst kein Mitfahrer? Schick uns das Nummernschild und ruf an, wenn du da bist.
Ich hatte alle Freiheiten, die ich mir hätte wünschen können. Aber immer mit den Warnungen meiner Eltern im Ohr und deshalb das Gefühl, dass es Grenzen gibt, die ich umgehen kann. Nach meinem Auszug und Beginn des Studiums reiste ich viel.
Studierte in einer fremden Stadt, lernte neue Leute kennen und erkundete mit einem Rucksack Europa.
Vergaß dabei nicht, was meine Eltern mich lehrten. Ich stellte nur fest, dass es einen guten Grund für viele Warnungen gab. Und die Welt wurde auf einmal wieder kleiner.
Baustelle und ein enger Gehweg? Da steigt man vom Fahrrad und schiebt, denn es kommt ein älterer Herr entgegen. Der fasst grinsend an meine Brüste. Ruft noch etwas freches, worauf ich perplex und erst nach ein paar Augenblicken eine Beleidigung erwidere. Und dann? Dreht man um und ohrfeigt den Mann? Ruft man die Polizei? Die Freunde sind gespalten, die Männer lachen "so will ich später auch sein" - die Frauen nicht. Ich umgehe die Strecke wochenlang.
In der Disco. Unzählige Male. Unzählige Griffe an den Po und an andere Stellen. Manchmal soll es am Gedränge liegen, manchmal folgt darauf die Frage "Hey, willst du tanzen?". Ich antworte nicht, drehe mich weg, sage schließlich "Lass mich in Ruhe, fass mich nicht noch mal an" . Manche bleiben penetrant, grabschen immer wieder, belästigen noch andere Frauen in Reichweite. Dann passiert es mal, dass ein Freund genug hat, den Grabscher mit Worten einschüchtert, als ultima ratio drohend die Faust hebt. Dann geht der andere. "Man hast Du es gut, bekommst alles ausgegeben, wenn Du es nur wolltest und dann die ganze Aufmerksamkeit... Frauen halt.". Dass mein Nein, meine Selbstbestimmung über meinen Körper nicht akzeptiert wird, solange nicht ein anderer Mann für mich spricht, wird übersehen.
Im Urlaub, alleine. Die falsche Abzweigung genommen, Hostel nicht gefunden. Es ist schon dunkel, ich hab kein Internet und spreche die Sprache nicht. Mehrere Männer kommen die Straße runter, kreisen mich ein, sagen Dinge und bringen mich zum weinen. Wollen mich anfassen. Ein Paar kommt auf der anderen Straßenseite. Erfasst sofort die Situation und bringt mich in Sicherheit. Das Hostel war nur eine Querstraße weiter.
Erfahrungen wie diese haben mich meine eigenen Regeln aufstellen lassen. Ich fahre ungern mit der Straßenbahn, in welcher ich schon mal belästigt wurde. Ich habe immer mein Pfefferspray dabei und fühle mich mittlerweile ohne schutzlos. Habe Zweifel, wieder alleine die Welt zu bereisen, weil ich nun das Gefühl habe, mein Glück verbraucht zu haben bzw., dass mein Schutzengel nach den ganzen Überstunden den Job an den Nagel gehängt hat.
Die Nachrichten werden neu sortiert und abgespeichert. Mit einem Feldweg, der zu Freunden führt, wird ein sexueller Missbrauch assoziiert, der dort stattgefunden hat. Meiden wir den nachts lieber. Abends in dem Park am Fluss joggen gehen? Da kann man auch gleich das Schicksal herausfordern, schließlich ist es dort zu einer Vergewaltigung gekommen.
Dabei handelt es sich jedoch nur um meine Grenzen. Dinge, die ich nicht mehr unbefangen tun kann, obwohl ich Kampfsport betrieben habe und mich zu verteidigen weiß. Die Gesellschaft baut währenddessen munter an allgemeinen Mauern für Frauen. Eben jene Hetzer, die nun die Flüchtlinge verteufeln, sind in allen anderen Fällen der sexualisierten Gewalt die ersten, die den Frauen die Schuld geben. Eine Kostprobe? Nur um die Erinnerung aufzufrischen, hier ein paar Klassiker: "Wer sich so anzieht, hat es doch selbst provoziert. Wenn die 14 jährigen sich so schminken und aussehen wie 20, brauchen die sich nicht zu wundern, wenn die Männer da mal ran wollen! Über die ist doch jeder schon mal rüber, die will ihm jetzt nur eins auswischen. Als Frau Vergewaltigung zu rufen, ist doch auch Standard. Was läuft man auch als Frau um die Uhrzeit alleine in der Gegend rum, hätte sie doch wissen müssen."
Um Verwirrung zu vermeiden, dies ist direkt an Menschen adressiert, die so einen Schmutz abgeben: Ihr seid das allerletzte und ein wichtiger Grund, warum es bei einem Delikt wie sexuellem Missbrauch immens hohe Dunkelziffern gibt. Ihr habt noch nie erfahren, was es heißt, wie ein Objekt behandelt zu werden, dessen Gefühle und Selbstbestimmung mit Füßen getreten werden. Außerdem vermittelt euer respektloses Verhalten nach außen hin, dass Frauen auch nach dem Delikt des Missbrauchs weiterem Mobbing und Misstrauen ausgesetzt sind und das normal sei. Was wiederum jene bestätigt, die womöglich von zu Hause oder aus ihrer Kultur die Frau als minderwertigen Menschen kennen. Menschen, denen ihr keinen Grund zum Umdenken bietet. Wenn ihr deshalb beklagt, dass Flüchtlinge angeblich Frauen respektlos behandeln würden, kann ich euch nur entgegnen: Ihr seid nicht anders.
Wer mir sagt, dass ich Missbrauch provoziere, wenn ich bestimmte Kleidung trage, zu bestimmten Urzeiten gewisse Orte zu meiden habe oder mein make up und Ausschnitt zu sexueller Belästigung führe, der wählt den einfachen Weg. Der unbequeme lautet: Wir sind noch lange nicht in einer Gesellschaft angekommen, in der ein vernünftiger Umgang mit sexueller Gewalt gegen Frauen gefunden wurde. Doch sind wir es, die sich anmaßen, andere Kulturen und Religionen für ihre Frauenfeindlichkeit zu kritisieren oder gleich die Burka verbieten zu wollen. Weil wir es angeblich so viel besser wissen.
Was ist die Konsequenz? Solange Frauen Regeln und Verhaltensweisen zu ihrem Schutz auferlegt werden, muss an diesem Problem gearbeitet und nicht eine Armlänge Abstand genommen werden.
Abonnieren
Posts (Atom)