Forced Out: A Berlin Family's Eviction Sparks Violent Protest

[sysop]

Violent protests broke out in Berlin's Kreuzberg neighborhood on Thursday after a Turkish family was forced to leave their apartment for refusing to pay higher rent. Cars were set ablaze and demonstrators scuffled with police. The long simmering conflict reveals continued tension over the city's rising rents.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/...-a-883616.html

[ronille]

Having been present on the spot for most of the morning, I have some corrections to make:

1) At least from 7:00 to 9:30 a.m., the only ones to use violence were the police. It is not true that they used pepper gas to "keep the crowd at bay" but in order to make way for the bailiff, who, dressed up as a policewoman, had to sneak through a neighboring house, obviously because too many people were effectively blocking the entrance of Lausitzer Str. 8.
2) Your article suggests that most protesters were members of "left-leaning" groups from all over Germany. This is not true. Most protesters were from Kreuzberg and surrounding neighborhoods (and yes, Kreuzberg itself certainly is a "left-leaning" place) Most protesters are themselves suffering from rising rents. Many people came by after dropping off their kids at local schools and kindergartens, and on their way to work.
3) You should have mentioned that protests started at 7 a.m. in the morning, when it was still dark. (About 200 people showed up even earlier, around 6 a.m.). This is quite an unusual time for a protest, and a sign that people here in Kreuzberg really care.