“The whole of Prague sings with us, to hell with the fascists…” The LGBTI+ parade rolled through the city. New and new people were added
photo: Vít Hassan for PrahaIN.cz (as well as others)/March against violence against the LGBTI+ community
PHOTO “We will not be silent.” That was the name of the march against violence against members of the LGBTI+ community. The participants met at 18:00 in front of the Rudolfinum and went to the Slovak embassy in a lantern procession. They responded to the shooting at the Tepláreň company in Bratislava, where a nineteen-year-old man shot and killed Juraj and Matúš. The attacker was apparently driven by hatred against the LGBTI+ community.
Hundreds of participants from the LGBTI+ community gathered in front of the Rudolfinum, but families with children also arrived. Speakers in front of the Rudolfinum described the murder as a terrorist attack.
“We’ll be the ones to kick the ass of the fashionistas who loved to see us rolling in a pool of blood,” he said literally.
The atmosphere is gloomy, according to our reporter. A group of people then went to the Slovak embassy in Prague’s Hradčany. People kept joining and by the end about a thousand of them had participated.
The procession carried lanterns and candles and chanted and sang along the way. “The whole of Prague sings with us, to hell with the fascists,” was heard, for example.
“Their lives were ripped from the hands of the queer community in a space that was supposed to be safe. But safety is only an illusion until something changes about the place we occupy in society. Words cannot express the emotions we feel not only as queer people, but as human beings. Nevertheless, words, our voices, are our greatest weapons,” the organizers wrote on Facebook.
We will not forget!
The shooting in Bratislava is being investigated as a premeditated murder out of hatred against a minority. The shooter is already dead, probably committed suicide.
Among others, the group Kolektiv 115, the student initiative Ne!musíš to durás and the Trans*parent Association took part in the march.
According to the organizers, our government is deliberately ignoring the problem of discrimination and crimes against the LGBTI+ community.
At the Slovak embassy, the participants considered flowers and candles to be a place of worship. There was also a call for all people to hang rainbow flags in their windows as a sign of solidarity. At the end it was said that I will not be sad, that it will be celebrated cheerfully and techno music started playing.
“Let’s not let the death of Juraj and Matúš be just another forgotten event, Instagram post or statistic. Their deaths must be a trigger for change. Let’s make a difference together, shout for justice, fight for the freedom and safety of all queer people,” they add.
The same event was also held in five other cities. In Brno, Ostrava, Olomouc, Pilsen and Opava.