Asbjørn Svarstad, New Year’s Eve | Rocket hell in Berlin: Parts of the city reminiscent of a war zone
The comment expresses the writer’s opinions.
Already early in the afternoon, the first reports came that it was going to be a night.
The rockets flew low through the streets and “ordinary” citizens had to seek refuge in the restaurants that remained open.
In traditional problem areas, such as Sonnenalle and Urbanstrasse, it must pass through each other across the street.
Otherwise, they threw the obviously illegal “China Puts”. They were so strong that the pressure wave knocked the legs under ordinary pedestrians.
Asbjørn Svarstad
Asbjørn Svarstad started writing in the local newspaper Dagningen, for some years was linked to VG. From 1987 Dagbladet’s stringer in Copenhagen. Since 1996 lived permanently in Berlin where he has worked for various Scandinavian media. Works mostly with historical feature articles, political commentary and is an authorized guide in Sachsenhausen.
Neighborhoods exploded
During the evening, law enforcement tried to “de-escalate” the situation and keep a low profile in relation to troublemakers. But half an hour before midnight, it was almost as if whole districts exploded.
In Friedrichshain, Wedding and Kreutzberg, ambulances and fire engines were massively attacked by gangs of black-clad masked men, who fired rockets directly at the vehicles, threw explosives at them – and simply emptied ambulances of vital aids while the employees attended to the patients.
A shocked ambulance driver just told regional TV about how a rocket suddenly smashed his windshield.
Busy busy filming
A firefighter was directed to an alleged fire in a narrow gate. When the first vehicle arrived, the rescuers were attacked by about 25 men, who mobbed them, looted their equipment and threw explosives at them.
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The witness was particularly surprised to find that several perpetrators were busy filming the others all the time. The material was undoubtedly to be used for bragging rights in social media. So here it wasn’t a question of spreading slogans for or against an “important” issue – but simply of exhibiting one’s own desire for destruction and recklessness.
During the first New Year’s Day, 18 policemen, 15 ambulance personnel and firemen, as well as 20 “civilians” were counted who had to be taken to hospital with injuries they had sustained during such attacks.
Several of the current areas have settled for being “under Arab control” and are held up by critics as examples of how parts of the German capital are characterized by decades of absence of integration.
But also many without an immigration background seem to be among those who were arrested.
Liming on the highway
Aggressions and “actions” against rescue vessels were only used a few months ago, when young climate activists quickly glued themselves to the highway every day – and in this way the morning traffic in and out of Berlin stops.
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The campaigners also refused to move in front of emergency ambulances and were subjected to fierce criticism after ambulances with terminally ill patients – or on their way to dramatic accidents – were obstructed.
Later, false alarms have become a huge problem. “Someone” calls and reports accidents with extensive personal injuries, so that the big alarm is triggered and many wagons are ordered to the scene. (It’s probably a pure coincidence that such things tend to happen at the same time as gluing on the motorway(?)
An unseen phenomenon
Throwing some empty bottles at the police on the night of May 1st or firing excessively powerful rockets on New Year’s Eve – illegally purchased in Poland – has been a regular part of the annual celebrations in Berlin since before the fall of the Wall.
But ambulance workers being physically attacked and fire engines deliberately set on fire with rockets is an unprecedented phenomenon.
Ordinary people now complain that for many hours on New Year’s Eve they had the feeling of being in a lawless environment.
The power of order had been chased away, while the mobs celebrated by bombarding each other and their surroundings – or attacking those who dared to appear to take care of the sick and injured.
The ambulance workers’ union now demands cameras installed in all vehicles, so that in the future it will be possible to track down and prosecute attackers. The firefighters join this concept, and also want to get bodycams – that is, cameras on the body.
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The police union in the state demands that from next year – for the sake of the members’ lives and health – a total ban on all previous pyrotechnics on New Year’s Eve be introduced.
Just getting started
The experts have only just begun to discuss the reason why fire and ambulance personnel have now become as “legitimate” targets as police officers.
The Berlin politicians have just started the campaign ahead of the re-election, which will take place at the end of February.
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The reason is that choosing in September 2021 ended in chaos because the queues were too long and the number of ballots too few. And NOW, the Social Democratic Lord Mayor – Franziska Giffey – will also be able to explain how the sitting state government is unable to protect its rescue workers from bomb attacks and angry crowds.
So THIS is a matter which in the weeks to come will continue to hold its own.
For the time being, none of the misunderstood has the distinction of being up to any credible explanation for the necessity of beating up rescuers and setting fire to their cars.
But some geniuses will probably appear soon who also have the explanation for THAT.