For a long time it looked pretty dreary for the fans of the Berlin Christopher Street Day (CSD). Like so many other major events, the parade was canceled early due to the corona and moved to digital. A five-person organization team led by LGBTQ activist Nasser El-Ahmad was not satisfied with this and simply put alternative Pride 2020 on its feet. Taking into account the general hygiene standards, the aim was to move back to the roots of the actual CSD and focus on political messages.
In fact, the party atmosphere and company trucks were largely dispensed with when the alternative Christopher Street Day set off in the scorching heat shortly after 12 p.m. on Nollendorfplatz. The 1000 participants registered by the organizers are quickly surpassed. In retrospect, the police speak of 3,500 people, the organizing committee around El-Ahmad of ten thousand demonstrators who move from Schöneberg to Alexanderplatz at high speed.
Another demonstration began at noon on the Victory Column. Thousands wanted to demonstrate under the motto “Black Lives Matter”.
As diverse as the LGBTQ scene is worldwide, so is the alternative Berlin Pride. While slogans of the “Black Lives Matter” movement keep sounding in the back of the train and chants are used to protect the rights of transsexual people of black skin, the three teenagers Helena, Jessica and Loui run further ahead. All three consider it indispensable to take to the streets despite Covid-19 and possible risk of infection for their rights.
An online CSD is not enough for them. “We have to be visible,” says Jessica. The three are particularly concerned about the abolition of the transsexual law demanded by the Greens, which would give transsexual people in Germany more self-determination.
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In general, the concept of this year’s CSD was well received by the participants. Berliners Patrick and Michael stand with a small rainbow flag on the edge of the parade and are happy about the politicization of the event. “In recent years, the political messages in the crowd and party mood have often sunk. We like to show that the struggle for community equality is far from over, ”says Patrick.
An incident at Unter den Linden illustrates that this fight is far from won. Video images that could be seen on Instagram show an older woman, who described the participants several times as “sick” and “ready for psychiatry”. She beats the filmmaker and bystanders with her crutches and probably hits the filmmaker’s cell phone. The police were initially unable to confirm the authenticity of the images, but advised that they be reported.
Most of the onlookers and passersby were positively surprised by the alternative CSD. In Potsdamer Straße, the thumbs up are stretched out from the terrace of a Turkish café. At the Lustgarten, a group of pensioners from Dortmund comes to the conclusion that “you live in a democracy and it’s nice when everyone can be what he or she wants”
The police also expressed satisfaction with the event. A police spokesman said: “The train ran the way you could want events in Corona times.”
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