Climate Camp Germany has just kicked off and already the German press have taken on the English papers‘ Climate Chaos brand.
But this motley crew of activists is not letting the label affect them and has already started to make its presence felt on the streets of Hamburg. With the first day of activity being a washout with rain, hitchhikers from different parts of the country were feeling the pinch as they tried to arrive for its beginning and struggled against the variable climate swings we have come to expect these days. From bitter-cold nights to blazingly hot days, the temperature switches ensured little comfort and even less sleep for participants as things started rolling and workshops got underway. English attendants expressed how much freer they were feeling here in the north-west of Germany than in the largely successful sister event in the south-east of England with the police presence being a lot less apparent.
Situated within the city boundaries beside the Volkspark at Hamburg Lurup the Klima Camp, which runs from the 15-24 August, had so far received little police attention. During the first days there was no sign of the on-the-spot police searches so decried in England or even that much oppression to show for. Had they learnt the lessons of the negative press attention in the UK or is it just that the Polizei is just used to discontented demonstration so much more that they felt that this more positive exponent was perhaps less of a threat to public security? The riot squad were still evident in the background but keeping a low profile on a bright Sunday afternoon when protesters opened the 10-day camp with what the organisers called a “hello” to the Hamburg public. Flags were waved, banners unfurled and costumes worn as protesters took to the streets for what would be an almost casual stretch along the streets of this northern German city so used to its opulence with the second largest port in Europe fed through the River Elbe.
As a scene of past struggles among those in Germany seeing the negative, guilt-inducing spectre from the past which is the rise of Neo-nazi movement, the city may have greeted this more constructive theme with careful optimism. In a country so used to taking politics seriously climate change is perhaps more on the public agenda and the slogans being flashed around could have rung home with some more identification than the anti-fascist fight. But there was more to this than just climate change.
Anti-racism saw scores of African-born participants as they struggled to show their opposition to the new powers the authorities are being given to lock up immigrants without papers anywhere in the EU for upto 18 months without the need for any justification. This basic deprivation of their human rights is a prime fuel for the fire of the No Borders camp and already has set another theme for this latest edition of the Climate Camp.
The march, held from Hauptbahnhof (central station) to Dammtor station, paused for a rap and a chat at the leisurely pace the good weather warranted and then the crowd dissipated without incident at the end of the protest, as for once the the police didn‘t incite the gathered throng.
Soon everyone was back at the camp in good spirits, the evening plenum after a tasty dinner of stewed vegetables with rice and salad, being healthily attended by representatives of the various ‚barrios‘ it is divided into. Opinions were expressed on the varying forms of action as well as a plea for more down-to-earth talk. The tone of the camp had been set and soon people were busy working and talking into the night, the start of the camp being celebrated as “a birthplace for various activist movements in new areas”, according to one of the organisers, and not just a freak event designed to wake up and die immediately after.
Walking around the different barrios after midnight it was good to see the unity in diversity as different people with varying views came together to see what they could do to help. In this show of solidarity, it was heart-warming to see the sometimes beleaguered anti-nuclear camp open its doors while the anti-fa kept a merry watch over the camp all night for any sign of nazi attack. This was going to be an eventful week and the momentum was only just starting to build up.
