Hello everyone,
Today sees the start of the Performacula Migration-Transits-Movement Festival. What impact does migration to Berlin and the Europes have on those of us fleeing the obligatory heteronormative regime from the Americas? The PERFORMACULA Second TRANSborder Festival of Politics and Performance proposes socio-cultural ruptures from trans, sex-disident, migrant, racialized communities. The event lasts until Sunday in New York in Bethanien and other venues in Berlin.
Tomorrow (Friday) there’s a solidarity party for the revolution in Rojava. Left wing movements are experiencing state repression and criminalisation worldwide. This evening aims at collecting donations for the Kurdish movement in Germany, while showing that we won’t let ourselves be demotivated. Our solidarity is stronger than their repression. The party starts at 7pm at Magdalenenstraße 19.
The AfD is currently being increasingly dominated by Nazis while being the second most popular political party according to recent polls. This weekend they are having their national party conference in Magdeburg, and there will be protests outside. Aufstehen gegen Rassismus is sending buses from Berlin, which will leave Alexanderplatz at 8am. Bus tickets cost €8 for the round trip (solidarity price €12) and are available at a number of venues listed here. There are stickers which you can print out here.
Also on Saturday, there will be buses going from Berlin to Szczecin Pride. Queer activists in Szczecin, Poland, are organising a Pride demonstration for the fourth time to protest against the anti-queer sentiment and policies in their country. In the face of opposition from the state, the Catholic Church and far-right movements, this takes a lot of courage, so we need to support them and show solidarity! A bus to the event is leaving Berlin Hauptbahnhof at 10am (at the BVG bus stop on Europaplatz) and goes back there in the evening.
If you can’t leave Berlin on Saturday, you can always go to the Fiesta de Solidaridad in Lichtenberger Parkaue. The fiesta promises a varied programme of cuban music and politics. It is an open-air event with a focus on Cuba/Latin America/solidarity work. There will be a stage programme with roundtable discussions and and live music as well as information booths of various solidarity and left-alternative groups. It is organised by Cuba Si who are our Campaign of the Week.
There are many more activities this week in Berlin, which are listed on our Events page. You can also see a shorter, but more detailed, list of Events which we are directly involved in here.
In News from Berlin, another re-election looks likely in Berlin – this time for the German government, Trans woman’s grave desecrated again, and retail workers in Berlin strike for higher wages.
In News from Germany, CDU leader Merz ready to cooperate with the AfD, new initiative from die LINKE for redistributing wealth, German government to subsidize the semiconductor industry, and asylum applications in Germany set to increase.
Read all about it in this week’s News from Berlin and Germany.
Finally, last month’s meeting on Palestinian solidarity and repression in Germany with Ramsy Kilani and Anna-Esther Younes is now online. The 20th of May saw Nakba day demonstrations banned in Berlin, and the one held by the Jewish Voice for Peace repressed by the police. Before the only allowed demonstration, activists came together to discuss the history of Palestinian repression in Germany, and what it means to live in a country where Palestinian solidarity is criminalized. The event is in German and was organized by the Nakba 75 campaign.
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Keep on fighting
The Left Berlin Editorial Board