Monday, May 18, 2015

Protest

 May 18, 2015

On our way back from the Mall of Berlin today, Amanda, Robert and I came across a large group of very slow moving police cars & motorbikes. They also had the roads lined with police men. Since we were curious, we waited to see what was going on. It turns out there was a protest! A group of people were protesting against the immigration of Islamic people into Germany. We don't typically see this in Regina!


10 comments:

Emily Pletz said...

Oh my goodness! I can't believe after all the history Germany has been through, there still signs of racial discrimination!

Robert B said...

It was really interesting running into the group because I have been following them on BBC news. I was kinda cool reading about a story and then actually see it. I know that Islam is the fastest growing region in the world and there's everything happening with ISIS. As Canadians we consider ourselves very welcoming to a multitude of cultures in our culture, but there has been a lot of 'bad' associated with Muslims and up until now people have been 'putting up' with Islam as a whole until now. To tell you the truth I'm surprised that a movement like hasn't happened yet. I by no means support this movement, but within any group of people you have to realize that there are both 'good' and 'bad' people. In addition, you have to also realized, as William Shakespeare said: 'there is no such thing as good and evil, thinking only makes it so' (Hamlet). What does everyone else think? We do have a new foot washing station in Riddell at the U of R, but that doesn't stop feet from being washed in the sinks instead.

Robert B said...

Also here is a link for one of there bigger protests: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-30478321

Robert B said...

*Their

Emily Pletz said...

I agree with what Robert said about the bad associated with Muslims. I just think its interesting how people wonder how the Nazi's were able to brainwash a nation into taking all of the Jewish people into concentration camps, yet this is the same mindset of segregation. It isn't as serious as the holocaust, yet I find it interesting how some are so accepting of this protest.

Taya said...

Interesting. Was this specifically aimed towards islamic people and no other groups? I know European countries receive a large number of refugees from Africa and the middle east and world news recently has been full of articles about associated issues. However, this typically isn't simply a race thing. The sheer number of people seeking asylum can place pressure on a country especially if they are not properly equipped.

Anonymous said...

I agree with Emily, it is unbelievable that anyone can actually protest a group of people moving into their country... I mean the whole group... and its not just because of Isis although it does play a large part. It is all the cultural aspects that are different than what the population is used to. Also as Emily also pointed out, this isn't as bad as the Holocoust...yet. It isn't that the anti-semitism went from 0-100% overnight either. It slowly built up over time.
As for asylum seekers, I believe due to the policies in place, Germany doesn't get as many seekers as other European countries (Greece, Spain) because the policy is somthing along the lines that the person has to remain in the country they first arrive. It doesn't mean that they aren't stuggling with the influx but still that doesn't make it right to protest against groups of people.

Unknown said...

Taya to answer your question, we grabbed a small brochure (in German)that briefly explained the protest. This protest was specifically targeted at Islamic people. The crowd was chanting "keep islam out" as it marched. Basically, this group of people feels that their culture and freedom are being taken away due to the immigration of Islamic people into Germany. They are protesting to stop this immigration to preserve the German culture and freedom. There was a large group-I would estimate 80-100 people. I found this protest interesting because I doubt we would see a protest on similar grounds in Canada!

Emily Pletz said...

That's crazy! Especially since Berlin used to be a huge cultural city back in the day! Sometimes I feel like people take life too seriously. I wonder how they feel their rights are being "violated" by Islamic people.

Taya said...


@ Brooklyn. Thanks for the clarification!