The Victim Counseling Center ABAD – A case study of daily racist life in Thuringia

»It’s still not clear whose fault it was! Jean (name changed by the editor) really provokes people sometimes,« suggests the social worker at the shared refugee housing facility. She’s talking about an African resident in the facility, where she’s found a job through a work subsidy program.

She doesn’t mean any harm by it, but you still want to scream that she shouldn’t say these things. Jean was the target of a physical attack by neo-Nazis. A drunken right-wing extremist with a beer bottle and a knife went after the young black man, calling him a »fucking nigger« and threatening him. »What do you want? Do you have a problem with me?« responded Jean, who didn’t ignore his attacker, though he did dodge his well-directed knife attacks. The attacker was cheered on by two companions, who called in reinforcements with their mobile phones. A short time later, 10 more right-wing extremists joined them. You can only imagine what would have happened if a brave German couple hadn’t stepped in, giving cover to Jean and allowing him to escape. There were enough witnesses as the attack happened in broad daylight. It was late afternoon and Jean had just made a quick stop at the store, Rewe-Markt, not far away from a shopping center.

Jean was surprised only by the suddenness of the Nazi attack, not by the attack itself. As a politically active young man, he’s always aware that this kind of situation could develop. With unease, he describes day-to-day life in the town where he is forced to live. For him, every trip to town means getting insulted and sworn at by »normal« townspeople: »Hey nigger, go back to Africa – we don’t need your kind around here« or »Out with foreigners – you’re taking our jobs away.« It’s not only black Africans who are permanently confronted by racist taunts like these, but all people here who are perceived to be »non-Germans«. He doesn’t react any more to this lack of respect, to these non-physical attacks.

None of the attackees would think of filing complaints against the people who insult them. A suggestion of this kind would presumably only be greeted with bitter laughter. »With this,« says Jean in French, pointing to his dark skin, »you don’t have any chance with the police.« Jean is exposed to the police’s usual humiliating treatment even after the attack – it doesn’t matter that he’s the victim. Someone called the police at some point during the attack. When they arrived on the scene and arrested the offenders, Jean had already disappeared, headed for the refugee facility. But because a black man in this town could only have come from the shelter, they »got« him almost immediately. Without knocking, the police officers barged into his dingy 15 square meter room that he shares with one of his countrymen. Showing him no manners or common decency, they barked that he should »kindly« accompany them to the witness examination. Jean hardly notices their disrespect now; he is used to being treated this badly by the police of his »host country«. Dark-skinned people are also constantly controlled and exposed to ID checks, which are officially justified by the introduction of the Residenzpflicht (1)

People who apply for asylum in Germany must often live in unspeakable conditions in shared housing for asylum seekers. These accommodations are often located on the city outskirts or in remote areas, and what’s more, the people living in these places are only free to move about in the county to which they have been assigned. They have no control over the choice of county. »That’s the amount of room that a dog is normally entitled to in Germany,« cries Jean desperately, referring to his tiny room. When he talks about his situation in the asylum seekers’ shelter, where he’s lived for over 3 years, his voice sounds more desperate than when we talk about neo-Nazi attacks.

The victim counselors can only take note of this. The ABAD worker only comes after he has heard about the »Nazi attack« in a short report on the radio (Radio Antenne, Thuringia). The attacks briefly focus public attention on the victims of extreme-right violence and racist discrimination, who otherwise live in state of anonymity, completely ignored by society. Often a short report in the media is the only indication that crimes have a far-right background. 5 full-time employees and several volunteers work at ABAD (Anlaufstelle für Betroffene rechtsextremer und rassistischer Angriffe, or Center for Those Affected by Extreme-Right and Racist Attacks), counseling victims in their offices in Gera, in eastern Thuringia, and in Erfurt, the state capital. The antiracist project deals with the ways in which asylum seekers in Germany are treated, housed, incapacitated, deprived, criminalized and robbed of their fundamental civil and human rights. In everyday life, however, the reality of refugees’ and migrants’ lives only plays a secondary role: ABAD and other refugee and victim counseling centers would be happy if they could handle all the »cases« of open racism, physical attacks and verbal discrimination. It’s all too seldom, though, that these occurrences are reported in the newspaper or on the radio and these are often the only clues that the counselors have to go on.

The center’s counseling is primarily limited to the victims of numerous extreme-right attacks. Often simple counseling of the neo-Nazi victims, who are usually under shock, afraid, and/or resigned and angry, turns into the bitterly necessary work of freeing them from isolation, and helping them to rediscover their own resources and develop their own unique possibilities for action.
One possibility for action may be to bring an auxiliary charge (or so-called incidental action) against the assailant. This should be done together with a lawyer and allows the victim to act not only as a witness in the courtroom, but to become actively involved in the trial with petitions and testimonies of her or his own. Without an incidental action, the perpetrator’s extreme-right background is often completely ignored in court. Indeed, the victim is not infrequently accused of complicity, which in view of her or his day-to-day life, adds insult to injury. Considering the kind of person Jean is – not a passive victim, but a man who defends himself and doesn’t run away – the attempt will surely be made. Jean was not only politically active in his country of origin, Togo, where he got into difficulties and as a result is not permitted to return. In Germany, too, he maintains contact with the activists of one of the few self-organized refugee associations, »The Voice«, which is located in another Thuringian city, Jena. Having consciously dealt with his situation as a black asylum-seeker in Germany may have saved Jean from the trauma of a life-threatening attack: he was not as surprised as so many of the neo-Nazi victims are.

ABAD counsels and supports victims in questions of psychotherapeutic treatment and incidental actions, in filing compensation and redistribution claims, and in helping with trial costs. Sometimes it’s important to just listen, not to question what has happened, but to support the victim’s point of view.

Public relations work is another of the responsibilities of the young project, which is sponsored by the Refugee Council in Thuringia. This means not only publicizing individual cases or trials, but also increasing awareness of the humiliating system in which asylum seekers live.
In addition to asylum seekers, ABAD’s »clientele« includes people perceived to be non-German and other foreigners, all potential or actual victims of racism, right-wing extremism and anti-Semitism. They are all frequently targets of Nazi attacks and also of discrimination in »normal« society. The physically disabled, people of Jewish persuasion, the homeless, the socially weak, non-right youth, punks, and gays and lesbians are also frequently affected. ABAD also aims to help leftist and alternative youth clubs and meeting places organize themselves, and to support them in their demands for self-determination and emancipative possibilities for development.

An example from southen Thuringia: in the spring of this year, ABAD counseled a young German man who had been attacked by Nazis in Suhl. After the attack, and in cooperation with ABAD, he organized a group of local people who arranged a demonstration which received wide support. The event was supported by, among others, Stefan Hocke, a member of an Olympic team who won in Salt Lake City, the writer Landolf Scherzer and the SPD’s vice party whip, Ines Gleicke. The demonstration, which took place on May 26, was also (or only?) attended by 250 people, most of them young.

Another example illustrating a further aspect of ABAD’s work … In easter Thuringia, ABAD is cooperating with a local asylum group on a campaign against the living conditions of the circa 300 asylum seekers in the refugee residence, Markersdorf, in the county of Greiz. This county’s borders encircle the city, Gera, almost like a wrench. Markersdorf is located directly on Gera’s city limits, but is about 40 kilometers away from the county town. Nevertheless, the refugees may not enter Gera. The people forced to live in barracks-like conditions in Markersdorf are almost robbed of their right to self-expression: there is no public telephone on the residency grounds, and the closest telephone booth is in the city of Gera, about 500 meters away. The trip there, along a highway between speeding cars and guard barriers, is life-threatening. The »non-German«-looking people become the targets of Nazis, who attack them, and of passing motorists, who thrown trash out their windows at them and insult them. To top it all off, the asylum seekers can be fined by the police, who lie in wait for them in Weissig, where the telephone booth is located. They can be forced to pay around 100 euros for violating residency laws, a hard task with a monthly cash allowance of 41 euros.

In short: racist daily life in Thuringia, Germany. Various people’s various types of racism intertwine to build a hostile system of humiliation and disenfranchisement. A case for ABAD!

Next article: Interview with Bundestag President, Wolfgang Thierse