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Life in Lockdown

“Lady, want a smoke?”

Berlin’s hedonistic Görlitzer Park seems unchanged during lockdown Ulrike Neuhoff , IBZ Gimborn. Berlin is the place to be for a hedonistic night life, where the nights last until next morning. Nowhere is this more apparent than in “Görli.” Just a stroll away from the old Berlin Wall, Görlitzer Park sits in Berlin’s Kreuzberg district. It is where young West Africans sell the drugs which keep the clubbers on the dance floor. E verything changed on Sunday 19th March , when the government issued a stay at home order to control the Coronavirus. Public life was put on hold with schools, universities, restaurants, pubs and with the situation. When the bars and discos closed, partying continued inside the park, much to the delight of the dealers. Business could not be better; their customers lay happily on the grass and there were no Police to be seen

clubs all closed down. But what did this mean for Görli’s drug scene, the dealers and the Police? Well, its dealers made sure you never ran out of drugs, even in times of pandemic. The area around Görli is a multicultural neighbourhood, where Turkish migrants mix with Berliners of the “old left.” Travel guides seem undecided whether this is a dangerous place to be avoided, or a place to experience the real Berlin. As a Kreuzberg resident, I know Görli is much more complicated than the guide books suggest. Two worlds clash in the park; the world of those fleeing their homelands because of war or political persecution, and the world of those escaping the monotony of everyday life. But among these escapees; locals play with their children, visit the petting zoo, or go for a stroll. It is where youngsters ride their bikes or play soccer, where the elderly sit on benches and chat. Amongst all this innocent activity, the dealers are constantly open for business. Görli, and its clash of worlds, is a microcosm of Kreuzberg’s political arena, where the culture clash impacts on everyone: police, dealers, customers, visitors and local residents. Everything became political here, creating a culture which guaranteed everybody’s rights: rich, poor, sober, drunk or stoned; everybody has the right to be there. So, amidst the bourgeois life, drug dealing continues under the public eye. Despite the climate of tolerance, law and order in Görli does matter. Last year a hotspot Police unit of 11 Officers was established for the park. Under their watch, nothing in the park went unnoticed. Police cars parked outside the park, and often a Police van patrolled inside the park. Now and then Police Officers stopped and searched a dealer, or ran after them. That was life in Görli before the lockdown descended on the capital. There had been rumours that, with rising numbers infected, the government was about to take restrictive measures. With the rumours came anticipation of what was going to come, and left-wing groups started fortifying their efforts to support the young men dealing drugs. Their slogans “Leave no one behind” and “Borders kill” hung from house walls around the park. Then, the government issued its anticipated order and public life for most of us came to a halt. But, inside the park, visitors and dealers found their own ways to deal

The concept of social distancing had not quite sunk in, so after news reports about breaking the lockdown rules, the Police started to break up gatherings in the park. The parties ended and the park was taken over by joggers, cyclists, and walkers. The influx of tourists also stopped, significantly reducing the number of potential customers for the dealers. But, with nowhere to go, no residence permit and nothing to look forward to; the dealers remained. They hung around in groups, approaching passers by to offer their goods, undisturbed by the authorities. With fewer customers, times became hard for the young men and prices for their drugs went up. Supporters provided face masks and gloves, and explained the concept of social distancing; all with the aim of keeping their business alive and making potential customers feel comfortable. While the dealing goes on in the park, Police vans are still parked at the entrances to the park and Police Officers occasionally look up from their mobiles. The young dealers remain unconcerned, because Stop Search and the chasing of suspects has stopped. Meanwhile, families still visit the park, youngsters still play soccer, pensioners still chat, and the dealers sell their drugs. “Lady, want a smoke?” This is life in Görli during lock down; some things never change.

Berlin Wall

POLICE WORLD Vol 65 No.3, 2020

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