A few days ago, a black person was attacked and brutally overpowered by Deutsche Bahn security guards in the entrance hall of Bremen’s main train station while trying to buy a ticket. A video shows how four employees of the “DB Sicherheit GmbH” kneel on the victim and press him down with massive force. Train stations are particularly threatening and life-threatening places for Black people and people of color. Racial profiling by DB-Securities and the police is part of everyday life for many of those affected. These racial checks are discriminatory in themselves. Often, however, Black people and People of Color are also the target of racist abuse and assaults by DB-Securities or police officers – up to extreme, life-threatening violence.
“With their violent attack, the DB Securities risked the life of the person concerned. The fact that he survived the massive, racist violence is not thanks to the Securities, but only to him,” said Dr. Sunny Omwenyeke of Antira United. “As victims of racism, we know: The life-threatening assault in Bremen’s main train station is not an isolated incident. Our physical integrity, our human dignity and our lives are often not respected in train stations and other public places by so-called ‘security forces’. We say therefore not only since the murder of George Floyd: BLACK LIVES MATTER – this racist violence must stop, those responsible must be held accountable!”, continues Dr. Omwenyeke.