SIGNS OF THE CHANGING GERMANY : THE EXAMPLE OFÂ DOMINIK BRUNNER
By Kevin Stoda, Germany
The German newspapers were impressed by the stillness and quiet that took place in the busy metros and regional train lines of the city of Munich around noon on Wednesday. The moments of stillness was part of a memorial for Dominik Brunner, a 50-year old, who was violently killed on the weekend when he tried to stop 4 children from being abused by dangerous ruffians in one of the subways of the Bavarian capital.
As a symbol of opposition to the spiraling violence in cities and small towns in Germany, the crowds around Munich on September 16 observed a moment of silence as the body of Dominik Brunner was laid to rest in a graveside of that south German City. The evangelical minister Christian Wendebourg emphasized at the funeral that Brunner will long be forgotten but his action in the face of violence to save others will live long as an example to very many others.
The two youth who beat Brunner to death on Saturday in front of nearly 20 passersby "i.e. who did not intervene to save him "have been a great source of debate and discussion in the news, politics, on talk shows, and in police stations around Germany. Some are calling for tougher sentences as justice. Others are simply calling for more presences of police "as opposed to TV cameras in the streets and subways of cities. Others blame parents for raising "monsters . Others are calling for more civil courage nationally.
FISHING MAFIA ON RHINE RIVER ?
Since I moved to Germany in January of this year (after a 20 year hiatus), I have noticed a reluctance for police to intervene in a timely manner. For example, in August the local newspaper, the Wiesbaden Kurrier, here on the Rhine River where I live, had a lengthy article on the apparent development of a large fishing mafia made up of Germans of Russian and East European decent. These so-called "Russians or bullies have fairly well taken over the river from the many local sport fisherman and fishing clubs over the past two years.
These days, according to writer Jorg Hamm, this "river fish mafia breaks every fishing code in the region and keep guards posted on both sides of the Rhine with cell phones in hand every single weekend "just in case the local law enforcers show up.
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