Published
Thu, Oct 13, 2016, 14:57
- The Leipzig club says that schemes to encourage refugees into the club haven't worked out as hoped.
Leipzig club and youth centre Conne Island has published a statement regarding sexual assaults on the premises.
The statement, published last Friday, October 7th, under the title "One Step Forward, Two Steps Back," addressed problems dating back to last year, when the club took a number of steps to encourage refugees into the club. Some schemes, such as German lessons and skateboard and bike workshops, continue to work well. Alongside this, refugees were able to gain entry to club events for a symbolic €0.50. This, says the club's Plenum (organising committee), has been abused by "young men with a migratory background, who visit weekend club events in large groups in order to cause trouble."
This led to an increase in sexual assaults, causing female guests to avoid the club. "Conne Island and other leftwing clubs have for many years been committed to banishing sexism and other forms of discrimination from their dance floor through an aggressive door policy," the statement continues. Recent events have caused the club to question "if we have shown sufficient solidarity with those affected [by sexual assaults], or have rested on our laurels regarding the anti-sexist efforts of previous years."
"To party together and in the process, as if by itself, achieve the integration of young refugees into Conne Island, turned out to be a naive plan. […] The authoritarian and patriarchal socialisation in the home countries of some refugees and liberal western (party) culture sometimes makes for an explosive mixture."
Security struggled to deal with the problem, owing to language barriers and fears of accusations of racism. One employee told the newspaper Die Tageszeitung, "We want to throw out an arsehole because he's an arsehole, and other guests yell at us that we're racists." The club were forced to call the police on more than one occasion, because "the level of physical violence against security personnel was no longer manageable."
The club's Plenum has been searching for solutions "which can unify the best possible protection for women and LGBTQ with the possibility of integration." The security presence at club events was increased at the beginning of the year, causing an average ticket price increase of €1, and the €0.50 scheme was restricted to refugees who had applied beforehand via email. These measures have improved the situation, "though they are not completely satisfactory to the Plenum, security nor the guests."
Germany took in close to a million refugees in 2015, and immigration remains an explosive topic in German politics. The club's statement has attracted attention from xenophobic right-wing groups, including the populist AfD party. The statement concludes: "The fact is and remains that sexual assaults, laddish conduct, anti-semitic, racist and otherwise discriminatory behaviour will not be tolerated in Conne Island, and any person who doesn't stick to our rules will be ejected from the club—regardless of their background. This place and its principles, which we have fought hard for in the last 25 years, must remain—in spite of, and precisely because of, the turbulent social situation in which we currently find ourselves."
Conne Island declined to comment at this time.
Photo credit: Conne Island Flickr