Photo by Rahal Eks - a touch of color in gloomy water
It was not exactly a colorful day, the crowd was plagued by rather gray gloom with showers, and for my taste a quite cold temperature for this time of the year. Somehow it didn't fit the official beginning of summer date, not in feeling or matching with the out-of-season weather-wise fact. In German there is a saying "ins Wasser gefallen" - literally and symbolically meaning: it fell into the water. And this is how it sums up the gist of the event or rather non-event. Even though all in all there were three CSD Pride events scheduled in Berlin this year. It sounds like the holy trinity and one wonders: "Why three and not one?" Well, the answer is not very orthodox-religious as you can guess when reading one of my raps.
CSD Pride event number 1 was the commercial mainstream gig, the one that has very little to do with the original spirit of the Christopher Street protest for LGBTI rights when things started way back in another era and another place with different people and some honest umph.
CSD Pride event number 2 was a one-shot rattle-the-cage-intention gig with an urgent political message, protesting in front of the Ugandan Embassy and then in front of the Russian Embassy - and we all know why, due to their respective recent anti-LGBTI laws.
CSD Pride event number 3 was the one in Berlin Kreuzberg, formerly known as the alternative "transgenial CSD" - but this year the name was gone, the route minimalised, and in short one could call it a mini-gig. Rumors of why things didn't happen as in the previous years were numerous and I don't need to get into any of that in this context here. At least this event still took place at all - Al-Hamdulillah - considering other cities on this planet where any Pride March is forbidden to begin with, or being attacked by retrograde forces of the united phobia-tribes of Gloomistan.
So I had opted to attend the event in Kreuzberg. It started late but hopeful, and as time went by more and more people showed up. The speech contributions in German, Turkish, French and English were all spot on and addressing vital issues for all queers and Co. including asylum seekers and to drum up solidarity on a wider scope.
Slowly the march began to move - the route was only two and a half blocks - and by the time the destination was reached where further speeches and performances on a stage were planned it suddenly began to rain and I got slightly wet, jumping quickly for shelter into one of the bars of Oranienstrasse.
Today is another day, but the weather still sucks. I know, this too shall pass - "inam migsare" - so I try to focus on the blessings and get some more writing done...
Ishq bashad, saludos Rahal
