photo: Ole Ukena
Last night the occupation of a house at Ohlauer Straße in Kreuzberg achieved something like a bitter happy end. The solidarity and all the engagement of the people from Berlin towards the refugees of Ohlauer Straße has proven to be succesful. The 40 remaining refugees will be able to stay and meanwhile the house will be rebuilt to a proper refugee center. But still this result is not a success but more like a bitter reminder that it takes guts, will power and boldness to fight injustice. The images and stories from Ohlauer Straße seem to be from another country. Police brutality resulting in pepper spray against demonstrating teenagers and multiple fractures and damages under all the people protesting is a shameful result for the local government. The most expensive intervention of the police forces so far would have financed so much more important things in this city than this inhuman, senseless and unjust blockade. I just hope that the images from this days will stay sharp in our memories and in the consciousness of the government as well. More photos to be remembered after the jump.
Photos by Ole Ukena
Ole Ukena is a visual artist and photographer that lives between Bali and Berlin. He studied at the University of the Arts in Berlin with Hito Steyerl and Lothar Baumgarten and his photographic works have most recently been shown in the Paris Photo fair (2013) and Galerie Ilan Engel in Paris (2014). He is currently travelling the world and you can follow his journey at: www.eyeofo.com.
Other ways to stay in touch with Ole:
www.facebook.com/oleukenastudio (fb)
www.eyeofo.com (photo blog)
www.oleukena.com (artworks)
