A day of celebration turned into drama in Berlin on Saturday. A Quebecer, living in the German capital, describes the shock felt after learning that a ram truck had driven into the crowd on the sidelines of the Pride parade, leaving one dead and 29 injured.
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• Also read: Pride parade in Germany: one dead and 16 injured, hit by a vehicle
Alexander Frederick says the Pride parade is usually a day of celebration that brings huge crowds together in the German capital.
“There are so many people, it’s truly an exceptional event,” he explains on LCN on Sunday.
Alexandre Frédérick, a Quebecer living in Berlin.
Screenshot | TVA News
Returning home after 9 p.m., he learned of the terrible events when his relatives, worried about him after his participation in the parade, checked on him.
“I’ve had friends write to me, ‘What’s going on? Is everyone okay?’ Then that’s when we looked at everything. Then with the dismay, really, of saying, “My God, it’s happening again.” This is not the first time in Berlin that everything happens like this. I experienced a lot of sadness,” he says.
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According to him, this type of event is a reminder that we must never take the progress made by the LGBTQ+ community for granted.
“We must continue to fight for our rights, unfortunately […] and it’s not won,” he says.
A shaken sense of security
Alexandre Frédérick says he generally feels safe in Berlin during events, mentioning that several measures are in place to protect the population, including barriers intended to prevent trucks from accessing pedestrian areas. However, he deplores the fact that, despite these measures, such attacks can still occur.
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“It calls into question a little to say: are we really safe? There is a friend today who wrote to me that he was going to think twice in the future before going to our big major events like that, because we say to ourselves, unfortunately, you never know, it’s as if it could happen again,” he adds.
Despite everything, the Quebecer refuses to give in to fear and believes that we should not generalize from such a dramatic event.
AFP
“These are events that are unique and very, very, very unfortunate, but I don’t think it’s going to change how I’m going to come out either,” he concludes.
To watch the full interview, click on the video above.
