September 2001
As I write, dark clouds portend the demise of summer, and tomorrow morning, with thousands of neo nazis and radical lefties threatening to clash when they march through the centre of Leipzig (citizens are being warned to stay out of town).
Seems that not all is well in Europe, with its feeble economic performances, the threats posed by unstable left and right wing politics, and the deadly legacies of oppression not too far from the the EC´s borders (watch Belarus as well as Chechnya and Macedonia!)
I experienced a "newer" but still mild form of racism a couple of weeks ago when I and an american friend were pushed out of a bar by a large doorman, with an inebriated native shouting, "Scheiß Amerikaners" but this attitude is nothing unusual here now (blame the foot in mouth GWB for that!). However, I saw a tram driver re open the front door for a young Vietnamese man running to catch a ride even as he was starting to move away from the stop (they normally won´t even wait for the little old German ladies!) Maybe it´s not over yet.
This month´s picture is another from my series on a canal system in Leipzig. Next month, maybe a wedding in an old castle...a happier picture?...we can but hope.
D.