Twenty-two-year-old Elisa Baş is a press officer at Fridays For Future and a student of chemistry and geography in Hamburg. She is committed to climate justice with a focus on those most affected by the consequences of the climate crisis. As part of her activism, Elisa also campaigns for anti-racism and refugees. She spoke to KOPFZEILE about Lützerath, the Greens and the future of the climate justice movement.
Category Archive: POLITICS
Lina E. is arrested in November 2020 on the charge of being the ringleader of a criminal organisation. The trial becomes one of the biggest against anti-fascists in the last thirty years. On May 31st, the verdict was pronounced. The defence spoke of a staged trial that had already been decided from the beginning, full of gaps and intended to make a political example.
After a vote on a parliamentary committee of enquiry into the NSU murders, Green Party MP Miriam Block lost all political posts overnight. KOPFZEILE investigates what lies behind the accusation of a lack of factional discipline and what the Hamburg Greens’ understanding of factional discipline is.
Occupation for climate justice at the University of Hamburg. The activists of the group Schwupps! demand climate neutrality by 2025.
On May 3rd, the 2022 Press Freedom Ranking was published by Reporters Without Borders. The annual press freedom ranking compares the situation for journalists and media professionals in over 180 countries. This year, the ranking is published for the 20th time. Germany has dropped from 16th to 21st place for the third year in a row.
On 4 May, Germany celebrates “Earth Overshoot Day“. A bitter “holiday”, especially for the climate movement, because from this day onwards the German population lives off resources that will not be produced at all this year.
The AStA of the University of Hamburg and the Network for an Alternative Quest call it an unprecedented attack on academic freedom. Nevertheless, the university withdrew the rooms for the conference “We want our World back!” This was preceded by the Hamburg Office for the Protection of the Constitution’s (Verfassungsschutz) suspicion that extremists might be present at the conference. What happened there?
Ahmad Ghrewati is a 34 year old activist who fled from Syria to Germany via the Mediterranean Sea in 2015. In Hamburg, he volunteers with the local “Seebrücke” group. KOPFZEILE spoke with him about his work and the current political situation in Europe and on the Mediterranean Sea.
The fact that climate change is a bad thing should no longer come as a surprise. Nonetheless: 1.5 °C are (STILL!) possible, somehow at least. These are the two main points to which the so-called final report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, published on Monday, March 20, 2023 is reduced. But what is that supposed to be – a final report on climate change? Our author Verena questions exactly that.
One and a half weeks after the devastating earthquake at the Turkish-Syrian border, two student groups from Hamburg invite to a lecture about the current situation. For the organisers, it is clear that the earthquake of February 6 is a highly political issue. While the AKP party in power under President Erdoğan speaks of an unforeseeable natural disaster, they are convinced that under a different policy the humanitarian catastrophe could have been prevented. Kopfzeile was at the event.
In Australia, Mexico, Germany – climate activists are criminalised around the world. When they’re taken into custody by the police during demonstrations or direct actions, they risk disproportionate repression. And they’re fighting for all of us: For the people in the global south, who are losing their livelihoods today, for the future generations and for an inhabitable planet. Our author Tabea is sure: Climate activism is not a crime!
In the wake of the energy crisis, the German government has passed a law for a one-time payment of €200 to students. However, this aid comes much too late and will not be enough. So it is high time to talk about the fact that students are losing to yet another crisis and why nobody cares.
Looting has started in the Blattwerk-Mensa. After already having covered the looting in the beginning of December, Jesko and Juri now took a closer look. In this comment they talk about why they support the looting, what’s behind it and why the Blattwerk employees would rather steal at Edeka.
For almost two years, activists have been occupying Lützerath to prevent the advancement of brown coal mining by energy group RWE. In the beginning of January 2023, this occupation is supposed to be cleared illegally by the police. Our author provides an overview of the „Lützerath lebt“ (English: “Lützerath is alive“) initiative in the context of climate activism in Germany.
Since the murder of Jina Mahsa Amini, there have been ongoing protests in Iran, resulting in a revolution that is accompanied by protests and statements of solidarity all around the world. In this interview, KOPFZEILE talks to the Iranian students Sogande and Dokhtare Iran. These are not their real names, of course. Both have to stay anonymous, fearing repercussions from the Islamic Republic, a regime that imprisons people who speak the truth and stand in solidarity with the revolutionary protests in Iran.
When Christopher Columbus arrived in the Caribbean, it marked the beginning of centuries of exploitation and slavery. Our author writes about the ongoing celebration of colonialism in Europe.
Domestic violence is a massive problem in our society that cuts across all social classes. Statistically, women are particularly frequent victims of physical and sexual violence in partnerships. KOPFZEILE talked with a victimised women about her experiences.
May 28th is World Menstruation Day or Menstrual Hygiene Day. The aim is to break taboos surrounding the subject of periods and to ensure that girls and women worldwide have access to safe menstrual products. An important topic, our author thinks.
One of the best-known Spanish traditions is being called into question by a change in social mood. Economically, too, the spectacle has been in crisis for some time and survives only with the help of subsidies. How much longer will it manage to stay alive? Would it be legitimate to ban a form of cultural expression? How can a solution be found to this conflict that divides the population so strongly?