Attack in Berlin. “No one should be afraid to give a hand to the person he loves”

Remember that a white van hit people gathered in Tiergarten Park, next to the parade route, and the author ended up getting shot by the police the next day. 

“Today I woke up with a broken heart. One person lost his life and several others were injured in the attack on the Pride of Berlin. Before any reflection, it is in them, in their families and in the whole community that I think about today.

But, after seeing the news, I made the mistake of opening comments on social networks. I read people celebrating violence. I've read people mocking their victims. I read comments that dehumanize LGBTQIA+ people as if our rights and lives were debatable,”, started by saying.

“ Little by little, hatred stops hiding. It materializes. It becomes more common, more acceptable, more assumed. And that scares me almost as much as violence itself. In recent times I have felt more and more fear of gestures that should be simple. Like holding hands with the person I love. I find myself wondering where I am, who's around me, if someone's gonna insult us or if that look can turn into something else. It is sad to feel that fear can occupy a space that should belong only to love. And maybe that's what cost me the most about what happened in Berlin.

Pride has always been much more than a celebration. It's a space where so many people finally feel they can let their guard down. A place where they can exist without asking for permission, without hiding who they are and without living on alert. To think that even this space can no longer be safe is deeply painful. That is precisely why Pride remains indispensable”, he added.

“Not because love needs justification. Not because our existence needs validation. But why still some people think some lives are worth less than others. Because the hate speech isn't just on the Internet. When it is normalized, it creates the ground where violence grows. As long as there are people who are afraid to exist, Pride will continue to be resistance. Because no one should be afraid to hold hands with the person they love. And no one should lose their lives by celebrating who they are,” Tomás Taborda said.

 

 

 

 

 

See this picture on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Tomás Taborda (@ tomatostarda )

Hundreds of thousands of people had moved to the German capital to celebrate the Berlin pride parade, known in Germany as Christopher Street Day. This is one of the largest LGBTQ+ celebrations in Europe. The Berlin Police had mobilized over 2,000 agents to ensure the safety of the event.