Brazilian woman denounces racism and aggression in Germany: “Worst moment of my life”

Brazilian designer Gabriela Monteiro, 34, reported this Saturday (30) on her social networks that she had been the target of a racist attack by a group of six to eight people in Berlin, Germany, where she lives. She also said that her partner, Dominik Haushahn, also 34 years old, was attacked by the same group during a subway ride on March 26 last year in the German capital.

The police report was registered on February 27 of this year. Since then, the Berlin police have been investigating the case. Three of the attackers surrendered to authorities on the same date. “The investigation is ongoing,” said local police, in a note published on their website.

In a long report on the networks, Gabriela says that she and Dominik were traveling by subway to the Alexanderplatz station, which leads to one of the city's main squares, when a group entered the carriage and started laughing and making aggressive comments about her hair. and the appearance of the Brazilian woman.

The designer said that one of the group members took out his cell phone to record her and take a selfie, but she refused to record it.

“When I stood up reaffirming my refusal, the entire group began to harass and threaten us,” says Gabriela. She reports that the man insisted on taking the photo and that, after the third attempt, she reacted and tried to take the cell phone out of the boy's hand.

“The group said aggressive things like 'In Berlin, things aren't like that'”, he reports.

She says the situation worsened when the couple arrived at Alexanderplatz station. When leaving the train, three men from the group allegedly followed Gabriela and Dominik onto the station platform and attacked the Brazilian's companion “by punching him in the face until he was covered in blood”.

The attacks were only stopped after someone appeared to intervene in the fight. She also remembers that two women who were in the same group as the attackers held the carriage door so that the trio could escape.

“This cowardice that happened to us was a hate crime with a racist and sexist theme and needs to be named as such. It was the worst moment of my life”, wrote Gabriela in the publication.

According to the Brazilian, she began to live with the fear of walking the streets of Berlin after the episode, which she describes as “cowardice”. “This crime must be judged by the events that occurred: racism, sexism, physical aggression, as well as the psychological damage such as depression, anxiety and fear that I have suffered since then,” she said.

Attackers surrender to police

The Brazilian claims that she photographed the group and the images were used by the police to identify the three attackers who allegedly attacked Dominik on the platform. Images of Gabriela and surveillance cameras were published in the press, in which police authorities asked the population to help with information about the whereabouts of the suspects.

The day after the incident was recorded, however, the police reported that the trio of attackers handed themselves in — two 20-year-olds and one 23-year-old.

In the incident report, the Berlin police state that, “according to the investigations to date, a 34-year-old man and his wife, of the same age, were traveling on the U2 subway towards Hermannstrasse at around 6:10 am” when the man and his wife “were insulted and threatened by a group of six to eight young people after the 34-year-old man asked that no photos be taken of his wife,” the police describe.

“When the couple left the carriage at Alexanderplatz station, the man was allegedly hit several times in the head by three members of the group on the platform. He suffered injuries to his lip and nose. Only the intervention of a witness made the suspects stop attacking the 34-year-old man. Then, almost all members of the group fled back to the subway car and left”, reports the police in the same note.

Brazilian calls for other attackers to be identified

Gabriela states, however, that the boy who insisted on taking the photos and started the chaos has not yet been identified.

“The man who, with the support of his friends, acted in a racist and sexist way, laughing at my hair and aggressively insisting on photographing me, was the motivator for everything that happened. He must also be identified and held accountable for the hate crime he committed,” said the designer.

Wanted by Estadão, Gabriela said that all the statements she could provide are in the post made on social media. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was also contacted, and stated that it will consult the Brazilian embassy in Germany to obtain more information about the case.