Wednesday 10, April
U-Bahn train driver allegedly calls passengers “criminal migrants” over the loudspeaker
According to a video posted by a witness on X, a train driver shouted out a racist and xenophobic remark to a group of passengers over the loudspeaker on the U9 line, as reported by Berliner Zeitung.
Witnesses have reported that, shortly before the train doors closed at a stop, the subway driver made the following announcement in German over the train loudspeaker: “Can the criminal migrants back away from the door so we can move on?”. At the time, a group of migrants and refugees were on the train who, according to witnesses, were shocked and confused by the driver’s announcement.
Gestern Abend war ich mit zwei Freunden in der U-Bahn U9 Richtung Osloer Straße in #Berlin unterwegs.
— Mouatasem Alrifai | معتصم الرفاعي (@Mo_Alrifai) April 10, 2024
Kurz bevor die Türen an der U-Bahn-Haltestelle geschlossen wurden, hat der U-Bahnfahrer die rassistische Durchsage gemacht: „Können die kriminellen Migranten dahinten von der… pic.twitter.com/iAgbZJtTKx
In the video, two witnesses confront the BVG employee. When asked to explain his announcement, the driver doesn’t deny making the statement. Instead, he asks the witnesses why they’re filming and states that he has just expressed his opinion. When one of the witnesses tells the driver that the situation should have been handled differently, the BVG employee adds: “That’s the only language they understand.”
The two witnesses, who have been identified with the names Batu and Melli, sent the video to Mouatasem Alrifai, a Palestinian activist and human rights lobbyist based in Nuremberg. Alrifai has shared the video on X, commenting that he has “never felt so unsafe in Berlin” following the incident. Shortly after the video was shared, the BVG responded: “We will investigate the incident immediately and do everything we can to clear things up.”
