"I've lived in Sankt Pauli for over ten years and only during this time have I observed the massive investor and tourist-friendly expansion of the city center, which is giving the homeless less and less space," says Hamburg rapper Disarstar in a video published on YouTube. In the four and a half minute video, he reads a text in which he criticizes the treatment of people living on the streets.
His displeasure is followed by action in the video: The rapper uses an angle grinder to flex metal brackets, which, along with "other harassment", should ensure that "no one can make themselves comfortable there," says the rapper. The hangers were attached to a seat next to the Empire Riverside Hotel in Hamburg's St. Pauli district, writes the Hamburg street magazine Hinz und Kunzt.
After the metal brackets have been removed, Disarstar spreads out a folding mattress with a blanket and pillow on the free space and places a vase with flowers next to it. On the side of the seat he sprays with a spray can: "Not even the least."
Apparently, Disarstar doesn't have to worry about legal trouble: an official report was made, as a spokesman for the Hamburg police told t-online. However, the seat is on private property, which is why consultation was held with those responsible. They had "no interest in prosecution" and had not filed a criminal complaint, says the spokesman.
For the rapper, whose real name is Gerrit Falius, the "bars and other harassment on benches and sunbathing areas" are not the only measures against the homeless that are worthy of criticism. Disposable rubbish bins should make deposit collectors disappear from the cityscape and loud music at train stations should ensure that nobody stays there longer than necessary, according to Falius.
For him "all of this is deeply misanthropic" and not a "solution-oriented confrontation with a problem". Instead, it is "solely about repression and expulsion."
"You don't even treat the homeless to the dirt under their fingernails," he says. In his video, he calls for donations to the "CaFée mit Herz", a Hamburg facility for the homeless.
The 28-year-old rapper received a lot of encouragement for the campaign. "Respect to Disarstar who uses his platform sensibly to criticize the grievances in society," comments a user under the video. Another user writes: "It's hard for me to express the respect and appreciation I have for this campaign. Very important, especially in times like these!"
Sources: Youtube Disarstar, Hinz and Kunzt, t-online
