Student protest in Kreuzberg: 12 years are waiting for your school!

Student protest in Kreuzberg: 12 years are waiting for your school!

In Berlin-Kreuzberg, the students of the Kurt Schumacher primary school have been fighting with an intolerable school arrangement for over a decade. On Thursday, 250 children gathered in front of the House of Representatives to draw attention to the catastrophic conditions of their school with a loud protest. The pupils had to leave the main building of their school due to serious fire protection defects in 2012 and have since been housed in the opposite after -school care center. This predicament, referred to as the "BER von Kreuzberg", makes not only children, but also parents and teachers despair. The current status is sobering: While the school half and the sports hall have finally been ready for use since 2022, the renovation of the other has been suspended since then, since the construction projects of the neighboring fashion school and primary school get in the way.

demonstration calls for quick measures

parents and students have long been demanding for a solution. Gülcan Yapici, the parents' representative, is frustrated and complains about the sluggish processes: "We want this to be accelerated! What is possible should finally be done." Despite the statements of the Kreuzberg-Friedrichshain district, all conflicts have been solved and planned for two years for the construction period, many remain skeptical. The hope that an end to the provisionals will soon be approaching seems to be a distant dream for the children and their parents, which also comments in their protest: "We are coming back", call them on the way back to school.

Parallel to the concerns of the Berlin students, the parliament building in Vienna, an architectural jewel and place of the history of democracy shines. Built between 1874 and 1884, it reminds of ancient Greece with its classicist architectural style. Since the foundation of the Republic of Austria in 1918, it has served as the seat of national legislation and has housed many associated people in the past decades, including the National Council and the Federal Council. The building has proven itself through two world wars, survived several renovations and is not only a symbol of political stability, but also a place where democracy can be experienced alive.

The parallel fates of schools and parliaments show how important it is to secure and further develop the basis of a functioning society - education and political participation. As bz-berlin.de , the Berlin children are determined to stand up for their rights, while the history of the Vienna Parliament building teaches us that the perseverance ultimately leads to progress, as wienguide.org reported.