Katharina's Story

Everyday Racism, Unfortunately Even in Germany...

It's a Sunday like any other. I get on the bus to visit my father. At the stop where I get on, there is a driver change, and the driver just waves me through without making me scan the QR code. A recurring nightmare for me because it rarely works...

As the new driver takes his seat, a young man walks in. The first thing I notice is how much effort he has put into coordinating his outfit. A sight you don't often see. He also holds up his phone to show the QR code and goes to his seat.

At that moment, the driver shouts after him, "Scan first." The young man stands up again, holds the phone to the scanner – and nothing happens. He goes back to his seat. In that instant, the driver jumps up and angrily charges toward the young man. He threatens to call the police. The young man stays seated. So the driver announces that we will not be moving until the passenger leaves the bus. Now it has come to this. The passengers are weighing whether to walk or wait for the next bus.

The others are debating who should work on their language skills. The bus driver on his English? Then he would have long understood that the young man had asked him to try it himself – or the Ukrainian because he didn't know enough German yet. Two elderly women agreed on the latter. They didn't speak English themselves, but they thought these foreigners should make more effort to learn the German language...

Next to me, a young woman with a child had gotten on. She asked me to watch her child while she exchanged a few words with the driver, who had gone outside angrily to smoke. She had taken the young man's phone with her. When both returned to the bus, the young woman calmly scanned the code. And what a surprise... it worked. As she sat down again, she looked at me and said, "In today's world, I miss humanity. So much is measured by nationality..."

After having lunch with my father, I got on another bus. I had to scan the QR code. The driver said dryly, "That doesn't work," shrugged his shoulders, and told me to take a seat. How easy it is when you are blonde and fair-skinned... what kind of times are these...