Rumors instead of facts: why a video from Bremerhaven angered Muslims worldwide
Police officers and employees of the youth welfare office in Bremerhaven are currently being insulted worldwide, especially by Muslims, and some are even threatened. The reason is an oppressive video that has already been viewed millions of times. The backgrounds.
The video is short but hard to bear. It shows disturbing scenes of a court-ordered taking into care of two boys from an obviously Muslim family in Bremerhaven by employees of the youth welfare office with the support of the police.
It has been circulating on the Internet since April 27 – on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Telegram. The tweet by an Indonesian journalist with the video alone had been viewed 18.3 million times by May 2nd.
Nordsee-Zeitung.de evaluated the video, followed its path through the internet and viewed the reactions. Here is an overview - based on facts, without judgement.
What the video shows
The video is 4:12 minutes long. It is recorded by an Arabic-speaking man when the youth welfare office and the police want to take the two boys into care, as decided by the Bremerhaven district court.
The video is created during the action in an apartment in an apartment building in Bremerhaven - not secretly, but openly. The officials look into the camera several times, but do not stop the filming.
(So ??that you can form your own opinion, we are showing a key scene from the video here - edited by us in such a way that none of the participants can be seen.)
XPOS: Youtube1
This can be seen in the original video: Three police officers, one police officer and two employees from the youth welfare office are trying to take two boys into care (one probably of kindergarten age, the other of primary school age).
The older boy keeps a low profile and seems willing to go along. But the little boy keeps screaming and violently resisting being taken away.
The events are also characterized by two young Muslim women in jilbabs (a Muslim prayer garment for women that completely covers the body except for the hands and face). They attack the officials, sometimes becoming violent. One of them, possibly the boy's sister, screams almost continuously in a cracking voice, insulting the officers in German.
After the little boy resisted for a long time, a police officer and an employee of the youth welfare office get him out of the apartment and take him down the stairwell. His screams can be heard for a long time.
The male officer puts the older boy's shoes on in front of the apartment door, asking his family beforehand: "Can you just get socks for the little one here?" The angry young Muslima refuses: "No, we won't do it. Now fuck off.”
Two women involved in the authorities are also trying to defuse the situation. An employee of the youth welfare office says: "Everything will be sorted out." The reaction is renewed screaming. A police officer argued: "We can't do anything about it. That was decided by the youth welfare office. We are the ones here who are doing this.” Reaction: “Fuck the youth welfare office. you are all shit She, you, he.”
The police officer also says: "You have insulted us three times" - and announces a display. The excited young Muslim calls out loudly, apparently meaning the little boy: “He has electricity in his head, he is ill. He can die.”
A man who looks Arabic can also be seen briefly; however, at least in the documented scene, he does not take part in the events. A second man films the action all the time and often comments on it in Arabic. He asks "Why? Why?", he refers to the little boy's illness, he insults the police officers as "dogs". The video ends with a wail from this man.
How the video spread, what message it suddenly got
Apparently, the family shared the video in Muslim circles soon after the action. Soon it will be seen and commented on worldwide.
April 27: A journalist from Indonesia published the video on his social media channels. What he publishes is widely distributed: he has 879,000 subscribers on YouTube, 571,000 friends on Facebook and 262,000 followers on Twitter.
He calls his website an "independent channel" that comments on political and social events and "publishes various videos from around the world". The Muslim journalist wants to work against the "distortion of the image of Islam".
The man in Indonesia comments on the video from Bremerhaven as follows: "As I heard from Germany: violent kidnapping of children from a Muslim family! The kidnapping was carried out by the youth welfare foundation, accompanied by police forces.”
April 28: A day later, the Muslim presenter of a British private broadcaster's breakfast show shared the video on Twitter. Without citing a source, she spreads: “A little boy is forcibly removed from his family by youth protection services and the police. The school was informed that he was taught that homosexuality and transgender people were not acceptable in Islam. Ideological difference is not danger or abuse. Protect our children.”
April 29: Apparently via Messenger Telegram, the film reached Georgia. A young Georgian from Batumi, a port city on the Black Sea, spreads this variant on Facebook: "In Bremerhaven, the child welfare office takes away the youngest son of the family. A boy's school told a social worker his family taught him that homosexuality and transgenderism were unacceptable to their Muslim family and to him. The court decided to place the child in the care of social welfare.”
On the same day, a Georgian Facebook page called Gala uses this amalgamation for pro-Putin propaganda. She spreads the video with the words: "Hardcore recordings in Germany. Parents decided they would not welcome gay pedophilia propaganda in schools, so their child was removed. Do you realize now that Putin saved Georgia and Ukraine from this filth?”
The reactions to the video
The police in Germany use force to take away the children of Muslims if they raise them in accordance with their faith? This supposed but unsupported message is now going around the world. Apparently supported by the pictures of the struggle for the screaming boy in Bremerhaven.
The reactions on social media are no less disturbing. Here is a selection (always translated):
• "This is what fascism looks like"
• "Therefore the West must end"
• "Go live for the Taliban"
The reaction of the police and youth welfare office
The press office of the Bremerhaven police reacted to the distribution of the video on the Internet as early as April 28th. Probably due to inquiries from international media, she posts on social media: “The Bremerhaven police are aware of the video and are checking it. We do not want to participate in speculation. Please do not hinder our work by spreading this speculation.”
A day later, the police specified: “A video of a joint operation by the youth welfare office and the Bremerhaven police is circulating on social networks, which is commented on with false claims about the reasons for the measure. The video shows a small excerpt of a court-ordered taking into care of two children. The police supported the youth welfare office in this operation. Taking children into care is always the last resort and only happens if there are serious reasons. We ask for your understanding that, in order to protect the family and children, we cannot provide any further explanations on the basis of this decision. We are aware that said video is emotionally disturbing. Please do not spread false facts and claims.”
On May 2, a spokesman for the Bremerhaven police confirmed to the dpa press agency that the children were not taken into care because of their parents' Muslim upbringing in matters of sexual orientation: "We can deny that, of course that's not true. "
Neither the supporting police nor the responsible youth welfare office comment on the actual reasons for the removal of the two boys from the family. With her silence she wants to protect the family and the children.
Concern about the consequences for the police and youth welfare office
In the meantime, the video is spreading worldwide – as is the supposed background that Muslims in Germany lose their children if they raise them as believers. The denial from Bremerhaven goes under.
In the video, all the emergency services involved can be seen for minutes. Although they were clearly in control of the turbulent situation and acted in a de-escalating manner, they now live in danger of becoming targets of hate and hate speech.
According to information from Nordsee-Zeitung.de, the police and youth welfare office are therefore seriously concerned about the employees involved. Also because of the rampant outraged comments about the alleged violent kidnapping of two Muslim boys.
Views on Twitter like this one are taken very seriously:
“Muslims must be armed to the teeth and pump bullets at anyone who tries to kidnap their children! Immediately carry out armed robberies on the police. Wherever these children are: save them, get them out now! We must all sacrifice our lives to save these children.”
Editor's note
Out of consideration for the police and youth welfare workers involved, but also with a view to the family, we deliberately refrain from showing the original video - because everyone involved can be seen in it. We also deliberately do not link to the social media posts with the fake news - so as not to spread them further.
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