No one is asking us if we want Google here in Kreuzberg.
No never.
Did Mr Muller ever ask you?
and locals say he also didn’t talk to them.
the mayor wouldn’t talk to us,
Despite persistent requests
calling it a good day for Berlin.
it would open its latest campus here
The Mayor of Berlin welcomed Google’s announcement
Google is now creeping in to our neighbourhood.
is one that’s already creeping in to every aspect of our lives.
The latest company drawn here
not only in Europe.
low taxes, high investment interests of people worldwide,
it has different reasons like,
of selling off the city -
But there are many reasons for this perverted form
that everyone has a right to housing.
The government felt there was a responsibility
that housing was a fundamental right and protection.
It was different in the past when there was more awareness
Was it different in the past?
with putting big business before Berliners.
the law isn’t stopping the government from getting away
Canan Bayram says this is because as it stands now
for the law to be changed altogether.
Some politicians are campaigning
That’s not possible.
you think you can jump the queue and get an apartment?
Because you came here with a banner
even in the winter and this is why we are here right now.
We know that Degewo pushes evictions
from Degewo’s stock of empty houses.
and this is why we demand an apartment
but there is a structural problem in this city
This may be an individual case,
Maybe you heard of the poverty business?
for a small room with a kitchen and bathroom.
where they have to pay 4,000 euros a month
They have to stay in accommodation
and other institutions of this city.
This family was tricked in a bad way by the social system
We are here to demand accommodation for a family.
We are happy you share our perspective.
But we have displaced no one.
No, I am the Legal Advisor, I have nothing against the message.
Are you from management?
But activists continued recording.
and our camera crew got thrown out.
They didn’t send someone from any level of management
we just want to talk to someone from the highest level.
It doesn’t matter for us,
We are also ok with a substitute or a spokesperson.
Is there is no one in the building, no one from management?
We have peaceful intentions.
Is it possible to call one of your managers?
It’s still on, turn it off!
Turn off the camera, this is the last time...
to Degewo’s doorstep.
who’d been kicked out of their home
As we met, they were taking the case of a Romanian family
on the condition we change their names for this report.
most successful anti-gentrification groups, Stop Evictions,
But we managed to follow one of Berlin’s
out of fear of being targeted by the authorities.
They distrust the media and prefer to stay anonymous
and some of their actions to press.
Anti-evictions activists usually close their meetings
and the threat of eviction and debt because of high rents.
which would end their problems with the police
that this family could move in to
and could easily offer apartments from its stocks
Degewo has a lot of empty properties
Degewo is a state-owned real estate company.
Now is no different.
and of defending them when they’re attacked.
It has a long history of fighting to gain them in the first place
like rent controls.
Berlin has a reputation for having strong social protections
He said “It was too expensive. I’m now here with my family.”
He said he had to move out too. I asked him why.
He was living 3 floors above me.
I said “Hey Omar what are you doing here?”
Then I saw someone I knew.
There were a lot of empty apartments in that area.
I met people who had moved there from Moritzplatz.
For me it was different. A different environment.
We moved from here to Neukolln in the direction of Treptow.
It was summer 2007.
I was 16 years old.
We moved from here in 2007.
Not only me also others.
Of course financial and so on.
but some circumstances make it hard for me to stay.
I say yes Kreuzberg belongs to me. I don’t want to leave here
and make big bucks off Berlin newcomers...
rich investors redevelop apartments here
These are bad times for Kreuzberg as rents are skyrocketing,
where him and his family can no longer afford to live.
that has transformed the Kreuzberg district
He makes tracks about the gentrification
I know him since I was a kid…
Hey, what’s up, how are you?
and part of the Berlin scene.
Drob Dynamic is a hip-hop artist
I saw war from the front row. It was intense.
and then they’d come back. It was intense.
and when they ran, they ran away
the cops were here, the black bloc was there
There were burning rubbish bins and really I saw how,
I had the best view during May 1st, here...
Hey you know what,
We lived in the first floor.
until we had to move out when I was 7 or 8 years old.
196 Oranienstrasse, since I was born
I lived here yeah.
You lived here?
more and more investors turn the people into prey.
It should be owned by the citizens but unfortunately
Canan, who owns this city?
The city is owned by the property owners.
Everyone is a part of Berlin and Berlin is part of everyone.
to buy the houses and who own them.
The city is owned by those who have the money
The right answer should be the citizens.
Boa… uhmm.
Right now it looks like it’s owned by big real estate companies.
Who owns the city?
think really owns this city.
and I want to tell you the story of who fellow Berliners
So many people are being forced out of their homes
is again in danger of becoming a divided city.
which was once split between east and west,
prices are rocketing and Berlin,
As global corporations and property speculators move in,
the rich and diverse fabric of the city that we love.
on the other, the Berliners who make up
On one side bankers and big-tech companies,
But behind the scenes there’s a battle for the soul of Berlin.
It’s known as one of Europe’s coolest cities.
or its alternative and music scene that I am also part of.
When people picture Berlin many think of the wall
I live in Germany’s capital city, Berlin.
My name is Marcus Staiger.
Turn off the cameras. It’s the last time now.
and we will not leave this reception.
We are here as a political group with an explicit demand
This is not the point.
If you want an apartment of ours you have to look on the internet.
- Not like this. - Or with someone who is in the building at the moment.
This is why we’re here, to talk to one of the managing directors.
from your housing stock.
We want to ask someone to give this family an apartment
into temporary accommodation.
This family was forced out of their home
Turn off the camera, thank you.