The head of a German rail union warns that the country’s train system is turning into a “battleground” thanks to a wave of violence and intimidation being unleashed by male asylum seekers against female staff.
In an interview with Focus Online, Steffi Recknagel, the head of the Railway and Transport Union (EVG) in Thuringia, says that the average day is “sometimes life-threatening” for employees due to the sheer amount of abuse being dished out by migrants.
“I have an average of three employees sitting in my Erfurt office every week for legal advice. They were attacked, spat on, insulted, threatened or pushed,” said Recknagel, adding that female employees are being slapped, kicked, spat at and threatened with being stabbed by the ‘refugees’.
“The worst case was that a train attendant was threatened with a knife,” said Recknagel, adding that another was physically attacked from behind and “the air was knocked out of her.”
The union boss said that one stretch of the network was particularly bad, specifically the one frequented by Syrian, Afghan, and Turkish migrants from the local asylum center.
“I drive the Erfurt-Suhl route every day,” said Recknagel.
“And unfortunately, I have to say it like this: It is mostly young men from the initial reception center who misbehave completely on our trains. They always travel in groups and feel strong together.”
Instead of intervening when the migrants engage in violent or threatening behavior towards other passengers, train staff look the other way or even run and hide in locked compartments to avoid becoming the next victim.
“Our people are afraid, very afraid. We have employees who say: If these groups are on the train, then I won’t check tickets. Then, they say they’ll stay at the front with the train driver or lock themselves in their cabin until they get to a safe station and they get out,” said Recknagel.