On September 1st, the Aachen Peace Prize will be awarded to the “Grandmas against the Right”. Visiting the Leipzig “Rio Grandmas” in Connewitz.
When Meta Mukasa (front right) saw the Spati for the first time, it was “love at first sight” Photo: Naima Erhart
Meta Mukasa came to Leipzig-Connewitz in 2013 Photo: Naima Erhart
The Späti’s inventory also includes vegan cakes and a lot of anti-fascist flyers Photo: Naima Erhart
There are two “Grandmas against the Right” in Leipzig. One group does educational work, the other takes to the streets. “We are the goddesses of the street,” says Meta Mukasa, who belongs to the second group. As does the “support group” that supports her today in her Späti in Leipzig-Connewitz. Interviews upset Mukasa. “Yesterday I almost had to take rescue drops to be able to sleep,” says the 65-year-old. The tall woman with the white hair and the broad smile is otherwise brave. Because of her political work, however, she does not want to be visited at home for safety reasons. Mukasa says: “The Späti is my living room.”
Outside: The bridal spirea is blooming white. It smells intense after the rain. Children are screaming at the playground. Anti-fascist graffiti and stickers can be seen here and everywhere in Connewitz. The Späti and the park opposite are popular meeting places in the neighborhood: Meta Mukasa is drinking coffee at the outdoor tables with her “sweetheart” – as she calls her life partner Bernd.
Inside: “Don't take photos around the corner, it's dirty there,” says the late-night shop assistant. Loud music is playing – metal, hardcore, punk and the sound of a coffee machine in the background. Vegan muffins are on offer. There are a few stickers on the door: “Don't dance with the police,” “fck afd” and “Grandma against right-wing Leipzig.” On a high table with stools there are donation boxes for anti-fascist projects. A vinyl record hangs on one wall: “Connewitz, we are all Linxs.”
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The grandmas: The “home visit support group” of grandmas that gathered at the Späti is not a “typical group,” they say. They are relatively young and many still work. Some have started to get involved against right-wing extremism because of their children and grandchildren, others are the first or only in their families. Like Meta Mukasa, who has no grandchildren and is doing it “for the next generations.” What did the grandmas against the right have in common? “We are tireless, we don't want to stay at home and complain about the political situation, we want to change something about it,” says Mukasa. “And show that it is possible.”
The Street Grannies: Silke (53), Sibylle (58), Elke (60), Katrin (59), Liane (71) and Bernd (66) would prefer to be in the taz without their last names. They show up one after the other at the Späti, having just come from a vigil at the Naschmarkt, a small square in downtown Leipzig, where they are trying to convince people not to vote for right-wing parties with their stand. They bring stickers, flyers and posters. Everything is homemade, including a cake. “For the grandma cliché,” says Mukasa and laughs.
Meta: It is good to talk to people outside the “Connewitzer Bubble”. I know all of Meta. With a cigarette in her mouth, she organizes crates of beer so that all the grannies can sit down. The fact that she is nervous about an interview is an exception. Otherwise, Meta Mukasa is someone who dares to do a lot. This is also shown by a video of her that went viral, in which she is sitting on her bike and giving a police officer the middle finger. He tried to stop her from taking part in a counter-demonstration to an event organized by the right-wing Free Saxony party. Her tricycle is also her license plate. Mukasa is never out and about without her bike.
The Leipzig Grandmas: The local group was founded by Katrin and Sybille after they had exchanged ideas with the grandmas in Halle. Otherwise, as they put it, they “couldn't find any more peer demonstrations.” At the beginning, the two of them stood on the street with “Grandmas against the right” signs. Little by little, the others joined them. There is something similar at Meta. “I was at a demonstration in 2019 and someone pressed a sign from the grandmas into my hand.” The question was whether she would ever be able to hold it. She has been involved ever since. She started protesting in 2014. “When people were inciting hatred against refugees, Bernd and I thought that we couldn't just sit there.” They also took part in protests against Pegida and Legida.
Inspiration: Elke came to the grandmas after hearing a talk by a 14-year-old Antifa activist who takes to the streets every Monday when right-wingers demonstrate. “She was beaten up several times and stayed with it. “That touched and inspired me,” says the Black Forest native. “I have to do something against these Nazis too, I thought.”
No alternative: Many of the grandmothers present are fighting against the far-right, primarily for their grandchildren. Others think that there is simply no other option than to do something. Like Katrin: “We have to be active this year. “It's so important,” she says. “We are currently the most active group in this city. We have two, sometimes three meetings every week. We see no alternative to this.” They post videos on TikTok showing worst-case scenarios if the AfD comes to power, go to retirement homes, to district festivals and go on a voter encouragement tour with “terrible music.” Many people still need to be explained why it is dangerous if the AfD becomes the strongest party in the state parliament, say the grandmothers.
Engagement: Meta sees it that way too. Her first demonstration as a teenager was against Paragraph 218, which criminalizes abortion. “I can't believe that 50 years later, this is still an issue,” she says. She was an industrial clerk in the automobile industry. She has always been interested in politics. And yet, as a working woman, she had no time to get involved. It was only in her mid-50s that she began to take on voluntary work at a local level. Since 2014, she has been working in the environmental library, in a repair café called Kaputt, but also in the city association of the Left Party, of which she was a member, as a confidant. They are currently non-partisan.
The Späti: Meta was born in Karlsruhe and lived there until she was 16. “After that, I lived everywhere.” She stayed in Leipzig with Bernd in 2013 because she fell in love with the city. Especially Connewitz. The first thing she saw of Leipzig was the Späti that is now her home. They were just driving past. “We had to go to the toilet and asked here. The people were so nice and I had such a connection with the place. It was love at first sight.”
The fans: “Encouraging people to vote” is one of the main focuses of their campaigns. “Dear people, go vote!” is the motto. “Make a cross to prevent the ticks,” says a postcard showing Meta with her bike. It is rare that someone does not want to talk to them. “80 percent of the reactions are positive, 20 percent negative,” says Katrin. “When I get older, I want to be with the grandmothers too,” Elke has heard. “Lots of people want to take selfies with us,” she says and laughs. “We feel like photo models.” They have also received positive feedback in the surrounding area. “Especially from young people. “They love us, we are pop,” says Katrin.
Family and friends: Her children and grandchildren are “so busy with work, earning money and family” that they have no time for protests, says Elke. “They tell me: 'Mom, it's so important that you do this. You're fighting for us.' But they also tell me to be careful.”
Train: The grandmothers talk at the same time: “I have a Nazi brother-in-law,” says one. “My son wants me to always say when I'm at home,” says the others. Meta is also afraid when a car drives slowly past her and she is being watched. But the biggest fear for everyone is that history will repeat itself and the AfD will “implement a program like in Nazi Germany in the 1930s because people don't understand that they want to restructure the country.” Many grandmothers are active because they don't want their grandchildren to ask them this one question later: “What did you do about it?” And they would have to answer: “Nothing.”
