Status: October 2, 2021 4:00 PM
A group of gay young men in Hameln set up their own meeting place. You want to send a clear signal of tolerance, especially in a small town.
Looking at dumb, quirky notes – especially in rural areas, this is often a reality for young people who don’t conform to the usual gender stereotype. So the new meeting point should be a kind of safe haven: “They wanted a place where they could be the way they wanted to be. Other young people feel the same way,” says Treffpunkt co-founder Karim Jothan. The way to get there was very easy: Jothan asked the city and got a large room at the Rainbow Youth Center in Hameln.
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afraid of stupid words
Now up to 15 gay guys meet here once a week. One of them is Dominic Buchner: “Here in Hameln I definitely wouldn’t go to the pub holding my hand or something,” he admits. He knows how people react to her – and has no desire for stupid sayings. Elisa Helms is also familiar with such uncomfortable situations: She often preferred to use the teacher’s changing room because the other girls in her class didn’t want to move in with her—”because they were afraid I’d walk away,” she says.
Show how diverse Hameln is
For Kareem Jothan, the problem has a lot to do with conservatism. Small towns sometimes lag behind big cities on issues of tolerance. He worries that people like him no longer have to hide. He wanted to show the Hamliners how diverse their hometown was. In addition, he wishes the city would show greater commitment and be more present when it comes to queer issues. Jothan: “So that this is not brought under the table.”
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