The ‘Schwimmoper’ swimming pool in Wuppertal (photo) has a serious problem: aggressive young migrants are turning the pool into a nuisance. Because they insult and harass not only the staff, but also other guests, the swimming pool has to close for an hour at lunchtime at weekends, reports the newspaper Bild. ‘These groups of young foreign men stand in the non-swimmers’ pool or sit in the stands, then suddenly a pack forms and there is mob behaviour and insults,’ explains Alexandra Szlagowski (51), head of the Wuppertal Sports and Pool Authority, in an interview with Bild. ‘The situation has been getting worse and worse since last autumn.’ Sexual assaults have even allegedly occurred in the changing rooms.
The ‘Schwimmoper’, a modern sports pool in the centre of the city, is particularly attractive to young people under the age of 17 – they only pay 1.50 euros admission here. However, this also attracts those who the pool operators would rather keep away.
In July alone, security forces were deployed twelve times. Although bans have been imposed on the rioters, this does not deter the young people. ‘They simply don’t comply and they come anyway,’ says Szlagowski. ‘And I don’t have the staff to check IDs at the swimming pool entrance. What’s more, there would also have to be photos of the young people banned from the premises. It’s not that simple.’
‘Because many of them can’t swim, they get bored over time. Then they become provocative, groups gather and there’s trouble. The staff and other guests are insulted and harassed. This interruption is supposed to help. We can’t just stand by and let it carry on.’
One possible reason for the onslaught of rioters at the ‘Schwimmoper’ could be the closure of the outdoor pool in Wuppertal. In recent years, there have been repeated mass brawls in outdoor swimming pools across Germany, often involving young people of migrant origin. For this reason, video surveillance was even introduced at the Grugabad in Essen.
It remains to be seen whether the measure of closing the pools at lunchtime in Wuppertal will be successful.
Schwimmbad muss Mittags wegen Migrantengewalt schließen | Exxpress