The uniforms of the Munich policemen are not black but Paris blue, I am told in one of the many rooms of the installation called “Soko São Paulo”. It´s an intriguing concept to gather together some policemen and -women from São Paulo – city with one of the highest number of criminal acts in the world – and from Munich – a city considered to be a very safe one – and let them tell you about their work, life, dreams and reasons for working in police forces.
Entering the building of the installation, the audience is first given a sheet of paper with instructions for the next two hours. For the first 90 minutes of that time everyone can move as he likes from one room to another: in some of them there are just TVs playing videos where different people talk about theirselves and working in police forces but in many rooms there´s an alive exhibit on show. Seems that all those policemen and -women have been asked to select some photos of them at work and outside it and the audience is invited to look at them. After a while, the visitors are asked to sit down . The rooms are small enough so there´s usually just six or seven people listening for their stories. The atmosphere is friendly and free and although a trained police dog sniffs your legs there´s no real danger in being attacked here. This is not a performance for shocking but one for acknowledging. There are just 6000 policemen in Munich but 170 000 in São Paolo and the rate of deaths on duty differ greatly. Why that is, will not get an answer even during the football match held in the end for the pleasure of the audience and players.
Of course there is a question, whether this actually is a performance and if people telling their stories are acting? I guess that if we really need to define everything one might call it theatre since there obviously is a sense of performing noticeable in their story telling and nothing structure changing happens what hasn´t been discussed beforehand. And so one enjoys even the unpretentiousness of how a self defence trainer is personating a man on a verge of a suicide.
One more great idea used too easily, I find myself thinking leaving the policemen and -women finishing their football game. Somehow I´m sure that there would have been more gripping stories to tell.
*Stefan Kaegi is part of the Rimini Protokoll.
Comments
Ei - inimesed meie ümber meeldivad mulle. Isegi siis, kui nad just kõige ohutumad või heamad pole. Nagu see endine politseinik, kes ametis olles ühe tänavakallaletungija tappis, seejärel šokiseisundis koju läks ja kellel advokaat soovitas põgeneda. Saksamaale ta tulla ei saanud, sest kannab karistust mõrva eest, aga ta saatis sellele maailma kõige "huvitama ja parema ajalooga riigile" oma tervitused videolindi kaudu.
Igatahes hotelli tagasi jalutades vestlesin ma täitsa vabatahtlikult nende tüüpidega, kellele punapäine suitsetav neiu üksikul tänaval huvi pakub. (Tundub, et münchenlastele on selline tänavaflirt üsna tavapärane tegevus - olen siin alles kümnendat tundi, aga selle aja jooksul on mind on juba neli-viis korda kohvikusse, peole või ma-ei-tea-kuhu kutsutud :))
Ahjaa - esimest korda elus nägin ma täna silmast silma teisel pool maakera sündinud ja kasvanud koera. Ja tegin talle pai. :)