This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/05/world/europe/austria-nickelsdorf-art-refugees.html
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| An Art Exhibit Based on a Migrant Tragedy in Austria Stirs Unease | |
| (about 7 hours later) | |
| NICKELSDORF, Austria — When darkness descends on this farming village on the border with Hungary, the only lights left shining are often at the Jazzgalerie Nickelsdorf. | NICKELSDORF, Austria — When darkness descends on this farming village on the border with Hungary, the only lights left shining are often at the Jazzgalerie Nickelsdorf. |
| Hans Falb, the owner of the cafe, has attracted music lovers to his place on the winding main street since it opened in 1976. Musicians who have played here over the years include the drummer Max Roach, the saxophonist Anthony Braxton and Irène Schweizer, the pianist. | Hans Falb, the owner of the cafe, has attracted music lovers to his place on the winding main street since it opened in 1976. Musicians who have played here over the years include the drummer Max Roach, the saxophonist Anthony Braxton and Irène Schweizer, the pianist. |
| Each summer, Mr. Falb is the host of the Konfrontationen Festival, which showcases experimental music and art. The event is a passion of his that some people in this village of 1,700 find odd. This year, an international crowd of about 500 gathered for performances at the cafe, in an old barn and in a nearby church. | Each summer, Mr. Falb is the host of the Konfrontationen Festival, which showcases experimental music and art. The event is a passion of his that some people in this village of 1,700 find odd. This year, an international crowd of about 500 gathered for performances at the cafe, in an old barn and in a nearby church. |
| “People said, ‘Oh, Hans Falb, he’s got a nice restaurant, nice kitchen, nice cooking, but he’s crazy doing this crazy music,’” said Mr. Falb, a boyish 62-year-old with a mischievous smile. | “People said, ‘Oh, Hans Falb, he’s got a nice restaurant, nice kitchen, nice cooking, but he’s crazy doing this crazy music,’” said Mr. Falb, a boyish 62-year-old with a mischievous smile. |
| But this year, unease over an art exhibition that was tied to Mr. Falb’s festival in July underscored the tensions of a small town that had been alternating between openness and fear since thousands of migrants from the Middle East began arriving, on their way to more prosperous parts of Europe. | |
| The exhibition focused on the white truck in which 71 migrants were found suffocated on the side of the Budapest-Vienna highway near here in August last year. The grim discovery shocked Europeans, and began a kind of soul-searching over the dangers the migrants faced even in the heart of Europe. | The exhibition focused on the white truck in which 71 migrants were found suffocated on the side of the Budapest-Vienna highway near here in August last year. The grim discovery shocked Europeans, and began a kind of soul-searching over the dangers the migrants faced even in the heart of Europe. |
| The exhibition drew numerous complaints, evidence of how the migrant crisis has touched lives in this area. | The exhibition drew numerous complaints, evidence of how the migrant crisis has touched lives in this area. |
| But Mr. Falb, in his own way, tries to bring the outside world to Nickelsdorf, which for decades was isolated because of its proximity to one of the former Soviet bloc’s most tightly policed barriers. | But Mr. Falb, in his own way, tries to bring the outside world to Nickelsdorf, which for decades was isolated because of its proximity to one of the former Soviet bloc’s most tightly policed barriers. |
| During the Cold War, Nickelsdorf welcomed refugees from the failed 1956 uprising in Hungary, the crushed 1968 Prague Spring reforms in Czechoslovakia and the 1981 martial law declared in Poland. East Germans fled here in 1989 just before the fall of the Berlin Wall, and in the 1990s, refugees from the Balkan wars often passed this way. | During the Cold War, Nickelsdorf welcomed refugees from the failed 1956 uprising in Hungary, the crushed 1968 Prague Spring reforms in Czechoslovakia and the 1981 martial law declared in Poland. East Germans fled here in 1989 just before the fall of the Berlin Wall, and in the 1990s, refugees from the Balkan wars often passed this way. |
| Last summer, local people continued to welcome the newcomers, though in some ways the experience was still more stressful than previous waves of migrants. Dozens of police officers, security troops and Red Cross volunteers worked to keep the migrants moving, from the border to Vienna and from there by train to Germany. | Last summer, local people continued to welcome the newcomers, though in some ways the experience was still more stressful than previous waves of migrants. Dozens of police officers, security troops and Red Cross volunteers worked to keep the migrants moving, from the border to Vienna and from there by train to Germany. |
| The art exhibition was created by Klaus Filip and Arnold Haberl of the klingt.org collective. As part of the exhibition, Mr. Haberl and Christine Schörkuber showed the white truck in which the migrants suffocated in a video installation. A man appeared in the non-narrated footage, washing the truck as clothes belonging to the dead were hanging to dry. | The art exhibition was created by Klaus Filip and Arnold Haberl of the klingt.org collective. As part of the exhibition, Mr. Haberl and Christine Schörkuber showed the white truck in which the migrants suffocated in a video installation. A man appeared in the non-narrated footage, washing the truck as clothes belonging to the dead were hanging to dry. |
| Word soon spread about another of Ms. Schörkuber’s works, a group of colorful tents covered in scribbles in Arabic and English, inspired by the refugee camp in Idomeni, on the Greece-Macedonia border. | |
| Criticism by residents uncomfortable with the tents, was enough to make the owner of the building they were housed in, a former movie theater, decide to kick them out. Mr. Falb, defiantly, placed the tents in front of his cafe. | Criticism by residents uncomfortable with the tents, was enough to make the owner of the building they were housed in, a former movie theater, decide to kick them out. Mr. Falb, defiantly, placed the tents in front of his cafe. |
| “It’s a small country village, but it’s like everywhere,” Mr. Falb said, citing Greece, Hungary and Macedonia, where migrants experienced hardships last year. “They don’t like the Arabs, they don’t like them coming here. They’d rather read in the newspapers about 2,000 to 3,000 people drowning in the Mediterranean.” | “It’s a small country village, but it’s like everywhere,” Mr. Falb said, citing Greece, Hungary and Macedonia, where migrants experienced hardships last year. “They don’t like the Arabs, they don’t like them coming here. They’d rather read in the newspapers about 2,000 to 3,000 people drowning in the Mediterranean.” |
| In May, an anti-immigrant candidate, Norbert Hofer, was narrowly defeated in a runoff election for president that was annulled. Mr. Hofer, who might still win another runoff in October, is from the country’s poorest state, Burgenland, which includes Nickelsdorf. | In May, an anti-immigrant candidate, Norbert Hofer, was narrowly defeated in a runoff election for president that was annulled. Mr. Hofer, who might still win another runoff in October, is from the country’s poorest state, Burgenland, which includes Nickelsdorf. |
| “The big problem was that nobody knew exactly when and how many people would come” to this year’s festival, said Gerhard Zapfl, the mayor of Nickelsdorf, in an interview. | “The big problem was that nobody knew exactly when and how many people would come” to this year’s festival, said Gerhard Zapfl, the mayor of Nickelsdorf, in an interview. |
| At a recent meeting with the mayor, local Red Cross volunteers, including two members of the far-right Freedom Party, agreed that last year’s events had been peaceful and that there had been no issues with the few asylum seekers living in the village. | At a recent meeting with the mayor, local Red Cross volunteers, including two members of the far-right Freedom Party, agreed that last year’s events had been peaceful and that there had been no issues with the few asylum seekers living in the village. |
| But Mr. Zapfl quietly noted the difference in refugees in July. | But Mr. Zapfl quietly noted the difference in refugees in July. |
| Influxes of migrants from the Cold War contained many German-language speakers who “were like brothers and sisters,” he said. Also, as many in the village recalled, East Germans promptly moved on to West Germany with no intention of staying. | Influxes of migrants from the Cold War contained many German-language speakers who “were like brothers and sisters,” he said. Also, as many in the village recalled, East Germans promptly moved on to West Germany with no intention of staying. |
| Next to the town hall stands Das Risa, a guesthouse. There, in the shadow of an old chestnut tree, the sound of Ping-Pong games broke the stillness of a recent summer day. The players, from Iraq and Syria, were assigned to the guesthouse, which has a capacity for 25 people. They were staying there until their asylum applications were decided. | Next to the town hall stands Das Risa, a guesthouse. There, in the shadow of an old chestnut tree, the sound of Ping-Pong games broke the stillness of a recent summer day. The players, from Iraq and Syria, were assigned to the guesthouse, which has a capacity for 25 people. They were staying there until their asylum applications were decided. |
| “I am a poor mother with 25 sons,” said Marianne Falb, who is no relation to the owner of Jazzgalerie Nickelsdorf. A cheerful and pragmatic woman, she has provided a home to young asylum seekers, paid for by the state. | “I am a poor mother with 25 sons,” said Marianne Falb, who is no relation to the owner of Jazzgalerie Nickelsdorf. A cheerful and pragmatic woman, she has provided a home to young asylum seekers, paid for by the state. |
| “I do it with pleasure,” she said. “I don’t see it only as work, but help.” | “I do it with pleasure,” she said. “I don’t see it only as work, but help.” |
| The walls of the barn in the backyard are covered with letters from the German alphabet, and with dictionaries and exercise books. Ms. Falb proudly displayed photographs of the first two groups of her protégés who had graduated from basic German classes at the local school. | The walls of the barn in the backyard are covered with letters from the German alphabet, and with dictionaries and exercise books. Ms. Falb proudly displayed photographs of the first two groups of her protégés who had graduated from basic German classes at the local school. |
| To Ms. Falb, the language is key to integration. “They must adapt,” she said. “I think that they have to adapt more than we, the Austrians, do.” | To Ms. Falb, the language is key to integration. “They must adapt,” she said. “I think that they have to adapt more than we, the Austrians, do.” |
| When asked about the main thing that set locals and newcomers apart, she responded in one word, promptly and with a smile. “Pünktlichkeit,” she said, or “punctuality” in German. | When asked about the main thing that set locals and newcomers apart, she responded in one word, promptly and with a smile. “Pünktlichkeit,” she said, or “punctuality” in German. |
| As the migrants have changed, so has the border, a 10-minute drive away. It now has a bike trail, and lines that are longer since officials put in anti-smuggling checks last year. | As the migrants have changed, so has the border, a 10-minute drive away. It now has a bike trail, and lines that are longer since officials put in anti-smuggling checks last year. |
| A line of white office containers stands empty for now. Should refugees return, the offices will open, some to let people in and some to send them back. Gerhard Koller, a regional police spokesman, said fences would be built around “hot spots” on the border to control the flow of migrants. | A line of white office containers stands empty for now. Should refugees return, the offices will open, some to let people in and some to send them back. Gerhard Koller, a regional police spokesman, said fences would be built around “hot spots” on the border to control the flow of migrants. |
| But, as many in Nickelsdorf remember, people will not respect borders that they do not accept. When there was an Iron Curtain at one end of the village, there were officers ready to shoot anyone who attempted to pass. Yet people still risked their lives to cross over. | But, as many in Nickelsdorf remember, people will not respect borders that they do not accept. When there was an Iron Curtain at one end of the village, there were officers ready to shoot anyone who attempted to pass. Yet people still risked their lives to cross over. |
| The border never stopped anyone from leaving Nickelsdorf; Mr. Falb had hitchhiked across Europe before the age of 20. | The border never stopped anyone from leaving Nickelsdorf; Mr. Falb had hitchhiked across Europe before the age of 20. |
| Unsurprisingly, Mr. Falb is among those who welcomed last year’s migration. He now employs a refugee in his kitchen. And he is among those who fear that strengthening border controls will bring back Cold War-era isolation to Nickelsdorf. | Unsurprisingly, Mr. Falb is among those who welcomed last year’s migration. He now employs a refugee in his kitchen. And he is among those who fear that strengthening border controls will bring back Cold War-era isolation to Nickelsdorf. |
| “We have forgotten that there was a border, and there was no border,” he said. “And now it’s here again.” | “We have forgotten that there was a border, and there was no border,” he said. “And now it’s here again.” |