Mein "Eigude Blog" » Federal President

3. Addendum Eigude Shame XX

Rollinator — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 11:46:46 +0000

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Letter from the German Federal President’s office!!!

As already reported several times I was during my visit at the book fair on 12.10.2012 pushed ruggedly across the street without asking by a bodyguard due to the arrival of our federal president.

Thereupon I wrote on 15.10. an e-mail to the federal president.

All this can be referred to in the blogposts from 14.10.12 and 16.10.12.

I have continuously heard comments that I should have saved the work with the letter, it wouldn’t bother anyway anyone “up there” what concerns us “minor citizens”.

Even if I got a reply this would last weeks, or even months.

But many people were curious to read the reply as well!

On Friday 25.10.2012, already 10 days after the e-mail, I received a letter from Bellevue Palace (translator’s note: official residence of the German federal president), see stamp.

The letter is not signed by Mr Gauck, but by one of his three closest staff members, his

Personal Officer Mr Johannes Sturm.
TRANSLATION!!!

OFFICE OF THE FEDERAL PRESIDENT
Personal office of the
Federal President

BERLIN, 19th October 2012
Spreeweg 1

Mr.
Steffen Löw
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxx Frankfurt am Main

Dear Mister Löw,

Federal President Joachim Gauck thanks you for your e-mail from 15th October 2012.
He has asked me to answer you. He has read your description of your unpleasant experience at the Frankfurt book fair attentively.
I can understand very well that it must have been unpleasant that you were pushed across a street in your wheelchair surprisingly and without being correctly addressed. It is regrettable that this apparently happened. It is not possible to verify your suspicion any more that the person concerned was a security force of the federal president. At this day personnel of a private security company and the Hessian state police were on duty as well.

At the same time I am asking for your understanding that the officers who are in charge of the security of the federal president before and during an event visited by such numerous people like the book fair are bearing a particularly large responsibility. This is concerning the security of the federal president as well as the prevention of possible accidents during arrival and departure of the car convoy.

In good knowledge of the acting officers and the described situation I can assure you that none of the officers is acting in thoughtless or unkind intention.

However I used your letter as occasion to discuss with the officers again the special situation of wheelchair users. Therefore I thank you for your feedback.

The federal president sends his best wishes and sincere regards.

Kind regards,

Johannes Sturm
Personal Officer of the Federal President

Mail address: Bundespräsidialamt 11010 Berlin, lnternet: http://www.bundespraesident.de
E-Mail: poststelle@bpra.bund.de

I have achieved what I had intended with my e-mail.

Mr Sturm has discussed with the security forces the special situation of us wheelchair users.

Download as PDF answer_federal_president_office

Translator BL

2. Addendum Eigude Shame XX

Rollinator — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 11:01:05 +0000

Sorry, this entry is only available in Deutsch.

Addendum Eigude Shame XX

Rollinator — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 08:56:07 +0000

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I have really done it!!!

e-mail to the Federal President Mr. Gauck…!!!

After my not-so-nice experience at the book fair in Frankfurt when a bodyguard of our federal president pushed me in my wheelchair out of the way without asking (see blogpost of 14.10.12) I have decided after a day of soul-searching to report this incident to our federal president.

Download as PDF Letter to the federal president

Dear Mister President,

I would like to draw your attention to an incident which happened in connection with your visit to the book fair in Frankfurt on Saturday October 13th, 2012.

I am a wheelchair user and was going around 15:00 hrs from the exit of exhibition hall 3 in the direction of the main plaza when suddenly without prior warning an unknown man grabbed quite ruthless and snappy the handles of my wheelchair and pushed me across the street which was actually closed to traffic.

I was rather in panic, but even shouting didn’t help, the man pushed me further across the street.
It turned out that the man was one of your security forces. You yourself were driving immediately afterwards with your convoy around the corner.

I was very lucky that I didn’t fall out of the wheelchair with this involuntary action because I am sitting in my wheelchair rather unstable due to my quadriplegia (cervical vertebra) and can’t firm up myself with my paralysed legs either.

Additionally I am using, like our minister of Finance, an active wheelchair which stops suddenly even at a small curb due to its construction and the small front tyres, and thus there is the risk for me to be dumped out of my wheelchair. As pushing escort person one should be trained accordingly.

Your staff member most probably would not have been able to hold me back when there would have been only a small curb or similar.

I fell out of my wheelchair in September 2011 the last time.
At this occasion I broke my right shinbone and fibula, spent four weeks in a hospital bed and had to painfully wear an orthosis for five further months, see blogposts on my weblog:

http://www.eigude.de/blog/?tag=beinbruch

When I addressed your staff member that I didn’t like this conduct I got the reply:

This is the president, it is like it is!!!

Mr. Gauck, I have great respect for your function as federal president, but this statement is not acceptable for me.
I am asking you in person to have your security staff trained and sensitized especially in interaction with disabled people.

A possible “accident”, how it could have happened, cannot be in your interest.
I am completely at your disposal in case of further enquiries or in advisory capacity.
Awaiting your reply.

Sincerely

Steffen Löw

Translator BL