Home  General News In Chaos, Germans improvise / but what about Rain?
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In Chaos, Germans improvise / but what about Rain? |
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Written by Administrator
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Friday, 19 August 2005 |
 Despite their reputation of being highly systematic and
organised, the German authorities during World Youth Day are learning
the art of improvisation. Be it traffic, the pilgrims' food or
the organisation of the media: It's all but smooth. The highest
risk will be on Saturday and Sunday, when the 405,000 registered
pilgrims have their accomodations taken away to be sent overnight to
the open space at Marienfeld. With between 39 and 51 percent
probability of rain forecast at the moment.
Die Deutschen
haben zwar den Ruf, systematisch und effektiv die Dinge angehen. Aber
während des Weltjugendtages lernen die Zuständigen zu improvisieren,
sei es beim Nahverkehr, bei der Verteilung des Essens an die Pilger
oder auch bei der Betreuung der Medien. Das höchste Risiko sind die
Organisatoren für die Nacht zum Sonntag eingegangen. Die Pilger haben
dann keine Unterkünfte mehr und werden für die Nacht auf das offene
Marienfeld verwiesen. Regen ist angesagt, mit einer Wahrscheinlichkeit
von 39 bis 51 Prozent...
Wednesday night, pilgrims panicked and some collapsed when a platform
in Cologne Main Station was so crammed with people who wanted to leave
for their accomodations. No one could move any more.
After the
welcoming of the pope on his ship travel on the Rhine trams stand
in queues, fully packed with overheated bodies who wanted to return
into the city.
A local paper quoted a woman from Guatemala as
saying, that she had never experienced such traffic problems during her
stays at the World Youth Days in Toronto and Rome. "There were more
people in Rome than in Cologne. But here it concentrates all around the
Cathedral for there are not many other meeting points.
 Pilgrims
- who all have payed for three meals a day with their registration -
were nevertheless forced to struggle to get the food, and often times
in vain. Host families sometimes move in and provide food packs for
their guests.
A group of Italian journalists went rampant on the
media ship which was to accompany the Pope's ship during his travel on
the Rhine. The media had their security check at 11 a.m., finally
met on their ship with the Pope's ship around 4.45 p.m. But after
barely 15 minutes the media ship hurried away from the Pope leaving the
other ship behind during the speeches to the youths on the river bank.
The italian revolution in the media pool brought the ship finally back,
but journalists were still suffering from the fakt that drink water on
the ship was sold out during their seven hour travel.
A high
risk is being taken by World Youth Day authorities during the night
after the vigil from Saturday, 19, to Sunday 20 August. The
youths have to pack all their things together and move to the
Marienfeld 20 kms out of the city. There is no overnight accomodation
organised for the night - most are forced to stay outside without any
shed until Sunday's final mass, because public transport is most
probably unsufficient for a hike of up to 800,000 back and forth
between the two masses.
What can be feasable for an event in the
middle of an Italian city, may be risky for a field in the middle of
nowhere in Middle Europe. www.wetter.de presently
sets the possibility of rain for 39 percent on Saturday and 51 percent
on Sunday and temperatures between 13 and 22 centigrade.
Cologne's
Cardinal Meisner has ignited a candle at the statue "Holy Mary in
Kupfergasse", but it remains to be seen whether that will convince God
to keep pilgrims dry.
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Last Updated ( Friday, 19 August 2005 )
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