The demonstrations, organized by the group #LiegendDemo, took place in 42 cities across the country. Advocates demanded an end to “psychosomatic treatment of ME,” mandatory training for medical professionals, and large scale public health campaigns, and more.
To mark International Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) Awareness Day, advocates participated in marches and “lie in” protests in 42 cities across Germany. The demonstrations, which organizers say drew over 12,000 people in person and 700 people virtual participants, took place on May 8 and 9 to recognize the debilitating, multi-systemic disease.
#LiegendDemo, which translates to “lie-in demonstration,” has organized nearly 100 demonstrations of this kind in Germany since 2022, the group states. It has also organized protests and actions drawing attention to people with severe ME, alongside information booths, poster campaigns, and other initiatives to educate the public.
The group’s demands included “an end to the psychosomatic treatment of ME by doctors and health insurance companies, mandatory training for medical personnel, and large-scale public health campaigns.”
Similar demands have been echoed across Europe this spring by people with infection-associated chronic diseases. Last month, advocates in Paris, France, interrupted a conference and demanded biological research into Long COVID. And today, the United Kingdom group Long COVID Advocacy, published an open letter demanding the U.K.’s Royal College of Psychiatrists ensure its programming reflects the extensive biological research on Long COVID and ME.
Bavaria’s former Minister of Health and Care, Klaus Holetschek, spoke at one of the #LiegendDemo events in Munich. Afterward, he posted on social media, reiterating his support for people living with the disease.
“ME/CFS is a serious physical illness,” he wrote. “Affected people need recognition, care, and effective, binding research… It’s not enough yet. We need more medical expertise, earlier diagnoses, better treatment options, and a strong voice for the people who can often no longer speak up for themselves.”
#LiegendDemo is a part of a broad trend of international public advocacy and activism for ME and related diseases like Long COVID that has accelerated since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hundreds of advocates in Zurich, Switzerland also took part in an action for the international awareness day over the weekend. And last December, thousands of people took part in the #NietHersteld (Not Recovered) action in The Hague, Netherlands. In the United States, #MEAction has held annual #MillionsMissing protests to raise awareness and make demands for the millions of people affected by the disease, which has been called “the greatest medical scandal of the 21st century.”
Photographer Maria Wagner documented Berlin’s #LiegendDemo action on May 9 in front of the city’s historic Brandenburg Gate where a thousand people gathered. Click to enlarge the images in the gallery below:
