Jörg Alt can be rough in his dealings.

When they first meet, he wants to choke off questions about his biography in order to get to his goal more quickly: the salvation of humanity.

In view of the speed at which the earth is racing towards the climate catastrophe – even according to the opinion of the most level-headed scientists – detours are no longer tolerable, and friendliness does not lead any further.

This is how the Alt sees it, this is how many activists of the “last generation” see it, with whom Alt is in common.

But what then leads on?

Timo Frasch

Political correspondent in Munich.

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Alt calls himself a migration sociologist and social ethicist. In 2004 he received the “Augsburg Science Prize for Intercultural Studies” for his doctorate on illegal immigration.

His recent books oscillate between scholarship and activism.

In "Just start!

Building blocks for a fairer and more sustainable world,” Alt explains why the dominant “neoliberal narrative” needs to be countered by a new narrative.

It is a good story itself - and for that reason alone it is of great value to climate activists.

He's not someone you can easily dismiss as a left-wing crackpot or a naive enthusiast.

Alt, born in Saarbrücken, grew up in the Palatinate, son of a teacher and an architect, is 61 years old.

Above all, he is a Jesuit.

Alt wants to decriminalize containers

Alt gives three reasons why he joined the order after graduating from high school: the community life, the opportunity to study and the conviction of the Jesuits that faith and justice are two sides of the same coin, “that you don’t just disappear behind monastery walls and all that day only prays for the wicked, poor world, but fights for it outside".

Alt has worked in refugee aid for a long time.

The experiences he collects there are sometimes grueling for him.

“The plight of the people, including how they are treated here.” He would know what to do: “The happiest refugee is the one who can stay at home.

So, first and foremost, combat the causes of flight.” But what if the people are already here?

“Then you should deal with them pragmatically.

Young, highly motivated people who the employer wants to keep are deported on principle – what the fuck?

Almost 15 years ago, Alt went to Belize.

As a parish priest, he looks after schools there and sets up youth groups.

The months in Central America blow his mind, but also make him more sensitive to global connections.

He goes back to Germany as a pastor at the Catholic university community in Nuremberg.

To this day he is.

The refugee issue remains with him.

Three women and two children from Ukraine are currently living in the house of the Jesuits.

In addition, two Syrians in church asylum.

But Alt has expanded his combat zone.

In 2021, he campaigned for the decriminalization of containerization, getting edible food out of supermarket garbage and distributing it to the needy.

Apparently Alt has internalized two things: that things don't happen if they don't happen in the media - and that you can challenge the state with your own means.

After the container, he announces himself that a man of God like him who saves food from rotting will be put on trial.

He wants to document in such a way that legality and legitimacy are no longer congruent.