Fear of neighbors

62-year-old doesn’t dare go out without pepper spray

Anna G. (62) is in a permanent quarrel with her neighbor.(Bild: Pressefoto Scharinger/Daniel Scharinger)

For 17 years, 62-year-old Anna G. from Upper Austria has had an ongoing dispute with her neighbor. It has gone so far that the woman no longer dares to leave the house without pepper spray. At the beginning of December, the two will face each other in the regional court in Ried.

When Anna G. thinks about her neighbor, she has a bad feeling. "He's unpredictable - I never know whether he's under control or not and might even attack me again," emphasizes the 62-year-old from a community in the Innviertel region. When she leaves the house, she takes a pepper spray with her as a precaution: "So that I can defend myself if he tries to attack me again."

She also takes a stick or a tool into her garden so that she can use them as weapons in an emergency. "But if I see that he's out on the street, I don't go out at all."

The problems have been going on for 17 years
Her problems with the man have been going on since 2007. The conflict was probably triggered by G.'s complaints about noise and exhaust fumes from a power generator running on heating oil, which the neighbor left running for hours on end. "He put his hand around my neck and wanted to strangle me. Luckily, I was able to push him away and escape," explains the retired landscape gardener.

"Come on, so I can kill you"
The neighbor then allegedly threatened to really beat her up. "But not at home", he announced. "That scared me," explains G. Over the years, the man is said to have thrown garbage and excrement onto her property - and even threw stones at her, but missed her. "Come so I can kill you," he is said to have threatened, according to G. Two charges of making dangerous threats were dropped due to their minor nature.

Run over with a wooden stick
Another incident will be heard on December 5 at Ried Regional Court. Because the 62-year-old woman filmed a tractor being parked on her neighbor's property with the engine running for around three quarters of an hour, the pensioner allegedly ran up to her with a wooden bat and insulted her. "This can also be seen on a video." The neighbor allegedly pushed her twice and tried to push her over an embankment. He also tried to take her cell phone.

Attempts at mediation failed
Attempts at mediation failed because the neighbor did not participate. "When an Afghan from Tyrol recently sent a letter to Chancellor Nehammer threatening to kill him, the entire security apparatus immediately got involved. In my case, however, it took 17 years before legal proceedings were finally initiated. That makes you think: 'You should be a politician'."