So, lets look over what happened in Athens this week...
Monday – A demonstration of Afghan and Iranian refugees, blocked from reaching the Ministry of Citizens Protection by riot cops, then granted a meeting with the minister only to later find out he wasn’t even there.
Tuesday – One man stabbed to death over a stolen camera. It is assumed that the murderer is an immigrant.
Wednesday –A general strike is held. Shops are closed and people demonstrate in the city centre. 67 demonstrators are hospitalised by police, one guy remains in a coma. Later that evening two anarchist squats (Skarramanga and Villa Malias) are attacked by fascists but defended. Fascist mobs roam around central districts of Athens attacking anyone who looks like a migrant. 17 are hospitalised.
Thursday – A Bangladeshi man is stabbed to death. Unplanned protests from anarchists against the extreme violence shown by police during Wednesdays demo are held.
Saturday – A car bomb goes off outside the police station in Exarchia, and across the street a motorbike, mistaken for a police bike, is molotoved, sending a massive plume of smoke down the packed Kalithromio market. One woman is treated for burns. Greek language schools gather for a celebration in Kipseli market. Anti-fascists turn out to show solidarity, but many migrants stay away.
The weeks events have left a lot of people in shock. Yesterday, having just been in the market when the bomb went off, and feeling a little bit shaken up, me and Kostis reflected on what had gone on during the week.
On the one hand you had the actions around the general strike. Anarchists and police fighting each other. This didn’t seem like anything new, but what was new, Kostis said, was the level of violence meted out against marchers on the day. Apart from the physical attacks, police used so much tear gas, that the demo was virtually inaccessible for anyone without a gas masks. And it’s illegal to mask up, so if you do try to protect yourself from gas, you’re equally liable to be arrested.
On the other hand you had clashes between fascists and migrants and activists. Kostis thought this level of public, violent presence by the far right was something new too. Talk in the newspapers is of dirty immigrants, worsening the economic situation, who need to be sent home. There is a tangible shift in support for anti migrant sentiment, which made the attacks of this week some kind of watershed. How did it get to a point when fascist thugs can roam neighbourhoods stabbing people?
Mainly the clashes here have been between fascists attacking black people. While anti-fascists made a visible presence at Kipseli market yesterday, what were the fascists doing? There needs to be a different tactic that turning up at known events. Fascists don’t come, cause they don’t wanna fight people who are ready and prepared to fight them. Kipseli market is protected. In the meantime, the people who are really being targeted remain vulnerable
I feel a sense of helplessness and dread. I’m sorry to say that I’m afraid of cops, but I’m more afraid of Fascists. How it must feel to be black in this city right now...
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