These nights are for Alexis; a closer look into the December uprising in Greece

WHAT THE MASS MEDIA LIKES TO IGNORE: THE TRUE CAUSES OF THIS UPRISING

The police murder of the 15-year old boy cannot be seen as an isolated incident, although this is what the authorities want you to believe. Alexis is one of many victims of police violence, which holds the Greek society hostage. Since 1985 approximately 25 people have been killed by police bullets, although the number is likely to be much higher since it doesn't include the number of people who died as a result of police violence in prison. Many Greeks, not only the minorities, have experienced some form of police violence or oppression in their lives. Perhaps the reason behind the high(er) level of violence used by the Greek police can be traced back to the post-Junta historical context when the Junta's power was transferred to parliament, a democratic system was established and consequently the police took over from the army in oppressing the Greek people in 1974. There are examples of the police cooperating with right-wing extremists. Every now and then some cop is exposed for being a member of a right-wing extremist group or organization, like the killer of Alexis, who is a member of the fascist Golden Dawn group.

Aside from the police problem Greek society harbours social, economic and political problems that played their part in fueling the uprising. For many people it is difficult to survive financially.
[...]There is an establishment that accumulates wealth for itself while the people have to improvise in order to survive. Businesses are shaken down by corrupt tax officials , EU money disappears before it reaches the projects it is meant for(1). For many it is obvious that those in power and in money do whatever they want and that the government collects a lot of money that goes straight into their pockets. A taxi driver says:''Power corrupts and when you are on the outside looking in you make sure that when you finally get in, you get your share too.''  http://ahistoryofgreece.com/finalwords.htm

For the youth, “no future” is a reality, especially when you're a child of an immigrant. In Dromos, the freshly opened up social centre for immigrants and refugees in Thessaloniki, I get to talk with Gazmend. Gazmend is an Albanian immigrant, he fled Albania when an armed uprising broke out after the collapse of its economy is 1997. We talk about his experiences as an immigrant in Greece and the law for immigrants that was passed in 1998: ''The law connects a working permit to a recidential status. If you don't have 300 workstamps (=working days) in 2 years, even if you miss one and have been here for 15 years, you will get deported. Mostly you buy these stamps because there is another law which ''allows'' immigrants to buy 20% of these stamps. In this way the government earns extra money from the immigrants. Also, if you're under 18 and over 60 you are not allowed to stay because you are not working. You are allowed to stay with your parents but as soon as you turn 18- even if you are born here- you have to return to your country of origin. You have no rights. When the law was passed in 1998, many illegal immigrants applied for a legal status and there were very long ques and a big chaos. Many remained in Greece without papers.''

I also talk to Li. Li teaches art history and is part of the Clandestina info-network for immigrants and refugees. The network is based around a website (in Greek, Turkish, Albanian, Russina/Ukrainian, English and soon German) that informs people about the aspects of the European genocide of immigrants and refugees, the situation of immigrants in Fortress Europe and especially Greece, and also the struggles of immigrants, refugees and the solidarity movement. Li: “The attack on Konstanina Kuneva(2) reveals the true nature of Greek society: The ''new conditions of work'' mean that workers are hired to companies and managed as slaves by a new slave trading system. Especially in sectors of the less privileged workers like the cleaning and construction sectors. This Third World labour market also has its Third World tactics of scaring, warning and punishing the disobedient ones…''

Tefik tells me more about the position of refugees in Greece. He is one of the people who took the initiative to open up Dromos. He is a refugee from Turkey. ''Thousands of Irakis and Afghanis tried to get asylum in the past few years but most of them were deported. When the papers do get examined 99% is rejected. Greece has one of the lowest acceptance rates of asylum seekers in the EU. Greece usually ignores most (EU) legislation for the rights of refugees. Police and border police torture more easily and most people turn a blind eye to torture… Detention centres have abominable conditions here, even though the legislation covers all kinds of so called rights of hygiene, social rights, etc…'' About Dromos and his work for refugees, he says: ''We don't just run the social centre, we run a broader network. The difference between us and other groups who work for refugees (NGO's, charity groups) is that we also provide places for refugees to sleep and we're active politically; we're not just interested in demanding more rights for refugees, we are demanding everything, the full quality of life. Our activities are humanitarian and political. The immigration problems were created by the EU and imperialist countries. They invaded our countries and therefore we can't recognize their legal framework. So when someone crosses the border I cannot think 'this person is here legal or illegal', I don't care.''

Li: ''Any society is sick if it cannot accept others, if it controls, oppresses and uses people for its own purposes. [...] We cannot claim better lives for ourselves if we don't fight on the side of refugees, immigrants and other marginalized people for their rights. Ever since their arrival in great numbers in the early 90's immigrants have been doing all the dirty jobs and have provided the country with cheap labor, which created a boost of the economy and increased the country's wealth. Without their sweat and blood the Olympic Games in 2004 could not have been realized. The Greeks are very oblivious of this. In order to inflict positive, social change we must not only attack the State and its institutions but question the hostile attitude towards the marginalized people in our society and understand that there is a new rift in society – “natives against immigrants”. [...] So in this context, the ''December uprising'', the riots and the rebellious moments in the streets, must be taken as a powerful moment in itself, but should also be measured against real social change…In other words, as the German comrades say: “Aufstand ist unser Argument”, the uprising is an argument in itself. A very clear political message went out from the uprising as people knew exactly what they were targeting: banks and police stations, big business, that is to say, the […] symbols of Capital and the State. Therefore the incidents don't need further analysis.

So, the 'minorities' who take up a large part of Greek society have every reason to be angry. Fueled by a mix of rage, despair and sadness people went out in the streetsto demand the change they are longing for, with the uprising as their powerful argument. [...]

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