“The keenest sorrow is to recognise ourselves as the sole cause of all our adversities.” – Sophocles
It is with horror and disgust that I watch the news from Athens these past few days. During the previous couple of years, there has been an ever-increasing accumulation of explosives in the tinder box that is Greece: A volatile political situation, high unemployment, chronic disgruntlement with social and economic policies, inflation, high prices, low salaries, influx of illegal immigrants, unchecked crime, numerous scandals in government and church, the world economic crisis… The spark that set off the explosion of the recent riots was the killing of a 16-year-old boy by a policeman last Saturday in Athens. Alexandros Grigoropoulos was fatally shot by a police officer in Athens’ Exarchia district close to the Athens Polytechnic University after hurling stones at police at night. How the shooting occurred is unclear, but the two officers involved have been arrested; one has been charged with murder and the other as an accomplice. A coroner’s report shows that the boy was shot in the chest. The officers claim that the bullet ricocheted before hitting the boy.
The episode was the catalyst for widespread rioting, not only in Athens, but in most major cities around the country. Gangs of youths smashed their way through central Athens and Thessaloniki on Sunday and Monday. Shops, banks, apartment buildings and even luxury hotels had their windows smashed and burned in a night of anarchy and lawlessness as youths fought running battles with riot police. In Crete, Larissa, Chios, other towns, similar violent protests occurred. The increasingly unpopular Karamanlis government has been criticised as being a weak and powerless observer in these vicious demonstrations. Burning barricades, flames and clouds of smoke were mixing with tear gas used by police. Molotov cocktails joined flying stones and debris as they converted the centre of Athens into a battle zone.
The news relayed live and non-stop by the Greek satellite TV channel have created shock waves around the world amongst all ranks of the Greek diaspora. No doubt, this contributed to demonstrators entering and taking over the London and Berlin Greek embassies. They raised banners of support and the black-and-red anarchist flag. Most rational and civilised people whether Greeks or not abhor such acts of unrestrained fury and revolt. There is little public support for street violence or wanton destruction of property amongst Greeks, but within the Greek psyche there is a tolerance for demonstrations, and the right to protest is held in high esteem.
Anarchists are blamed for late-night fire-bombings of targets such as banks and diplomatic vehicles, which occur regularly in Athens, but these attacks rarely cause injuries. The anarchist movement traces its roots largely in the resistance to Greece’s 1967-74 military dictatorship and the small groups of “known-unknowns”, as they are called since they sport balaclavas, are behind most violent protests. The anarchists tend to support anti-capitalist and antiestablishment activities, and have long-running battles with police, which represents for them everything that they hate.
In the wake of the riots, over 30 police officers and riot police members have been injured. Millions of euros of damage has been done. Greece’s reputation as a stable democratic country has been further sullied. The message that is getting through to the international community is that it is a country of barbaric savages that respect no law, no common human decency, no code of civilised society. The images that have been transmitted to the word’s TV screens are full of savage, mindless acts of mass hysterics. These are no children of Socrates or Plato, but rather bands of animals that are bent on mindless destruction and brutishness. The episodes of genuine demonstrations over a heinous act have been overshadowed by acts even more vicious. Blatant disregard for law and order, wholesale destruction and damage to property, looting and violence for the sake of violence.
It is heart-breaking to see what was once a beautiful, peaceful city (and yes, maybe I am stretching it, as I refer to the Athens of my childhood of the early ‘60s) now becoming a shambles. A burnt out shell of a once great civilisation. A shadow of its former substance. What more can I say? Perhaps a song can sum up my feelings:
Αθήνα (1978)
(Χρήστου Γκάρτζου, Σώτιας Τσώτου)
Ξέρω μια πόλη που η άσφαλτος καίει
Και δέντρου σκιά δεν θα βρεις…
Μεγάλη ιστόρια, προγόνοι σπουδαίοι,
Λυχνάρι και τάφος της γης.
Θυμίζεις Αθήνα γυναικα που κλαίει
Γιατί δεν την θέλει κανείς.
Αθήνα, Αθήνα, πεθαίνω μαζί σου,
Πεθαίνεις μαζί μου κι εσύ.
Ξέρω μια πόλη στη νεά Σαχάρα
Μια έρημο όλο μπετόν
Οι ξένοι στόλοι, λαθραία τσιγάρα,
Παιδιά που δεν ξέρουν κρυφτό.
Θυμίζεις Αθήνα γυναικα που κλαίει
Γιατί δεν την θέλει κανείς.
Αθήνα, Αθήνα, πεθαίνω μαζί σου,
Πεθαίνεις μαζί μου κι εσύ.
Ξέρω μια πόλη στη γη της αβύσσου,
Κουρσάρων κι ανέμων νησί.
Στης Πλάκας τους δρόμους
Πουλάς το κορμί σου για ένα ποτήρι κρασί.
Θυμίζεις Αθήνα γυναικα που κλαίει
Γιατί δεν την θέλει κανείς.
Αθήνα, Αθήνα, πεθαίνω μαζί σου,
Πεθαίνεις μαζί μου κι εσύ.
Athens (1978)
(Music: Christos Gartzos; Lyrics: Sotia Tsotou)
I know a city where the asphalt burns,
Where you won’t find a tree to shade you.
Great history, even greater ancestors,
Light of the world, grave of the world.
Athens, you remind me of a woman crying
Because nobody desires her;
Athens, oh Athens, I die with you,
You die with me too.
I know a city in the new Sahara,
A desert made of concrete.
Foreign fleets anchor there, contraband cigarettes,
Children who do not know how to play hide-and-seek.
Athens, you remind me of a woman crying
Because nobody desires her;
Athens, oh Athens, I die with you,
You die with me too.
I know a city in the country of the abyss,
An island home to pirates and wild winds.
In Plaka’s neighbourhoods
You sell your body for a glass full of wine…
Athens, you remind me of a woman crying
Because nobody desires her;
Athens, oh Athens, I die with you,
You die with me too.
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