Following the huge eviction of the jungles of Igoumenitsa at the 9th of June, Patras became the second war region in the governments cruel fight against the sans-papiers who are trying to leave the country. The government seems to set a clear sign that the ports of exit towards Italy are now a no-go for refugees and migrants. Will the Apartheid ruling Igoumenitsa come to Patras now? It seems so.
We have no place to stay anymore. We have to sleep at the seaside under the sky. The police is coming everyday to hunt us in order that we leave Patras. We have been hunted in Komunisia before. We have been hunted at the border,in Athens, at work… One by one we get crazy now. Some of us try to leave Greece back to Turkey. But they don´t let us go there too. They hunt us again and again. Now one of my friends got lost in Evros while he was trying to cross the river in the direction of Turkey. We believe he died. In one or two days we will be all crazy!
Friday the 15th of July 15 Goulam Bamper Khan, a 27-year old immigrant from Pakistan, was found dead in the new detention center of Elliniko (close to Athens). He had been asking for a doctor repeatedly, but the only thing the detention center authorities did was to notify an unskilled member of a NGO, who just subscribed some medicine. Hours after this so-called medical examination, Goulam Bamper Khan fainted. Other inmates asked for an ambulance, but this was considered “not necessary”. Finally Goulam Bamper Khan died. Immediately riots broke up, as 98 inmates started shouting and pushing their cells’ doors. Riot police entered the detention center, chose 8 immigrants and started beating them up “to give a lesson to the rest”.
On Monday the 18th of July, these 8 immigrants were charged for arsoning, escape attempt, rebellion provoking, rioting and damaging the detention center…
see: http://clandestinenglish.wordpress.com/
Έντυπη Έκδοση Ελευθεροτυπία, Δευτέρα 11 Ιουλίου 2011
Της ΓΕΩΡΓΙΑΣ ΔΑΜΑ Ενας ακήρυχτος πόλεμος εξελίσσεται τα μεσάνυχτα από την Ομόνοια μέχρι το Μοναστηράκι. Αστυνομικά μπλόκα στην οδό Μενάνδρου προσάγουν μετανάστες χωρίς χαρτιά για έλεγχο. Κάποιες άλλες ομάδες με πολιτικά ρούχα κάνουν τις δικές τους εκκαθαρίσεις. Κυνηγούν με μοτοσικλέτες μετανάστες, τους εγκλωβίζουν κι όποιος γλιτώσει γλίτωσε… Continue reading ‘Σκούπα από το κράτος, ξύλο από το παρακράτος κατά μεταναστών’
Interview with the refugee N., from Eritrea 23rd of May 2011, Komunisia
by infomobile
N. spent a very long time in the mountains of Igoumenitsa. With 10 months he belongs to the experienced men on the mountain. He has been deported from Italy several times. Still he never lost his hope that one day he will get out.
The truck to the other Europe
“I promise to see you in a better place,” N. says and his eyes are full of energy.
How long are you in Igoumenitsa?
In Komunisia here? I have longer than ten months. More than ten months here!
What did you expect from coming here to Igoumenitsa?
You know, the reason for my coming to Komunisia, I am suffering too much bad in this country. I need to leave this country. For this reason I came to Komunisia. Unfortunately, during these days we are suffering from a very bad situation: from the police and from the racist people, from the civil society here in Komunisia.
Interview with the two refugees A. and Y., from Sudan 21st of May 2011, Komunisia by Infomobile
A. and Y., refugees from Sudan talk about their living-conditions in Igoumenitsa, the second largest port from Greece towards Italy. We are sitting in the mountain, looking at the port-area of “Komunisia” how the refugees call it. A few hundred refugees from all war-zones of the world are living on this mountain. Some days ago, at the 3rd of May, the refugees’ settlements in the mountain have been attacked by fascists out of a demonstration.
Waiting room Komunisia: One minute feels like one year on this mountain
Afterwards the police drew an invisible ‘red line’ and prevented refugees from entering the city. More than 450 refugees have been arrested in May 2011 – double than the average monthly arrests of 2010. Police guards the garbage cans and so the refugees are starving from hunger. We are sitting on this mountain in Europe and we hope for their chance to go!
The municipality of Patras destroyed in a recent police raid the train shelter of migrants in St. Dyonisios, opposite to the port of Patras. They left behind the migrants, who will have to sleep under the stars of the sky without any protection in the following nights. The police invaded the area of the train company due to the ‘inhuman living conditions’ of the migrants and for reasons of ‘public health’. The hypocracy of the state continues in the name of ‘law and order’.
POGROM IN THE CENTRE OF ATHENS SINCE THE 10TH OF MAY!!!!!!
Hassan, a 9 year old from Afghanistan:
My mummy, my small brother and me were going home this afternoon. We had to cross Omonia square. I am very afraid. We had to run a lot because we were chased in Omonia. All my friends were chased and beaten – also their mums and dads. One of my friends was brought to hospital. Why was this happening? I am in my room now, but I am very afraid!
one day later and after one more experience of a fascist attack on the soup kitchen of the municipality Hassan says:
My legs hurt me so much. I had to run a lot these days! Two times I was running.
Hassan is since 6 months in Greece. The rest of his family is in Germany. Only a few months ago his mummy was beaten up by a Greek old men in Victoria square. They spend all the time in their room, because they are afraid to go out. They cannot sleep because of fear. They cannot eat. They are watching the door and listening to the sounds coming from outside in case the fascists cone back.
Ahmad, 12 years old from Afghanistan:
Yesterday some Greeks came to Victoria square. They beat all people there. They also beat me on my head!
In the early morning hours of the 10th May a theft ended up in the tragic murder of a come-to-be father in the centre of Athens. During the following hours of the day, the media started reporting about “three dark skinned suspects”, hence, initiating a propaganda which ended up in a manhunt by fascists of the extreme right group “golden dawn” on all migrants in the centre of the city. Around 16 o’clock 100 “inhabitants of the neighbourhood”, as the media said, protested against the violent death of the “Greek citizen”. Only some hours later central streets were closed by the police, the neighbourhood was patrolled by armed officers, while a group of 100 fascists attacked migrants and refugees at a central square, beating up many of them. A young men from Bangladesh was so violently stabbed 10 times that he died on the way to the hospital. The fascists split into smaller groups and while some of them threw stones on squatted houses of the areas, others invaded private households of migrants leaving behind them destruction and blood. The public discourse is reigned again by the construction of fear and racist propaganda. During the whole night inhabitants of different neighbourhoods of Athens reported single attacks of fascists on bypassing migrants. At the 11th of May Neonazis threw a molotov cocktail into the house of a Pakistani national in the region of Reddi. In two cases labourers interfered and protected their migrant colleagues from the violent outbursts of fascists.
The attacks continued also Wednesday 11th and at the 12th with further “demonstrations” – meaning a huge and enduring POGROM against migrants.
Fascist groups attacked Wednesday and Thursday again the two anarchist squats of the area, this time together with the police, and after splitting into smaller groups of up to 10 chased immigrants in the further area…..
Mohammed:
They beat my friend 10 days ago. They broke his nose. We went to the police station to report the violent attack. The officer just told us to leave. We cannot do anything.
Fatima:
A friend of mine was just getting of the bus here in Omonia. Suddenly somebody just hit him on his head with his fist. He didn’t even see it coming.
Ali:
Yesterday there were a young Greek women with a young men. They passed by me at the street. Suddenly the women beat me with a big wooden stick on my head. But you know, they beat everybody and not only now. Since long time. In Attiki they beat people every day!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uJ7f5HJFq0&feature=player_embedded Press conference of the migrant communities about the violent attacks of fascists
At the 12th and during the beginning of the demonstration against the murderous police brutality of the 11th against demonstrators of the general strike in another part of the cities’ centre around 500-1.000 fascists demonstrated towards Omonia square and invaded a soup kitchen of the municipality of Athens, where poor people – mostly migrants – try survive from hunger, beating up blindly refugees and migrants and stabbing them with knives and hitting them with bottles!!!!! After returning back to the area of Victoria Square and St. Panteleimon / Attiki they attacked again the anarchist squats while continuing their POGROM against migrants in the whole area in the most violent way. Rumours talked about more migrant deaths. The hospitals talked about at least 25 migrants with severe injuries 12 of which were stabbed with knives one was shot!!! The real number of victims is much higher though, since many avoided going to the public hospitals and instead went to the polyclinic of the Doctors of the World or even just stayed home out of fear.
Fascist graffiti: 'fuck your imam'
The area around Omonia, St. Panteleimon, Victoria Square and Attiki has become a field of war with extreme right wing groups walking around with Greek flags shouting fascist slogans against migrants. Consciously and on purpose the cold-blooded Neonazis kill and destroy in the whole neighbourhood without being severely disturbed by the high numbers of police officers in the area. Migrants report of repeated violent and cruel attacks: beating with clubs on the head, stabbing with knives. A number of at least 30 migrant shops were destroyed also and fascist were chasing and beating even small children of 6-10 years, beating also them on all parts of their bodies!!!!!
Attiki Square and St. Panteleimon Square that had been in the past central places of agglomeration were already occupied by fascist groups and marked with graffities of Greek flags. Now Victoria Square also seems like a deserted empty hole. The migrants who know have disappeared and hide inside their homes. Fear is ruling the area that is covered by silence.
The doctors of the world reported:
It is since a month and not only these days of the extreme pogrom that a lot of migrants come to our polyclinic with injuries of fascists attacks – most of the have been hit while walking on the street on the head or at their back. … We have been witnessing the whole period an increase of fascist violence with an extreme rise in the last week and since the death of a Greek last Tuesday. We had been warning before, that the death of a Greek (the murder of a migrant unfortunately is not paid attention to) might get the initiator of more violence.
It is not the first time that many migrants fall victim to the fascists. Also in the period before the elections more than a year ago was a period of high fascist violence says the president of the Afghan community:
We had every day 2-3 persons in the hospital. At that time most attacks occurred arounf Attiki Square and St. Pantleleimon Church. The violence became less when we left the area. We went to Victoria Square, but since Tuesday this square has also been closed by the “golden dawn”.
The place of the death of the 44 old man has become a place of pilgramage and worship for the extreme right wing. The slogan on the mourning table says: ‘Here three migrants stabbed a Greek family man to death!’ The demonstrators are shouting: ‘Greece to the Greek Christians’, ‘Foreigners, out of Greece’ and threaten everybody who is renting flats to migrants by saying: ‘violence has to be answered with violence!’. Their memorial for the dead is accompanied by the Greek anthem…
The murder of the 44 old Greek in the early morning hours of the 10th is being misused as the symbol for the new crusade of the Neonazis in the area. Instead of mourning the loss with respect, the ‘grieving’ fascists are violating and exploiting the tragic death for their own purposes. Though the media report also about the pogrom and the extreme right wing violence in the area, they highlight the death of the Greek citizen and the ‘increased criminality and violence’ in the cities centre and the ‘ghettoisation’ due to immigrants – but the victims of the Neonazis were referred to until the 13th only in one sentence as collateral damage. Only since the further brutalisation and intensification of the pogrom at the 12th newspapers are titling also about the right wing violence.
Fascists attacked the Somali community. Graffiti: 'Foreigners out!'
The municipality of Athens plans to encounter ‘the problem’ by police raids against ‘illegal’ migrants, shops, street vending and brothels while increasing their repressive measures, they plan to ‘clean’ the area. The centre of Athens is an area to be gentrified and ‘up-graded’, thus, the pogrom of the Neonazis is adding its part on the dirty ‘job to be done’ – no matter what the consequences.
This is why we see the police co-operating with the fascists, why no migrant can file charges against fascists attacks and why the police is letting members of the extreme right group “golden dawn” free while arresting migrants:
The Minister of the Protection of the Citizen, Mr. Papoutsis, on Thursday (5th of May) discussed in a meeting with the mayor of Igoumenitsa, Giorgos Katsinos and the parliamentarian of Thesprotia prefecture form PASOK party, Christos Katsouras, about improving the co-operation among the Greek police and the Greek coast guard, the strenghtening of controls in the area and possibilities to get rid of the migrants in Igoumenitsa. The increasing controls will be practiced according to the German example of internal border controls (30km zone along the borders) in order to avoid to undermine the Schengen Treaty. The Ministry is trying to find places in all over Greece in order to build up so called first reception centres (translation: detention and deportation centres). This means: more police, more coast guard officers, more controls, more arrests, more detention centres, more sans-papiers in detention, more deportations…! Is this the “human solution” the local government of Igoumenitsa and the people attending the protest against the migrants at the 3rd of May were asking for?
Some of the Greek protesters that had closed the gates of the international port of Igoumenitsa today (3rd of May) expressed their anger against the migrants who live around the port area in the mountains and the olive tree fields with fascist slogans such as: “burn them! kill them!”. A small group of 3-4 Neonazis threw some flares/fire towards the informal settlement of the sans-papiers on the mountain. The migrants tried to defend their provisory shelters by throwing stones. The police answered the confrontation with violence and tear gas hunting the sans-papiers up to the mountain. The protest was organised by a initiative of “outraged citizens” but the call for action was joined by the president of the mayor of town and the president of the chamber of commerce of Thesprotia prefecture and the local bar association in order to struggle for a “more human town” and “not against the migrants” as they tried to convince the media after the violent outburst during the protest!!!! The local economy is obviously fearing that the presence of sans-papiers might disturb the coming tourist season….
