On September 17th, the antifascist rapper, Pavlos Fyssas was murdered by fascists of the Golden Dawn and paid with his life his political views . Earlier this year, on January 17th Shehzad Luqman was stabbed by members of the Golden Dawn in Petralona,while he was going to work, just because he was an immigrant.
Thousands of people participated in protest marches that immediately took place in Keratsini,the site of the murder, and all over Greece as well: in Chania,Thessaloniki, Patras etc. Meanwhile, journalists and politicians pretend to have been shocked by the incident and they are proceeding to revelations about the crimes of the Golden Dawn, which they had hidden so far, while they are now pleased by the prosecution of its members and even its abolition. But what they – deliberately- forget to clarify is that the fascists collaborate with the government.
Their speech and acts have many profound similarities : On February 1st Babacar Ndiaye was pursued and murdered by the municipal police in Thissio. No justice has been done until today. For many years, the fascists are protected by the police, as it was demonstrated once again on Wednesday 18th September, when they were standing behind the policemen, they were throwing stones against the protesters and taking part in beatings. In September 2012 fascists attacked immigrants many times in the area of America square. The police were just watching and did nothing. On September 30th 2012, when antifascists made a moto protest against these fascist attacks, in the centre of Athens, they were attacked by the police and 15 of them were arrested, beaten and tortured in the GADA police station. They were also charged with severe crimes. Τhe greek government keeps on building detention centres for the immigrants, it is organizing the operation of massive round-ups known as “Xenios Dias”, it is building a wall and putting mines on the border with Turkey and talks about immigrants as “public health time bomb”. The cops arrest, beat, torture and kill people at the police stations. Bosses exploit immigrant workers, they have them work and live in very bad conditions and the authorities don’t do anything about it. In some cases bosses even opened fire on the workers. This is what happened last April when immigrants farm workers received the bullets of landowner’s Vaggelatos minions’ guns in Manolada, just because they demanded their money that the landowner owed them for 6 months. Greek justice, that allows all the above to happen, prosecutes the immigrants who dared to revolt at the detention centre of Amygdaleza, on August 10th. When the fascists organize to do their dirty racist task, government, justice and cops turn their back and look elsewhere.
How could it be possible to believe that banning the neo-nazi party Golden Dawn, as many politicians say, will change the current situation, while its members will always be there to spread their racist ideology and attack those who resist them and will always want to take power? Will the issue of fascism be solved by laws? Can we ask the government that oppresses us every day to do justice in our place? Can the solution be calling for institutional help, expecting others to act in our place and staying in our homes without doing anything for ourselves?
Today, as always, the attacks against immigrants continue, with arrests in the squares and our neighborhoods, in the modern slavery of concentration camps, here in ASOEE with the continuous police operations, where the anti-riot forces and undercover cops persecute the pedlars. The repression continues with beating and tear gas against protesters, with imprisonment for those who are arrested at demonstrations, with massive dismissals, with evacuations of squats and with cops all over the town. The government forces with the help of the fascists, who are the long arm of the state, attack those who refuse to bow their head and obey them.
Today, the slogan “common struggles of immigrants and natives”, is more than ever well-timed, because it is all of us, immigrants with or without papers, natives, who become the target of the state and the parastate and every fascist. It is us who have all together to rise up, as it is our will and courage to fight that unite us. After all, the continuous struggle for a new world is the best way to remember all those who died while fighting for life.
We think that the only solution is to find ways to live and act together to make things better. All together, immigrants and natives, without hierarchy and discrimination because of the race, sex or colour, we stay united against fascist and police brutality, for the new world that we want to make. These are only some of the reasons why we participate in the Assembly of Immigrants and Solidarians of ASOEE, and we try to face the attacks in the present and in the future by the common struggles of immigrants and natives. Our arms in this fight will be solidarity and equality.
We are not only fighting our mortal enemies, the fascists. They are forced to contend with threat within the government that jeopardise our very existence. All we fight for us, one love, equal rights, peace and justice, for a better tomorrow.
RESISTANCE – SELF ORGANISATION – SOLIDARITY
COMMON STRUGGLES OF LOCALS & MIGRANTS
SMASH FASCISTS EVERYWHERE