Panhellenic day of action for Palestine

This blog is not about politics, not my views, and not my activism - it's about art, travel, and the things I generally do and see. I did, however,  write extensively about the Greek economic crisis which was triggered in 2009 and which led to a decade of recession, austerity and social upheaval, but this was inevitable, as the signs of this crisis were everywhere we went in Greece. 

What is happening in Palestine and Gaza are extremely important to me, but I have not written about it. I will do so today however, as the 9th of August was quite an amazing day in Greece and this is where I am at the moment, after all.

For the last two years, on the last Sunday before August the 15th,  Greek people have been demonstrating against the ethnic cleansing and genocide that Israel, with the help of the US (and other Western countries), is perpetrating on the people of Gaza.

Panhellenic day of action on islands, mountains and towns against the continuing genocide and ethnic cleansing in Palestine.

On this map of Greece are marked the 106 locations where on the 9th of August people demonstrated, marched, held vigils or picketed, in solidarity with the people of Palestine. 106 locations is quite amazing for a country the size of Greece. There were for instance, 11 locations in the Cyclades, 7 in Crete, 12 in the Peloponese, 3 in Athens.

looking closer at a small section of the map.

We joined the demonstration in one of the Athens locations, Monastiraki Square, which is in Plaka, at the foot of the Acropolis.

We arrived at 7:00, the starting time, even though we knew that we would not start marching for at least 45 minutes. Greeks hold the rally at the beginning of demonstrations, rather than at the end, which is what we're used to in the UK. There were a few short speeches, but mainly a lot of chanting, which was spot on, given that there are a lot of tourists around this area.

When we were about to start marching, the Palestinian flag was unfurled

So many people, they must have been waiting all around the side streets around the square. This was going to be a big demonstration, which surprised me in a way, because Athens empties out in August, everyone goes away on holiday or to their villages - I really did not think there were that many people still here.

And we were off. I knew where the march was heading,  so I could not understand why we went up Athinas Avenue

We then saw the first police - we had noted the fact that around Monastiraki there had been no police, but here they were

We arrived in Omonia Square, and then the route became clear to me: we were marching through all of central Athens. First Athinas Avenue, then Omonia Square, then Stadiou Street, finishing at Syntagma Square. It could not have been better.

We could not understand why the police were guarding this hotel, and why they thought we might attack it? Is it popular with Israeli tourists? Is that what they thought we were about?

More police stopping entry into this street. Again, why?

We eventually arrived at Syntagma Square and standing at this corner it became clear how large this demonstration was

We arrived at the top of the square, where the Parliament building is situated, and then, people started dispersing.

The police forming a line in the middle of the road to prevent the marchers from going to the Parliament building.

A bit further down the square we could see the tram that would take us home, ready to depart, so we boarded it. We had to change at Pikrodafni, and when we got on to the tram there, with our keffiyeh, our watermelon bracelets, our flags, two young blokes excitedly greeted us, telling us they are from Gaza. We had a lovely chat with them and it was such a great end to the day.

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I have since, seen photographs or videos of most of the 106 demonstrations/vigils around the country.  All looked impressive. A very successful day of action.

I also saw reports and videos of Israeli tourists, who were apparently IDF soldiers, who were aggressive and abusive towards the demonstrators on the island of Agistri. One eye-witness said: 'wherever they go, they take their settler colonial mentality with them'.  This does not surprise me. I was aggressively verbally abused in Thessaloniki because I was wearing a keffiyeh. But we saw my attacker off very successfully, as I don't think he thought I would stand up to him.

Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy of Arts (only two works)

I cannot do the Summer Exhibition at the R.A. It's too crowded, there are too many displays, and in order to see what the artwork is and by whom, you have to look in the catalogue. I just find it so frustrating and irritating. We went to see the Michaelina Wautier exhibition which was wonderful, and which I will post on soon, I hope. Ken wanted to look at the Summer Exhibition which he did while I did other things. He came out and talked to me about two artworks which he enjoyed, so I popped in, rushed through,  to have a look at just those two. 

Tim Shaw, Pin It on Them (Associated Artwork from the Installation: Shut it Piggy),  (old pillows and clothes on a steel frame)

Trump and Netanyahu, clasping hands, barbed wire around their wrists

standing on some of the devastation and destruction they have caused.

Michael Sandle, Vipera Palaestinae or Allegory of Consciencelessness in Gaza, (charcoal drawing)

Tony Blair, another facilitator of the genocide in Gaza.

 

Anti-racist festival, Athens

Last week we went to the anti-racist festival in Athens. It takes place every year in the park in Goudi and this was our third time.

We went early because we wanted to take a good look at the stalls. The park is extensive, and is overlooked by the Hymettus mountain range. 

Even though we were really early, there were already lots of meetings and speeches going on in various parts of the park.

We began going round all the stalls, 

starting with the books

Always interesting seeing what the Greek left are reading: Workers' resistance in Greece, Ernesto Che Guevara, Malcolm X

No need for translation here

Mandela, Che and Fidel Castro 

Karl Marx and F. Dostoyevsky

Rosa Luxemburg and Friedrich Engels on the Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State

Michel Foucault

On this stall all of the works of Louis Althusser - even some that I had not heard of - but nothing by Nikos Poulantzas!

Lots of banners, of course

Ursula Le Guin

Some more fiction: Orwell and Brecht

Mikhail Bakunin and Pasolini

Georg Lukazs

Judith Butler and Jacques Lacan

Simone de Beauvoir

More Foucault

Katerina Gogou, the anarchist poet from Exarcheia who left this life far too early

More Ursula Le Guin

More Emma Goldman

There seemed to be a lot of groups organising summer camping, this one to raise money for  Palestine

Black Lives Matter and black liberation

On Palestine

On the coup in Chile, plus Antonio Gramsci

This group offer free Greek and English lessons to immigrants and refugees

They are based in Exarchia

Mainly Leon Trotsky on this stall

The Palestinian flag everywhere

4th International stall: all of Ernest Mandel's works

Community Surgeries' Network: a lot of these sprang up 10 years ago during the economic crisis, and they are still going on

Lenin and Trotsky

T-shirts

badges

Palestine

This is the group who have been organising the Saturday vigils for Palestine in Syntagma square

more on Palestine

keffiyeh for sale

badges

Palestinian women

Che

trying to raise money to buy an ambulance and medical supplies for Palestine

So much about Palestine - as one would expect

Recognise the Palestinian State now

Free Palestine

Freedom for Palestine

Advertising the Feminist Festival that is going to take place in September

I have neutral to indifferent feelings about tattoos,  but I liked this one and asked if I could photograph it

Frieda Kahlo and Smash Patriarchy and what looks like it could be a Banksy 

Feminist writers' association

and their latest publication

against homophobia

Dusk was settling and everywhere, all around the park, small or large groups in workshops or listening to speeches

We then had a look at some of the other stalls

selling clothes,

jewellery

and accessories

mainly from Africa.

It was time to eat and we were truly spoilt for choice: so much to choose from, from so many different countries

Zimbabwe: rice with chicken curry or a vegan option of various beans, corn and nuts

The Kurds from Turkey were offering a type of kofte

Couscous with chicken and veg from Tunisia

Vegetable Wat from Ethiopia

Kofte Poluo from Afghanistan

a rice dish from Egypt

a dish from Cameroon

A vegetable curry, or a chicken a veg dish from the Congo

Kofte from Kurdistan

Chicken with rice or Akara (a falafel made of black-eyed beans with veg and rice) from Nigeria

Quinoa with vegetables from South Sudan

Falafels made out of lentils with pita bread, veg and tahini from Sudan

in the background you could see people rolling out the pitta breads

Spring rolls and noodles from the Philippines

and a whole bunch of people making them

The Greek taverna had quite an extensive menu

and here's the souvlaki preparation station.

At this point I stopped taking photos. We got ourselves some food and a bottle of wine, sat down and enjoyed our meal.  We then had a pudding each. 

We stayed for another three hours, mainly listening to the bands but we also wandered around. We had such a good time. As the evening progressed more and more people kept arriving so that by the time we left the whole place was buzzing - there were so many people enjoying themselves. A wonderful five hours.