Actions all over Europe
Ø 13.00 Pre-assembly in Propilea (Panepistimio metro station)
Ø 14.00 Rally in Omonia square and demonstration towards the Parliament building.
This year, the International Day Against Racism (21st of May) coincides with the most brutal attack to the rights of immigrants and refugees, from Farmakonisi to the pathetic concentration camps of Amugdaleza and Corinth. Thousands of people, uprooted because of poverty and war, women and young children included, die in eastern and western borders, get imprisoned and tortured for 18 months in police cells and concentration camps by the government and the EU, in the name of the "prevention of illegal immigration" dogma. Fundamental rights, such as offering citizenship to children, and allowing immigrants to vote in local elections are getting cancelled, with the aim of pleasing Golden Dawn voters and of bringing them back to the ruling parties. The brutality of the state mechanism is spreading against prisoners, HIV-positive women and drug addicts, while sexism and discriminations against homosexuals and transgendered people lead to night-time fascist attacks against anyone who dares to express him/herself against nazi stereotypes. The Golden Dawn gang makes use of the institutional racism of the government, the big Media and the Police, to bring back its storm troops in Keratsini and in other neighbourhoods, in view of the upcoming local elections. It’s all about a despicable endeavour to disguise the real causes of poverty, unemployment and neglect from which poor people -locals and immigrants- are suffering: Austerity policies of the memoranda and the governments implementing them.
Our answer to the appalling racist attacks is:
No to a civil war among poor people. A common struggle of locals and immigrants, workers, unemployed and poor people against policies of misery, racism and fascism. The cause of the 1,500,000 unemployed is not the immigrants, but the dismissals in the public and the private sector and the closing of small shops because of unbearable debts. It's not the increasing numbers of uninsured "free loaders" -locals or immigrants- that caused the dismantling of health and education systems, but the hospitals and schools mergers and the dramatic spending cuts by the relevant ministries. The increase in delinquency is not due to anybody's genes, but to the impoverishment of large numbers of people -locals and immigrants- who get easily seduced by criminal rings growing rich. It's the public Social Security Funds that lose money because of uninsured work, like in Manolada, and it’s the illegal employers who make profits, while undeclared work of locals and immigrants keeps spreading everywhere, reaching record highs of over 30%. Money spent in inhumane immigrants' concentration camps, fences in Evros River, and militarization of the borders is taken out of the pockets of tax-payers and from budget cuts for schools and hospitals. The oppressive police state uses "illegal" immigrants as an excuse to target anyone showing resistance. Workers and young people are taken to court for no reason, the police plays the role of an "instructor" in schools, protests become forbidden and get brutally suppressed, fascists are left free to attack social spaces, such as "Resalto" in Keratsini, when mr Dendias' hellenic police has not closed them yet.
For all those reasons, on Saturday, March 22, we unite against racism and fascism, repression and impoverishment.
Ø STOP murders in the borders, close immigrant and refugee concentration camps. Asylum to refugees.
Ø Regularisation of immigrant workers. No to uninsured work. Naturalisation of all children.
Ø Neonazis out of our neighbourhoods and our schools. Close Golden Dawn's lairs. Root fascist networks out of public security forces and state mechanisms instead of disguising them.
Signatures until now:
Open Initiative against Detention Centres, Antifascist Coordination of Athens and Pireus, Open Immigrants' School of Pireus, Afghan Community, Action Congo, Network for Social and Political Rights, Network for Social Support of Immigrants and Refugees, African Women Union, Centre of Fighting and Cultural Solidarity between Turkey and Greece, "Deport Racism" Movement, Sunday Immigrants School, Moroccan Community, Queertrans Group, "Piso Thrania" education without discrimination. Antifascist Initiative of New Heraklion Attiki, Antigone –Center for Information and Documentation for Racism, Block 15 Haidari, Union of Philippine Workers – Kasapi Hellas, Free and Auto-organized Theatre of Ebros, Human Rights Committee of SIRIZA, Kapa- (Center for Struggle and Cultural Solidarity Turkey and Greece), Mermigi – Solidarity Grassroots Movement of 6th Revision Community, Youth of SIRIZA, Asante Organization, Queetrans, Group, Syrian Community, Migrants Social Cente, Fiminist Initiative of Athens