It is day four of his hunger strike when, on this mild Sunday evening, he begins to speak into the microphone as the third speaker in front of an apartment block on Alexandras Street in central Athens. “I went on a hunger strike until I died,” says Aristos Hatzis in a firm voice.
He sees this as a suitable means of “calling attention to a collective struggle” that sees the apartment blocks as a structure Solidarity for socially weak groups und eine organized Gemeinschaft erhalten wolle, erklärt der Grieche. Applause brandet auf. Sprechchöre werden skandiert: „Hands off Refugees!“ (“Hände weg von den Prosphygika!“)
It’s about them Prosphygikain Greek, refugee buildings. Specifically, there are eight blocks of flats with a total of 228 small apartments. They were built in Bauhaus style starting in 1933 to provide accommodation for Greek refugees who had fled to Greece from what is now Turkey.
Hence its name, which is still used today for the eight buildings in the heart of Athens. Since 2010 there has been a community in the Prosphygika with an autonomous administration. Meanwhile, more than 400 refugees and migrants from dozens of countries as well as Greeks, including 50 children, live here – a community under autonomous administration. The community is gradually renovating the buildings Prosphygika.
“I explained that I didn’t have an apartment. The community invited me to take part in the weekly meeting. That’s what I did. I’ve been living here for about a year now,” a resident told taz. He makes ends meet in Athens with odd jobs. The money you earn is enough to cover your own food needs. “Luckily I don’t pay rent,” he says.
Government wants to clear the apartment blocks
This could be over soon. The conservative government in Athens under Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and the conservative governor of the Attica regional administration Prosphygika a thorn in the side for a long time. The fact that the community is gradually renovating the buildings does not change this.
“We have received information that the apartment blocks of the Prosphygika will soon be evacuated and demolished,” says a speaker at the meeting attended by the community Prosphygika with an “urgent explanation”.
Many people responded to the emergency call. Whether friends, supporters or residents: they all want it Prosphygika remain – and with it the social structures created there. Whether a daycare center, a social pharmacy, accommodation for patients and accompanying persons right next to them Prosphygika The local cancer hospital “Agios Savvas”, a women’s center or the solidarity group for the homeless: 22 autonomous structures currently exist in the Prosphygika – a unique achievement.
The structures should not only support the social self-sufficiency and self-organization of the people in the community Prosphygika secure. They are also open to residents from surrounding neighborhoods or elsewhere.
“Great people from many countries”
Georgios Foufas, with thick gray hair and a friendly look, also attends the open meeting. “These are great people from many countries. They are very hard-working,” says the agricultural economist to the taz. For him the community is in the Prosphygika With its lived solidarity and the principles of self-sufficiency and self-organization, it is “a real role model” for society, adds Foufas. He says: “Under no circumstances should the apartment blocks be demolished.”
Night has already fallen and the speeches at the meeting are coming to an end. Aristos Hatzis, who went on hunger strike, is presented with a red ribbon by Turkish comrades – a Symbol of determined struggle. Then he shouts the motto of the resistance of the community Prosphygika to the crowd: “We won’t fall without a fight! Either we win or we win!”
Since Thursday, Aristos Hatzis has only consumed water, tea, a little sugar, salt, vitamins and minerals. So that he could keep the hunger strike going “as long as possible,” as he emphasizes. If necessary, until his death.