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In september some cool lunies and myself were in Greece, and we all loved this place. Late in the last week a 15 years old boy have been killed by cops. Since that happens, riots exploded in Athens and other places as Thessalonikky where Ant (Synthercat) and his familly lives. As the riots seem to grow bigger I wanted to ask Ant if he and his loved ones are ok, cause we are many worrying. Let us know, and explain us what happened , please. Sté.

Calling out to our Synthercat!!!! Please stop by and let us know what is happening. Deb Grant

Absolutely. We saw some of the footage on TV. When I heard of riots in Thessaloníki my heart sank. Antónis, do let us know something. Don't make us have to get Queen Beatrix involved!

We read here, that it is concentrated on the University area in Thessaloniki mainly, where the students have locked themselves in (?). But of course, one never knows. Reminds me strongly on the 1968 events in Hannover and Berlin. In Hannover, a friend of friends was shot, and that had long lasting consequences, mainly in Berlin (because some of the demonstrators were also students from Berlin), in fact, still has at times in a way. Since, according to our news, it was not the first time, that a 15 year old boy was shot by the police in Athens (I think, the other one was in Athens too), this may in fact pile up even harder.

I had Ant on phone. To quote him, it's total chaos in the streets of Thessaloniki near where he lives. . . He's in a village not really inside the town so he thinks it's gonna be allright. These riots are really violent. Many shops are destroyed, the Christmas tree of Athens been burnt and the cops and young ones fights for real. No great stuff. "Imagine all the people . . ." We think of you and the familly Ant.

you met my thinking Synnie, it is the same here in France were since sunday both my children are receiving SMS calling for strike against the new law on secondary schools.

Thanks for the news on Ant and his family, Ste. I'll be thinking of them.

WOW, crazy!! It sounds like change is in the air with regards to the government. Glad Synthercat has been unaffected at this point but it is scary. When this is over, it will be very eerie to go into town to find places you have sopped at, spent time at, gone from the flames. I lived in los Angeles during the riots after the Rodney King verdict. The burning of buildings and rioting came very close to my area, just down the road from Beverly Hills. In driving around, i saw looting, little children stealing from stores. All so very sad. I hope these riots in Greece end soon. From the people come the change. Sometimes not how we would like to see change come though.

it apparently came from the country that invented "democracia".Hope Ant that you and your family will remain safe from all this. Thinking of you. First demonstration here in Rennes today of pupils of secondary school in which I found. . . my son !

one teenager wounded in Brest, extreme west of little Britain.

Some news from Athens (a musician friend), concerning Thessaloniki, adding up to Ant's infos: "In Thessaloniki, a big spontaneous demonstration took place, while 2 Police Departments were attacked, several bank departments were burnt and Egnatia str., the main street, was block by burning trash bins for hours"

To make a Looong story short : Yes hell broke loose and I am kinda glad it did! Here are a few facts that clicked that riots. Greece was never into the "globalism" (in the bad way) but recent years we run towords there and people don't like it at all. Recenty (before the global crisis) Greek economy had a free fall for the last 5 years or so. Unemployment hits even harder The goverment is USELESS. Always had been. 2 big political parties that both rob the people (in the open!) a HUGE political scandal is out every 2-4 months People see no future at all going at this direction. Every talk on the street last 3 months was "ALL people will go out on the street with thing going on that way" SO. the kids death became the trigger to start all this. Too bad that a lot of people are with their shops destroyed now. Poor dudes. They waited for Xmas to make make some money cause market is SO bad right now. I am guilty of not going to the demonstrations. I HAD to be there. Maybe I have more in common with the average Greek. I put up with shit. STOP THE VOILENCE! Don't throw more tear-gas we were it tears before using them All we need is love

Antonis, you're not guilty at all. The only responsible of the situation is the Greek government leading greek people to this state of despair in which only violence could be seen as the only suitable answer. You may be close to the average greek people as I ever was, cause I love that country and those people. But at the same time you're allowed to reject violence,which is actually the choosen mean of reaction. You've got a family that's the main point and I can tell you as long ago as a child I saw my own father leaving home to built the first barricades in Paris, during the month of 1968, as a child I was terrorized, not by the violence spreading, by the idea it could happen something to my father. The image of it is still cleary present in my mind and I was only 6. Please don't do that you've got nothing to proove to anyone. If you feel you have something to do then try to contact organizations, or political party, act in a positiv way according to your own value and sensibility. Anyway I felt this summer, tension growing in Greece and what occures doesn't surprise me at all. You've got to clean this political scene once and for all.there's work to do, even after this burst of violence would have passed. that the right way to answer the situation. with you.

While my friend in Athens is all shocked, because she was about to go to that very place, where it all happened (a friend of hers lives right there, but they somehow did not go there in the end). Anyhow, good to hear your side and informations, Ant. One cannot be everywhere at once, but please, keep us informed, if you can. Of course, I have some more informations here too, but since it is a private letter, I should not post parts without admission. But it must have been very weird. . .while the public press tries to make it look like an accident now, which it wasn't at all. But the other eyewitness-word also spreads.

same reaction of fear from part of my cousine Vana in Athen, for riots occured near the place she works. For yesterday things seem to calm down anyway in Athen. Hope it's the same in Thessaloniki. Hope the fact that policemen were condemned will calm down the situation all over the country.But it seems that counciousness arise throughout the country that part of the police is still acting as if you were still under the "colonels"regim. This is the main point leading to a global peacefull, political answer from part of the entire population. While this take of counciousness arise, anyone would be obliged to fit the situation differently, and violence should be seen at totally unapropriate then.As long as responsabilities has been settled, it open way to more peacefull means of going through this crisis. with you

.the only happy thing about reading this post is now I have a good idea on what to send Antónis for Christmas. I hope what Rainbow's cousin Vana in Athiná says is true, and that things are settling down. And I'm sorry, I hadn't spoken before now; but I could not think of anything to add to Antónis' analysis of the situation. Only that I saw this happen in Los Angeles and in Atlanta in 1992. Many black folks were angry, particularly in Los Angeles. They did not feel they were getting justice. Then a pair of white policemen beat up a black man, whom they stopped on suspicion of driving under the influence of drugs. When the white policemen responsible for that barbarity were found not guilty . then that is what happened. I was in Atlanta, and I saw soldiers in riot gear standing on the State Capitol steps. I saw the crowd turning over a police car. I saw the northbound roads clogged with the traffic of people trying to get away. Now, this is in the centre of the city. South Atlanta became a war zone. And for a few days, Los Angeles looked like Beirut. In some ways, my story is a bit different. It's complicated by issues of race. In other ways, it's too much the same. If there had been justice done in a Los Angeles courthouse, much of that might never have happened. I hope the story helped.

I am sorry for being so selfish and not posting earlier in this thread. I have certainly been "distracted" by the PG tour news. . . but that is no excuse. I wish to sent my deepest and most sincere thoughts to my Greek friends and acquaintances. Situations like these are always hard to deal with for, at a certain point, one never knows what is actually right and what is wrong. I just hope waters will get soon to their level in order to make space for thought, dialogue, understanding and democracy. . . all concepts that are intrinsic to Greek culture.

Antonis, as a matter of fact, if you were still asking yourself if you were right not to participate to the demonstrations in Thessaloniky, I've got the answer: you were right. I'm obliged in two days to go to my son's school, for they decided to occupy it during the night. Knowing that we've got there the most "sarkosyst" of all prefect I'm sure that the situation is obliged to worsten there. I've got only one son and I will be with him, all along as ever. But at the same time, I'm wondering why, adults of this country let children do what they are supposed to do, and doing nothing themselves push them to such extremities by potentially facing violence eventually. All this is madness.

bump, not the oldest - getting there, continuing the journey