Athens

May be 500.000 people followed calls from leftist, communist, anarchist groups, student collectives, the relatives of the Tempi victims, the calls for general strike from unions, the calls from organized football hooligans, to join a gathering at Syntagma Square in the center of Athens. see one of the many calls https://athens.indymedia.org/post/1634333/ Biggest gathering since long time. The crowd took over the surrounding avenues from 9 o clock in the morning until early evening. Also participating, voters of ND government, nationalists and few nazis, which got beaten up in between.

At the early morning of Monday, December 23, we decided to leave a little gift in anticipation of the holidays at the real estate company Ellika, at its store on Irakleidon Street in Thisseio. The otherwise police-controlled neighborhood of Thisseio was the perfect spot for us to contribute, fairly easily, our own sparkle enriching this way the already so glittering decoration of the Athenian center.

It was a long road to get here. Very long, my brother. The handcuffs weighed heavily on the hands.

The evenings when the little light bulb shook its head saying “time’s over”. We read the history of the world in small names, in some dates carved with a fingernail on the prison walls, in some childish drawings of the future dead – a heart, a bow, a ship that surely tore through time.

In some verses that were left in the middle so that we could finish them, in some verses that were finished so that we wouldn’t finish them. It was a long road to get here – a difficult road. Now this road is yours.

You hold it like you hold your friend’s hand and measure his pulse on the mark left by the handcuffs. Normal pulse – Sure hand – Sure road.

- Y.Ritsos 

Anarchists attack riot police in Exarcheia. Riot police has been guarding the equipments and machines of the company that tries to construct a metro station on the square. Residents of Exarcheia give a fight against the metro station for almost one and a half year now.