Ministry of Labour occupied in solidarity with the 300 migrant hunger strikers

Wishing to spread the spirit of the struggle of the migrant workers in the centre of Athens, we aoccupied the services of the Ministry of Labour in Athens from 8 am to 2 pm.

The just struggle of the 300 migrant-workers hunger strikers is our struggle, too!

For 35 days now, in Athens and Thessaloniki, 300 migrant workers have started a tough hunger strike. They ask for equal rights with their local colleagues and the legalisation of all migrants who live, work and travel in the country.

Wishing to spread the spirit of this struggle to the centre of Athens, we occupied the services of the Ministry of Labour on Korai square. This is the building where on December 2010 migrant worker Emad Aziz was killed, falling from its third floor, while he was working uninsured on a Sunday and under conditions not meeting even the most basic of safety rules. This is one of the state buildings cleaned by migrants who work for contractors-slavers, in which Middle Ages working conditions reign; undeclared labour, employer brutality. What do workers at the ministry of labour have to say about that? What do they have to say about the struggle of the 300 migrants-workers, which concerns all migrants and even more so, the entire working class?

In the last 24 hours alone twenty migrant hunger strikers have been transferred to hospitals in Athens with extreme dehydration and renal deficiency – and another four have been transferred to hospitals in Thessaloniki with fainting episodes. In some of those hospitals they have not been admitted while at others police demanded from the medical staff the migrants’ names.

The 300 hunger strikers risk their lives not on the basis of individual motivation but for a collective right, in a struggle asserting the independence of the entire working class. The migrants were organised through public and horizontal assemblies in Crete, establishing via collective procedures one of the most massive autonomous struggles of migrant workers in greece. They asked from the first moment the solidarity and bridging of their struggle with the propositions of all people and collectives struggling for a world of equality and freedom. We adduce excerpts from the text issued by the hunger strikers’ assembly, with which they ask for our solidarity:

“…we find ourselves in the indignity and darkness of illegality in order for employers and state services to benefit from the wild exploitation of our labour… The more wages and pensions are slashed, the more everything becomes more expensive, the more migrants are presented as the culprits for the abjection and wild exploitation of greek workers… The propaganda of fascist and racist parties and organisations has become the official discourse of the state on the migrant issue… We ask from our greek colleagues, from every human now also suffering from the exploitation of their toil, to stand by our side. To support our struggle; not to allow for lies and injustice, fascism and totalitarianism to prevail in their land too… What has prevailed, that is, in our own lands and which forced us to migrate… us and our children”

The class discourse of the strikers clashes with the entire anti-migration policies which want to see the life and labour of migrants to be illegal, devalued and politically undefended in face of the murderous intention of the bosses and the military and police institutions of national states.

The greek state has its hands soaked in blood. It participates in the transnational alliances responsible for the (supposedly humanitarian) military occupation of the countries of origin of the migrants. At its borders, in co-operation with border forces of other countries, FRONTEX and state-controlled slavers, it directs migrants to minefields, to the bottom of the Aegean sea and in concentration camps at the edge of the country where inhuman conditions of mass confinement, torturing and violent deportation prevail.

The ideological mechanisms of the state, mass media but also a discrete part of greek society capitalising for 30 years now on the wealth produced by the migrant labour force all contribute to these crimes, as well as to the wider devaluation of the life and the labour of migrants by small and big bosses. Migrants, even if invisible and isolated, are right next to us and comprise an enormous productive population which lives, works, moves, desires and creates families, communities and solidarity networks.

The struggle of the 300 migrant workers proves the collective ability of an autonomous, class and social action by all those who are not institutionally considered to be citizens by the states – and this paves the way for the struggles of the migrants to meet with those of the locals. And this is what scares the bosses.

It is precisely for this reason that their struggle was attacked from the very first moment by the state and the mass media; it is for this reason that the academic asylum was lifted and a political protest was banned at the Law School; it is for this reason that for a first time, the political prosecution of hunger strikers is attempted. This cannibalistic and racist discourse is being worked out for years by the mechanisms of the state and during the evacuation of the Law school we heard it from the mouths of the various ministers of interior, labour and citizen pimp [a play of work with “citizen protection” – the ministry of the police –trans] – as well as by the  bullies of the mass media.

As the hunger strike reaches a threshold dangerous for the health of the migrant-workers, the “condition of tolerance” is now being brought up as a proposal to the strikers. This “condition of tolerance” is not a humanitarian but a murky regulation, as it only allows migrants to stay here for six months, with the intention of deportation and without the capacity for them to leave if they so wish. This is why the strikers reject this proposal.

The migrant hunger strikers in struggle are at the forefront of social war. They posit their lives against the barbarism of authority, against the abjection and culture of death that the state attempts to command upon them and the entire society. They struggle for life, for freedom and dignity. For a world where death will behold no authority… For this reason, we call for all the struggling parts of society to stand in solidarity to the struggle of the 300 hunger strikers, which is taking place on everyone’s behalf. Because solidarity between the oppressed is our weapon. Because solidarity is not only support but also a clash for a society of self-management, without borders, fences, concentration camps, racism or exploitation.

“We are not going to cheapen life, which they have made so negligible and dispensable.
We are going to mark up death, so as to make it throbbing and inconceivable” .

We call for the support of the occupation from 8 am and

for a gathering today at 2pm, at the Ministry of Labour at Korai Square.

Solidarity to all migrants in struggle
Common struggles between the oppressed
For a world of equality, solidarity, freedom

People in solidarity

PRESS RELEASE – 27 FEBRUARY 2011

Sunday, February 27, 2011

DAY 34 of the hunger strike

The 300 migrants, 50 of which are staying at the 7^th floor of the Labor Centre, have been on a hunger strike for 34 days now. Most of them now weigh between 40-44 kg, they are all physically exhausted, and they keep fainting. However, they have still not lost hope and are determined to continue with their struggle until their demands are fulfilled. A while ago, three hunger strikers were taken to hospital (raising the total number to 18). Another three, who were admitted to the Hippocrateion for temporarily loss of consciousness, are still being hospitalized.

Today, the MPs Dritsas, Amanatidou and Tasos Kourakis of the SYRIZA Party, members of hospital, school and labor unions, as well as members of the City Council visited the hunger strikers and expressed their support with their struggle. During their visit, they discussed with representatives of the strikers about the strikers’ health and the demands of their struggle. “The health of the strikers is at a crucial point”, they stated. “These developments call for heightened political responsibility, which the government does not seem to be taking”

Yesterday, day 33 of the hunger strike, members of the Solidarity Initiative had planned to go to an event in honour of the film director Costas Gavras, which involved the screening of his latest film “Heaven is West” (2009) which tackles the issue of “illegal” immigration, at the Fondation Hellenique in Paris. To their surprise, a few minutes before the beginning of the screening, Theodoros Pangalos, vice president of the Hellenic parliament, entered the room. They spontaneously started speaking out to the audience, demanding that Pangalos depart immediately. In their written announcement we read: “The expulsion of Theodoros Pangalos today is of particular political importance. So long as immigrants are still drowing in the Aegean, and fences are being built across the Greco-turkish border in the Evros region, so long as 300 migrants are risking their lives and at the same time the government is continuing its assault against all workers and against the whole of society, [in a venue like this] no member of the government will be legitimized, neither politically, nor as physical presence.” You can watch a video of the event here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9tLCF4rTg0

For the next few days, the Open Solidarity Initiative is planning a demo with motorcycles on Tuesday, March 1 (meeting at 6pm at the Labor Centre), and a solidarity march on Thursday, March 3 (meeting at 6pm at the Venizelou statue). Until now, the migrant hunger strikers have been speaking up for all our sakes. Now that they cannot talk, it is time for us to speak up for them.

PRESS RELEASE – 26 FEBRUARY 2011

Saturday, February 26, 2011

DAY 33 of the hunger strike

The 300 migrants, 50 of which are staying at the 7^th floor of the Labor Centre, have been on a hunger strike for 33 days now. On average, they have lost 15% body mass and they are physically exhausted. However, they are still teaching us lessons of dignity through their example and they are determined to continue with their struggle until the end, until their demands are fulfilled.

As the doctors of the medical team have noted, their health conditions are deteriorating day by day and they are facing the threat of irreparable damage to their vital organs. Today, two more hunger strikers were taken to the hospital, one of them for fainting, another for precordial pain. Up to now, 15 hunger strikers have been admitted to hospitals, while right now 3 hunger strikers are at the Hippocration and one at Aghios Demetrios.

This morning members of the Open Solidarity Initiative organized an info-event at the Kamara area, with PA-systems, flyposted banners with slogans in support of the hunger strikers’ demands on local buses, read out texts to the passers-by and distributed leaflets.

For next week, the Open Solidarity Initiative has planned a demo with motorcycles on Tuesday, March 1 (meeting at 6pm at the Labor Centre), and a solidarity march on Thursday, March 3 (meeting at 6pm at the Venizelou statue).

The hunger strikers receive solidarity messages everyday. The Hospital Doctor’s Union, the Bar Associations of Lawyers in Thessaloniki, university professors, schoolteachers, students and working people, the Thessaloniki City Councils and political groups all over the country, as well as Trade Union Federations, immigrant groups and intellectuals from around the globe -from Ken Loach to Noam Chomsky and from Alain Badiou to Emmanuel Wallerstein, from Eduardo Galeano to Naomi Klein, from Dario Fo to Slavoj Zizek, and so many othes, have expressed their support to the demands and the struggle of the hunger strikers. Yesterday, 35 university professors from Crete sent a solidarity message stating that: “the hunger strike of 300 people does not threaten democratic institutions, on the contrary it is an effort to broaden democracy by defending human rights. The rhetoric of the government, of politicians and of journalists that the hunger strike was allegedly instigated by scheming political groups and parties, reveals their truly racist view of immigrants as people who lack the capacity to think and act autonomously. However, it is they, the government, the politicians and the journalists who exploited the presence of the hunger strikers at the Law School in order to distract public opinion from the policies of the Memorandum as well as from the country’s political system that is seeped in scandals of corruption and bribery. We declare our full support to the struggle of the migrants hunger strikers and are calling upon the Greek Parliament to prepare the legal framework for migration that will respect universal human and social rights”.

PRESS RELEASE – 25 FEBRUARY 2011

FRIDAY 25 February 2011
Day 32 of the hunger strike

The 300 migrants in Athens and Thessaloniki have been on a hunger strike for 32 days now.
Their health is deteriorating and everyday, more strikers are being taken to public hospitals for loss
of consciousness. Today, two strikers were admitted to the Hippocration Hospital, (raising the total
number to 13), while another three are being hospitalized at Aghios Demetrios Hospital.

This morning, Mr. Stratis Plomaritis, president of the Union of Hospital Doctors of Thessaloniki and a member
of the Medical Health Team on the side of the hunger strikers, Zawat, one of the hunger strikers, Ghani,
a representative of the hunger strikers, and Efi Telli, lawyer and member of the legal team on the side of
the hunger strikers spoke at a Press Conference at the Labor Centre about the emergency health issues of the
hunger strikers, their demands and developments on the legal front.

The Open Solidarity Initiatve is planning an info-campaign over the weekend, as well as:
-a demo with motorcycles on Tuesday, the 1st of March, beginning at the Labor Centre at 6pm
-a solidarity march on Thursday, the 3rd of March, meeting at the Venizelou statue at 6pm

THE HUNGER STRIKERS ARE IN DANGER

A “compassionate” politician turns cynical prime-minister, while his government ignores even the EU legislation it uses as a pretext to deny migrants’ regularization

 

1. THE SITUATION OF THE HUNGER STRIKERS ON FEBRUARY 24,  2011

The 300 migrant workers have been abstaining from food for 31 days now, since the 25^th of January. In Athens and Thessaloniki, we witness fainting episodes all the time, everyday, all day long. More and more often, the situation of some becomes extremely critical, and the strikers are taken to public hospitals.

Big young men, who for years have worked on farms and on building sites all over Greece, fathers and husbands, are now weighing 44 and 45 kilograms. They can hardly stand up. Three days ago already, the medical health team, who has been on the side of the hunger strikers from day one, spoke clearly: The strikers “have entered a phase where they are facing irreversible damage to their health”. They are in danger. In common terminology, that means that their vital organs will be harmed irreversibly, their memory and eyesight will be seriously under threat.

2. THE HUNGER STRIKERS’ SPECIFIC DEMANDS

And why are they risking their lives? Is it because the 300 migrant workers somehow decided that they don’t fancy Greek souvlaki any more? No, they are putting their own lives in danger because they have repeated their arguments one too many times. After years of being derided and reproached, after years of working for no pay, after years of torture, incarceration, beatings and humiliation, after years of official non-existence, right now they are asking for a very specific thing: They are asking for their existence to be recognized. They want legalization. They say: For us, legalisation is neither a generic nor an abstract slogan.

We demand the issuing – since we are entitled to it – of a proper residence and labor permit to us, the 300 hunger strikers, who demand what should be a given for everyone by putting our lives on the line

As well as:

– that residence permits are no longer connected to work credits

– that all who lost their permits because of the above reason are legalised again

– the vindication of everyone whose application was rejected in 2005, after their application submission had been accepted and after they were forced to pay thousands of euros each

– the establishment of a permanent and open procedure for complete legalisation, which will process applications constantly

-the abandonment of any idea of criminalising any of our comrades in solidarity with us, who have been called as suspects of committing criminal acts by the authorities

3. THE MINISTER’S RESPONSE TODAY and the prime-minister’s views in 2008

The above demands were made public on the 21^st of February. Three days later, what is the response of the government?

Minister of the Interior Mr. Ragousis announced to the newspapers today that the legalization of the hunger strikers would “put Greece in great danger”, especially now the country is facing “the possibility of a migrant wave from North Africa”. Echoing the deeply racist, and by now stereotypically populist rhetoric, he added: “Could Greece endure that?” He even repeated that the government would be ready to grant them “tolerance status”, meaning a six-month permit given for exceptional reasons of health, family condition or other obstacles to deportation. In other words, he is saying that the government might allow for some of the hunger strikers to be officially tolerated for a short period of time, and probably feels the strikers should be negotiating his offer!

Just two years ago, in November 2008, when 15 migrants were on hunger strike in Chania, Crete, George Papandreou, then the leader of the oppositional PASOK Party, now Mr. Ragousis’ and Greece’s Prime Minister, was writing on his blog, for all voters to read: “We should respect the axiomatic truth that it is not easy to be a refugee and an immigrant. Our handling of the issue should begin by seeing every person as an equal. We relate to every human being as a fellow citizen of the world and we want all to have equal rights, we recognize the right to a peaceful coexistence, to respect, to dignity, to humane behavior. (…) There are significant practical and institutional problems, as well as problems of understanding, mentality, reception of immigrants, and acceptance of them. The best thing that could be done, that could contribute towards overcoming this problematic picture, would the integration of immigrants into society.”

This turn towards cynicism is not merely a contradiction caused by Realpolitik concerns, it seems to be the result of a brain transplantation, and an unsuccessful one at that.

Another one of the favourite government phrases, which the Minister repeated today, is that “migration is a European problem” and speaking about EU legislation showed that he has a few gaps in his information apparatus…

4. IS THE GOVERNMENT NOT UP-TO-DATE WITH EUROPEAN LEGISLATION?

Today, the 24^th of February 2011, the Minster of the Interior Yannis Ragousis added that “he excludes the possibility of an illegal mass regularization”, echoing the Minister of Citizens’ Protection (Public Order) Christos Papoutsis, who, on the 8^th of February had announced in the parliamentary committee for issues of migration that “the demand for mass, general regularization, cannot be substantiated, it is unheard of and not allowed in the European Union”…On the 28^th of January, the Deputy Minister of Labor Anna Dalara had said: “in any case, mass regularizations are against the European Pact on Immigration and Asylum”.

However, all three government politicians seem to be dangerously misinformed. Indeed, on the15th of October 2008, EU heads of state and government endorsed the ‘European Pact on Immigration and Asylum’. However hideous the European Pact was, “a ban on the mass regularization of illegal immigrants had to be dropped during negotiations in Cannes (July 2008), in order to win the necessary support of the Spanish government” http://www.euractiv.com/en/socialeurope/european-pact-immigration-asylum/article-175489

In the last two years, there have been two cases, that of Italy and of Belgium, where EU governments granted hundreds of thousands of permits at once:

1. In Italy, despite strong rhetoric against irregular migrants, the government had to launch a regularization procedure in 2009. By July 2010, around 200.000 permits were granted.

http://www1.interno.it/mininterno/export/sites/default/it/sezioni/sala_stampa/notizie/immigrazione/0076_2010_07_12_colf_badanti.html

2. On the 20th of July 2009, Belgian Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy released details of the federal government’s agreement on regularizing illegal immigrants. Illegal immigrants who had lived in Belgium for at least five years were able to apply to regularize their situation between 15 September and 15 December 2009. Around 50.000 permits were granted.

The move was not called a “mass regularization”, according to government officials.

http://www.euractiv.com/en/socialeurope/belgium-legalise-25000-immigrants/article-184257

The new 2009 EU multi-annual program in the area of Justice and Home Affairs for the years 2010-2014, known as the Stockholm program, does not prohibit large-scale regularizations of migrants, and only refers to the need to improve the exchange of information on regularizations at the national level.

So who is the Greek government kidding?

5. VICTORY TO THE HUNGER STRIKE – VICTORY TO LIFE

The hunger strike of the 300 migrant workers in Greece is now at a very critical turn. The hunger strikers are in danger. We cannot tolerate any more lies. The demands of the hunger strikers are just. As the Forum of Migrants in Crete have written: “They have turned life into a cheap commodity. We shall not allow anyone make life cheaper. We shall make life priceless so that death becomes unthinkable. Victory to the hunger strike, victory to life”.

TEXT FOR THE PRESS CONFERENCE WITH THE DOCTORS

The hunger strike has already entered a critical phase. The hunger strikers are not losing hope, but everyday they are losing more and more body mass, they are constantly dizzy, we witness fainting episodes all the time, several of them have been taken to public hospitals.

Often, even there, at the public institutes of medical health, the exhausted immigrants are further humiliated: Just yesterday, the director of an Internal Medicine Unit of a hospital here, ordered the nursing staff to take trays with meals to the striker’s bed and leave them there for half an hour, much to the surprise of the people accompanying the hunger striker, who had described very clearly that the strikers will refuse to be fed! Isn’t this psychological torture, isn’t this a violation of human rights?!!!

Big men, who for years have worked on farms and on building sites all over Greece, fathers and husbands, are now weighing 44, 45 kilograms. They can hardly stand up. Three days ago already, the medical health team, who has been on the side of the hunger strikers from day one, said it very clearly in their public announcement: The strikers “have entered a phase where they are facing irreversible damage to their health”. The strikers’ health is under serious threat. In common terminology, that means that their vital organs will be irreversibly harmed, their memory and eyesight will be seriously challenged. And who knows what else.

The government has still said next to nothing.

–After torturing the immigrants during their first week of the hunger strike with meaningless negotiations and false promises in order to evacuate the empty building site of the redundant Law School,

–after leading them to the wet and cold conditions of the Ypatia building’s front yard and narrow corridors,

–after criminalizing solidarity and sending 8 people to the District Attorney for helping the fighting migrants in their struggle,

–after the mudslinging campaign by the Minister of Health Mr. Loverdos to convince the public that “the hunger strikers are a public health hazard”…

…after all these attempts to break the strike failed completely, the government is still not responding.

After solidarity messages from the hospital doctors union, from bar associations of lawyers, from university professors, from schoolteachers, from students and working people,  from City Councils and political groups all over the country, after messages of full support from Trade Union Federations, immigrant groups and intellectuals from around the globe -from Ken Loach to Noam Chomsky and from Alain Badiou to Emmanuel Wallerstein, from Eduardo Galeano to Naomi Klein, from Dario Fo to Slavoj Zizek, and so many others…

…after all this extraordinarily broad and intense expression of support for the strikers’ demands and solidarity with their struggle, the government is still not responding. The government doesn’t seem to understand that their hands may soon be covered in blood.

The struggle for equal rights, the struggle for dignity cannot be broken.

But it is time to send out a message, a message that should be understood as a warning: The health of the 300 hunger strikers, the health of 300 people fighting for all of us, is now in real danger. It is time for our self-defense.

PRESS RELEASE – 24 FEBRUARY 2011

THURSDAY, 24th of February

DAY 31 of the hunger strike

The 300 migrants (250 in Athens, 50 on the 7^th floor of the Labor Centre in Thessaloniki) have been on a hunger strike for 31 days now. They are living strictly on water and small quantities of salt and sugar. They have entered a phase in fasting, in which they are being directly threatened by irreversible damage to their health. 4 of the 5 hunger strikers who were admitted to hospital for fainting two days ago, are still being hospitalized (3 at the Aghios Demetrios hospital, one at the Hippocration).

Members of the Solidarity Initiative who accompanied them to hospital mentioned that the strikers were being offered food by the nursing staff, despite the fact that it had been made clear to them that the strikers refuse to be fed. The head of the ward replied that she was following the orders of the Director of the 2nd Internal Medicine Division to bring food to the strikers’ rooms and leave it there for half an hour. The Solidarity Initiative condemns this act as a breach of human rights and as psychological torture and will consider what action to take in response.

The medical health team is calling a Press conference on Friday, February 25 at 11am at the Labor Centre of Thessaloniki in order to inform the public about the emergency health condition of the hunger strikers.

Yesterday, the Open Solidarity Initiative of Thessaloniki marched the streets of the town as part of the general strike rally. The massive bloc of the Solidarity Initiative was reverberating with slogans for the legalization of all immigrants. It should be noted that the representative of the hunger strikers spoke at all three meetings before the demo (i.e. the meetings of the Workers’ Front-PAME, of the Labor Centre, and of the First Degree Unions).

The bloc of the Open Solidarity Initiative faced an unprovoked and uncalled for attack by the police, which injured demonstrators. The demonstration continued despite the repeated efforts by the police to dissolve it. During the march a student was beaten up and arrested by the police. The demo continued to the General Police HQ and this morning there was a protest meeting, with the participation of the Open Solidarity Initiative, outside the Courts, where the arrested student would be tried in flagrante delicto. The student was released and will be examined by the DA tomorrow.

Who provokes violence? The image of a riot police officer with an axe in his pocket (a photo from yesterday’s attacks that has circulated widely) is the best answer to the question.

PRESS RELEASE- 22 FEBRUARY

Press Release

TUESDAY, 22^nd of February

DAY 29 of the hunger strike

 

The 300 migrants (250 in Athens, 50 on the 7^th floor of the Labor Centre in Thessaloniki) have been on a hunger strike for 29 days now. Nine of the hunger strikers in Thessaloniki (of which 5 today) have been sent to hospital for fainting. According to the report of the medical health team: All of them are suffering considerable weight loss and the signs of fatigue and advanced exhaustion are apparent… The majority of them show symptoms of frequently recurring postural hypotension, muscle pain, hypoglycemia, difficulty with moving, while some of them already have palpitations and cardiac dysrhythmia.

As doctors we are obliged to note that the hunger strikers are entering a phase in which the continuation of fasting may cause irreversible damage to their health.

 

Yesterday, the 300 hunger strikers issued an official announcement in which they state their specific demands:

 

For us, legalisation is neither a generic nor an abstract slogan. We don’t want proposals to be heard without us. For us legalisation means many and very specific things. Between those, first and foremost:

The issuing – since we are entitled to it – of a proper residence and labour permit to us, the 300 hunger strikers, who demand what should be a given for everyone by putting our lives on the line

As well as:

– that residence permits are no longer connected to work credits

– that all who lost their permits because of the above reason are legalised again

– the vindication of everyone whose application was rejected in 2005, after their application submission had been accepted and after they were forced to pay thousands of euros each

– the establishment of a permanent and open procedure for complete legalisation, which will process applications constantly

– the abandonment of any idea of criminalising any of our comrades in solidarity with us, who have been called as suspects of committing criminal acts by the authorities

 

At the end of their announcement they add:

Anyone who wants to seriously engage with our strike and avoid a humanitarian crisis in Greece, should officially and directly contact us and whatever discussion must be focused on meeting the above demands.

Every human is worth a dignified life and labour

The hunger strike shall win

 

This morning the Open Solidarity Initiative of Thessaloniki occupied the offices of the General Secretariat of Youth, a department of the Ministry of Labor, to protest the stance of the government. Their banner read: “1 MONTH OF HUNGER STRIKE – THE PASOK GOVERNMENT EXTERMINATES PEOPLE-VICTORY TO THE STRUGGLE OF THE 300 IMMIGRANTS”. The text distributed to people working there as well as to passers by stated, among other things, that “the only ones who will lose from the legalization are the big industrialists, the big contractors, the landowners, the shipowners…all those who, with generous help from professional politicians of every tendency, plundered natural and social resources and are now selling off scorched land”. The text was sent to the Minister of Justice, the Minister and Deputy Minister of Interior Affairs and the Deputy Minister of Labor.

 

Yesterday, the solidarity concert was held at the Functions Hall of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki with the participation of numerous artists and was enjoyed by a massive audience, which did not stop cheering and shouting slogans of support to the hunger strikers, proving once again the broadness and intensity of solidarity. After the concert, a crowd of over 1000 people spontaneously decided to leave in a demonstration, which marched to the Labor Centre.

 

Yesterday, Naomi Klein, author of The Shock Doctrine and the historian of the Left Geoff Eley, expressed their support with the struggle of the hunger strikers.

 

The Open Solidarity Initiative is calling everyone to participate at the General Strike announced for Wednesday the 23^rd of February and is meeting at the Labor Center at 10am on that day to join the strike marches.

 

Emergency Medical Report – 22 February 2011

Medical report

22^nd February 2011

The hunger strikers have been refusing to eat for 29 days now. All of them are suffering considerable loss of body mass and the signs of fatigue and advanced exhaustion are apparent.

Four people have been hospitalized for having lost consciousness.

The majority show symptoms of frequently recurring postural hypotension, muscle pain, hypoglycemia, difficulty with moving, while some of them already have palpitations and cardiac dysrhythmia.

As doctors we are obliged to note that the hunger strikers are entering a phase where the continuation of fasting may cause irreversible damage to their health.

The Medical Health Team

Emergency Press Release

22^nd February 2011

Today another 5 people were sent to hospital, raising the number of fainting episodes to  9.

Today is the 29^th day of the hunger strike.

28-year-old Radwan fainted with a fall.

Hunger strikers’ assembly decision – 21/02

For us, legalisation is neither a generic nor an abstract slogan. We don’t want proposals to be heard without us. For us legalisation means many and very specific things. Between those, first and foremost:

The issuing – since we are entitled to it – of a proper residence and labor permit to us, the 300 hunger strikers, who demand what should be a given for everyone by putting our lives on the line

As well as:

– that residence permits are no longer connected to work credits

– that all who lost their permits because of the above reason are legalised again

– the vindication of everyone whose application was rejected in 2005, after their application submission had been accepted and after they were forced to pay thousands of euros each

– the establishment of a permanent and open procedure for complete legalisation, which will process applications constantly

– the abandonment of any idea of criminalising any of our comrades in solidarity with us, who have been called as suspects of committing criminal acts by the authorities

And many more…

Anyone who wants to seriously engage with our strike and avoid a humanitarian crisis in Greece, should officially and directly contact us and whatever discussion must be focused on meeting the above demands.

Every human is worth a dignified life and labor

The hunger strike shall win!

Athens – Thessaloniki

21-2-2011  /  28th day on hunger strike

The 300 hunger strikers