"Dekemvriana" 2008 Events in Athens

Since December 6, Saturday the profile of Athens has changed...I can't believe how this Athens that I enjoy to be in became like this. I had heard so much about student protests, events, demonstrations, marches, etc. in Athens during the last few years, but now I have witnessed one of the biggest riots of the city, actually the country, since 1974, when democratization of the country is considered to be achieved. 

After the murder of 15-16 years old Alexis Grigoropoulos by a police officer in the most chaotic neighborhood of Athens, Exarchia, on Saturday night, thousands of Greeks started to voice up and events turned into a big riot, especially in the city center. This murder seems as a last point after the negative effects of economic crisis in the country and discontent of people from the governance of state. 

 

 

Personally, I really appreciate Greek people and how they use their right to protest for anything that they are dissatisfied, against government, leaders, state officials, etc. because I think this is a human right and important element of democracy. Also, I think this is one of the significant things that we, as Turkish people, have missed decades ago and can not achieve today in our so called "democracy". However, the way how you use this right to protest, tools that you use to change the thing that you are discontent are also significantly important for the continuation of respect to human rights and democracy. Therefore, today Athens/Greece seems to fail in doing this. Moreover, it is important to note that even though the existence of huge damage in the city center; blasted buildings, shops, broken shop windows, ATM machines, a blasted Christmas tree in the middle of Syntagma Square (which was the symbol of the celebration events of Christmas in the city), looting, etc. there is not any murders or casualties. I can not stop myself to compare with Turkey and unfortunately, I can not imagine such a situation there after such a big riot. 

 

It is pity to see this city, where people like to go out, have a nice night with their beloved ones in a bouzikia, club or have a nice day in a fancy restaurant, cafe, bar... where people like to walk in a lazy way but talk like in rush or a fight... where, people like to share with each other... blasted, ruined, fearful, like a ghost city after a war... Hope to have our old Athens back soon, where is alive, dynamic but in a contrast lazy again in its own way, happy, not fearful, safe and warmer than anywhere else...

"Sweet Nothings"...

Today I have found some time to visit the gallery called Cats&Marbles, while walking on the boutique streets of chic neighborhood Kolonaki, on the shoulders of Lycavittos Hill with sporadic view of Acropolis. I had recently read in one of the English nespapers of Athens, Athens News, about Athens Photo Festival'08 and an exhibition by Vanessa Winship, called Sweet Nothings: rural schoolgirls from the borderlands of Eastern Anatolia, as one of the events of the festival. It was really an odd experience to read about a photo-exhibition, which is about a part of your home country, Turkey, which is alien to you too...Schoolgirls of Eastern Anatolia...

 

They reminded me so much about my undergraduate years when we were enthusiastic about Civic Involvement Projects (CIP) of Sabanci University, not just for the improvement of poor and needy children of the suburbs of Istanbul, also for the ones who were living in the East and Southeast part of Turkey, in Diyarbakir, Van, Mardin, Antep...We were creating voluntarily and involving to several projects with children that I have seen some of them today, again... same faces, same eyes... in one of the shining neighborhoods of Athens, inside photo-frames without any idea in their minds and on their looks about the next destination of their faith and photos taken by a foreigner... While looking at the photos, it was impossible to believe that all of us, me and them, were the equal female citizens of the same country with equal education rights. Moreover, the pity thing was they were the elementary school students of 2008s, while I had been to elementary school more than a decade earlier than them, in the same country... It was really pity and I was so sorry because of the situation that i had faced several times before and today again... It was for sure that we were the lucky ones, but what should we do more for them?

Cats&Marbles www.catsandmarbles.com

Athens News www.athensnews.gr

Athens Photo Festival'08 www.hcp.gr

Vanessa Winship www.vanessawinship.com

It was "Polytechneio Day"

November 17, Monday was "Polytechneio Day" in Greece, which is considered as one of the historically significant events of the country. 

The Athens Polytechnic uprising in 1973 was a massive demonstration of popular rejection of the Greek military junta of 1967-1974. The uprising had began on November 14, 1973 by left-wing students of Polytechnic University in Athens - which has been considered as the best technical university in the country, like Middle East Technical University (ODTU) or Istanbul Technical University (ITU) in Turkey - escalated to an open anti-junta revolt and ended in bloodshed in the early morning of November 17 after a series of events starting with a tank crashing through the gates of the Polytechnic. 

According to an official investigation undertaken after the fall of junta, no students from Athens Polytechneio were killed. Total recorded casualties were 24 civilians outside the campus, including high-school students and a five-year old boy. The records of the trials held following the collapse of the Junta document the circumstances of the deaths of many civilians during the uprising, and although the number of dead has not been contested by historical research, it remains a subject of political controversy. In addition, hundereds of civilians were injured during the events. 

( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athens_Polytechnic_uprising ) 

Therefore, I have also witnessed the annual commemorative events of Polytechneio Day. During the weekend, many Athenians visited Athens Polytechnic and left flowers to the monument of those who killed in 1973. Also, not just in Athens, in many cities of the country the event and those who were killed were commemorated. On Monday, there occured also the annual protest march in central Athens, especially in front of the US embassy, which is close to my house. According to news, some 8000 policemen were on duty and because of the fact that the headquarters of Athens police center is just the next street of my place, I could be able to watch those huge amount of full equipped policemen while walking towards the crowd in march. The problem, in other words the fear was that self-styled anarchists of Greece, who often cause trouble during such kind of days and events to voice up and express their demands, This time they were trying to express solidarity with thousands of prisioners entering their second week of a hunger strike over detention conditions. As you see, they have their own reasons to have their free-style anarchist acts and also, I have to admit that it is the first time in my life that I have seen such kind of anarchists movements in an EU state. For example, it is so often that they can burn out a car or can not allow police to enter until a certain amount of distance close to themselves or their occupied area, especially in Exarchia neighbourhood of Athens, which is so central. Suprisingly, when you ask Greek people about these anarchists and their unusual (actually in Athens usual) protests, they seem so got used to and even some of them do not give any attention to them. Apart from anarchist movements, here, in Athens almost everyday, at least twice in a week there are strikes, protests, marches, demonstrations of several groups ranging from public servants, to Olympic Airlines workers, from Communists - Communists and Communist Party are still active in politics in Greece - to main opposition party supporters... For example, as I have read recently, there is going to be a strike tomorrow too and metro service is not going to work all day...walk Damlaki walk...

All these are really interesting for someone who is from Turkey, who was born in Istanbul of 1980s as the first generation of post-1980 period, had missed all student/youth demonstrations, protests, marches of 1970s and today who is, in a sense, even s/he wants or not, the part of this politically suppressed, passive youth of Turkey. 

Atina’dayım! Είμαι στην Αθήνα!

Bu yazı 21 Ekim 2008'de yazılmıştır...

Kabus gibi, ev aradığım ilk iki haftanın sonunda...

Ne dediğini muhtemelen Yunanca konuştuğu için değil de aynen bizdeki gibi megafonla avazı çıktığı kadar bağırdığı için anlamadığım zerzevatçının sesi ile uyandığımda havada Bodrum kokusu var...Yani benim sadece Bodrum’da algıladığım bir koku...Begonvil, defne, zeytin, deniz ve de biraz aşk kokusu karışımı...Griye boyanmış, iki kapaklı tahta panjurlardan içeri azıcık güneş damlıyor ama hava nasıl bilmiyorum...Yere kadar uzanan yüksek balkon camını, daha sonra da panjurları itekleyerek gacur-gıcır açtığımda sonbaharda nazlı gözükmesine rağmen hala pürüssüz parıldayan Ege güneşi odama doluyor, Atina’dayım!

Ama ruh halim hiç de Bodrum’da ya da daha önce bu diyarda olduğum zamanlarda algıladığım gibi değil. Aklımda yüz tane soru işareti, sıkıntı, beklenti, kaygı, tabi ki de başucumdaki kara kapaklı defterimde hiç bitmeyecek olan “yapılacaklar listesi”...Neredeyim sorusu? Yanıt: yalnız başıma ilk defa tuttuğum ve de yaşamaya başladığım evimdeyim işte sonunda...Atina’dayım!...İme stin Athina, bir başka deyişle...İyi halt ettin Damlacık/Damlaki bakalım, erdin mi muradına!? Büyümenin, yetişkin olmanın, kendi karar ve sorumluklarımın yükü altında olmanın ve de hayatımdaki geçiş dönemlerinin her türlü evresini tam yaşamak zorundayım muhtemelen ki bu ruh hali içindeyim...ama olsun havanın Bodrum gibi koktuğu bir şehirdeyim sonuçta değil mi, o kadar da kötü olamaz yani...

Günler, haftalar sonra...

Sınıfın camı bile sanki bir yazlık evin camı gibi geniş ve de sürgülü. Adı Yunanca’da “Cuma” anlamına gelen Yunanca öğretmenim Paraskevi, Ekim ayının ortasında olmamıza rağmen hayli güneşli ve neşeli olan havayı sınıfa almak için camı açtığında gözüm Atina’nın en sevdiğim yerlerinden biri olan en yüksek tepesi Likavittos’a, oradaki zeytin ağaçlarına ve de en tepedeki küçük beyaz şapele takılıyor. Günler hızla ve de yeni hayatımda yeni ama aslında önceden bildiğim başlangıçlar yaparak geçiyor ve de aslında neyse ki her şey yolunda...Atina’dayım ve de alışmaya başladım...

Sokaktaki simitçiye, yoluma çıkan güvercine, pasajın içindeki şipşak fotoğrafçı yaşlı amcaya, söylene söylene pazardan dönen yaşlı teyzeye, kırmızı ışıkta yaya geçidinin üzerinde durup yayaları hiçe sayan şöförlere, sabahları pastane önlerindeki açma-poğaça/kuru kuyruğuna, etrafta dolanan çingenelere, meydanın bir kenarındaki sıra sıra çiçekçilere, geveze ama misafirperver taksi şöförlerine, kebapçılara, baklavacılara, işporta satıcılarına, ZARA’da alışveriş yapan şehirli kadınlara, gecenin bir vakti dürüm/suflaki yemeye, eski eşya ve yaşlı insan kokan apartmanlara, korna sesine, bağrışmalara, çağrışmalara karışan kahkahalara...değil benim alışma derdim...Zaten onlar doğduğum günden beri doğduğum şehrin, insanların ve de kültürün bir parçası, tıpkı burada da olduğu gibi...Benim alışmaya çalıştığım kendim ve de kendi seçtiğim, şimdilik kurmaya çalıştığım buradaki kendi hayatım...

Atina ve kendim ile ilgili yazılacak ve de paylaşılacak çok şey var ama buradaki insanların ve de hayatın dediği gibi “siga siga” yani yavaş yavaş, elimden geldiğince ve de kalemim, fotoğraf makinem el verdiği sürece paylaşacağım bunları. Daha yolun başındayım ve de evde internet bağlantım yok! Sanki bir nakahat dönemindeyim...ama gerisi en yakın zamanda gelecektir. Atina’dayım...özlediklerim çok, beklediklerim çok ama bir yandan da sahip olduklarım çok...