From Anarchistnews.org
Exarchia — the Hell’s Kitchen of Athens
Historical stronghold of anarchists in the heart of Athens, the
square has become a thermometer of Greek society during the crisis.
Among the artists’ squats and trendy youth dropping by to breathe the
air of protest, trafficking and violence are growing.
The Albanian is a legitimate businessman today, and the young girl
from the wealthy neighborhood of Ekali has grown into a little
troublemaker. The good old anarchist sending the pseudo-revolutionary
neophytes back to their studies, the Cypriot hotelier who becomes the
best friend of Japanese tourists, and the former prisoner now an
organiser of cultural events can all be found around Exarchia Square, a
rallying point for the capital’s youth come by to savour the myth of the
square, which a PASOK [Greece’s socialist party] chief wants to turn
into a parking lot.
In the heart of Athens, by day the square, like a snake shedding its
skin, turns into something else, a mix of races, of shops opening and
closing (thanks to Molotov cocktails, of course), watching over its
restaurants, the Rozalia tavern and the Floral, and even the Riviera
cinema. Not to mention its two kiosks, the statue of the lovers and two
or three other things. A visit late in the day can confirm that the
crisis has left its marks, but it can also reveal what never changes
about Exarchia, the most restive neighbourhood in Greece ever since the
fall of the dictatorship and even warned of as such by the U.S. State
Department.
