While the Greek political class prostrate themselves in front of the
financial Mafia, trying to get a deal that will not cost the
financial moguls too much, what is happening to the Greek people? In
freezing conditions, yes it is very cold in Athens at the moment, the
homeless of the city, approximately 20,000 in Athens alone, were
being helped out by various political groups setting up soup
kitchens. However the caring compassionate government has issued a
decree, which, claiming public health issues, closes these soup
kitchens. Secretary of Public Health, Dimopoulos, obviously thinks
that getting free food is more dangerous than going hungry in a
freezing city. His decree states that only formal agencies can
publicly offer free food, churches, municipalities and NGOs. Others
wishing to offer help to the hungry have to get official approval
from the authorities.
It was not just the homeless that were turning up at these
soup kitchens, even those who still have a roof over their head can't
afford to eat. Spontaneous self help and mutual aid, are terms that
are an anathema to the authority worshipping political class. In
another recent show of compassionate government, in Athens, while it
was snowing and the temperature plummeting 24 or so of the 20,000
homeless in Athens squatted an empty municipal coffee house. The
Mayor of Athens, Kaminis, order action to be taken against them and
the riot police arrived and arrested 15 of the squatters. The Mayor,
for whatever reason withdrew his complaint but the General Attorney
of Athens charged the 15 with criminal damage and theft (of
electricity). The arrestees were detained at Exarcheia Police Station
where 100 or so people gathered outside in protest. The detainees
were then transferred to Police HQ, where as far as is known, they
are still there.
What we can take from these type of political actions is
that the state apparatus is more concerned with the protection of
property and maintenance of authority, than it is in the well being
of the people. To them it is acceptable to have empty property and
people sleeping on the streets in freezing temperatures, rather than
free up that property. It is acceptable to have people go hungry in
cold winter conditions rather than have unauthorised concerned groups
offer them warm food. These are the standard procedures of this
profit drive system of corporate financial fascism that we the
ordinary people suffer under. This system cannot be modified to take
care of all our people, there is no such beast as caring,
compassionate capitalism and the call for “moral markets” is a
call for the fox to walk with the chicken.
The information in this post was taken from OCCUPIED LONDON.
