The name is absent

66

had encountered this sentiment numerous times at protests and in cafés around the Platia
(Exarchia Square). The only hope for Greece, according to Nikos, lies with the youth and
with immigrants. Beginning with the latter, he explained that abused newcomers were
finding their voices, and that these people - forced into close quarters within increasingly
dense ethnic enclaves throughout the city - were banning together informally to fight for
equal rights in the workplace and for better living conditions. Being, in his opinion, the
most abused sector of society, and simultaneously the most important cog in the Greek
economic machine⁶⁵, immigrants, including undocumented migrants, were in a unique
position to bring about change, although they were reluctant to mobilize because they had
suffered years of domination, fear, and repression. To mobilize the community,
anarchists had become involved in operating and supporting immigrant cultural centers,
formally and informally, where they provided information, legal advice, language classes,
etc. When it came time to act against the state or the police, Nikos explained, he relied
on local organizers who in turn relayed his messages to immigrants at these centers, in
workplaces, and in specific neighborhoods. He explained that communication with this
category of citizen was difficult since, he suspected, much of what he told his contacts
was lost in translation by the time it reached larger groups on the ground. Nevertheless,
these individuals were receptive to him and happy for outside support, especially if they
suffered from overt injustice like increased police brutality and economic exploitation.

Continuing on, Nikos explained that he believed the plight of undocumented
migrants especially gave a person “perspective” (πpooπτικf∣). According to him, this
group experiences a different Athens, one where hardship is the norm and where their

⁶⁵ This sentiment is supported by a recent study conducted by Haralambos Kasimis, professor of rural
sociology at the Agricultural University of Athens. Immigrants are especially important to the agriculture
sector and generally in jobs that are dirty, dangerous and/or difficult (which middle-class Athenians refuse).

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