Crisis, money and debt- these are the three words that every Greek citizen uses everyday. During the past years, one more has been added to the list– immigrants. For others, this could be a neutral word but for Greece, it has been turned to a word with deeply negative connotations.
No one is sure about who is responsible for thousands of immigrants having crossed the Greek borders illegally but media and extremists accuse only immigrants themselves for this situation. We do not have money or jobs and so, more and more people forget about the Greek state’s liability for illegal immigration and also its liability for voting corrupt politicians into office all these years.
This confusing situation has given a great boost to far-right parties and organizations. Everyone is well aware that Greek police officers have been cooperating with right extremists all these years but now, police officers are staying out of the picture remaining in their offices since Golden Dawn is responsible for “cleaning” the country from every immigrant, reports capital.gr.
Punching immigrants with sticks and knives is a rather common scene for people living in Athens. No one interferes- this is dangerous, of course. But who bears the largest part of responsibility for this increasing danger- politicians, refugees or extremists, I wonder?
Advocacy group Human Rights Watch stated on Tuesday, according to Reuters, that authorities are ignoring or discouraging victims from filing complaints about the attacks. “Migrants and asylum seekers spoke to Human Rights Watch of virtual no-go areas in Athens after dark because of fear of attacks by often black-clad groups of Greeks intent on violence,” the report said.
Human Rights Watch adds that the total extent of xenophobic violence in Greece cannot be measured since many victims do not report attacks. They also said there was evidence to suggest the perpetrators were members or in some way associated with local vigilante groups and the Golden Dawn party. However, they clearly state that there is no official evidence that these violent attacks are being directed by the party.
Golden Dawn ran for the June 17th election with the slogan: “Get rid of them” [no one ever clarified who this ‘them’ was].
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