Riot

“You say you want a revolution.  Well, you know, we all want to change the world.”

--Beatles, Revolution

The Greek Parliament voted on the austerity measures today, which meant that all of Greece was a bit on edge today.  Our class had been scheduled to leave Athens for Crete last night, so we were supposed to have spent all day today in Crete.  Instead, due to a 48 hour strike that closed down the ferries, we were stranded in Athens.  As a result, I sat in a classroom for six hours today.  It felt like I was back in elementary school, since I was in one room the entire day.

We obviously knew that today was going to be a bad day in terms of the protests.  Yesterday, we walked through Syntagma so that we could get back to our apartments and found ourselves encountering tear gas.  If they were doing the actual vote today, we knew it was likely to get bad.  My program has been pretty good about e-mailing us about the events around Athens, so those who check their e-mail had informed me of parts of the e-mail.  We could hear a little bit of the protests during class.  About an hour into class, I heard a “pop pop.”  It sounds almost like a car backfiring or what I imagine a gun would sound like.  Because we are close enough to Parliament and Syntagma, I have heard the sound of the tear gas exploding, so I assumed that the police were releasing tear gas.  Sure enough, within a few seconds, I saw a steady stream of people dart down the street outside our window. 

I had seen scenes similar to this one close to Syntagma, but seeing it so close to my home gave me a different sense of how much the protests can affect individuals.  A few minutes later, Nadia popped her head in the classroom and informed us that tear gas had been released, so we should consider remaining indoors during our break (in about an hour).

However, at the beginning of our break, we opened the windows to discover that no signs of the tear gas remained.  Therefore, we ventured outside.  I began to walk around and stretch my legs.  As I approached the first major street that leads to my apartment, I saw this cloud of smoke in the middle of the street.  We had been warned that some violent protestors may be coming to Athens today, but I saw some of their destruction firsthand.  The trash dumpsters had been moved into the center of the street and lit on fire.  Firemen were working on extinguishing the flames, while shop owners and other casual witnesses stood staring at the street.  Some of them were taking pictures; others were just observing. 

I left while the firemen were still trying to contain the fire.  A few minutes later, a large group of us returned to the street (loving referred to as Domino’s Street due to a Domino’s Pizza on the corner).  The first set of fire was no longer burning, although ashes were still very much visible on the street.  However, less than a block further, another set of dumpsters were ablaze, and the firemen were occupied with that.  We watched the black smoke gathering in the sky, and the firemen fighting the blaze.  While we were standing there, a shop owner who was standing near us began talking to us about the current destruction and the events in Athens.  Many Athenians we have met have been very invested in making sure that we understand the current situation in Athens and that we are safe.  They obviously care for the city, and even in Syntagma, do not want to see anyone injured.  All I could say to this particular man was “It is just so sad.”  Showing this beautiful city in such a destructive way is incredibly depressing.

Throughout the remainder of the evening, I heard the “pop pop” of the tear gas being released in Syntagma.  It sounds like it might be very miserable to be in Syntagma at the moment, and I feel so badly for all of the poor souls currently staying there.

I also feel badly for the firemen and especially the police officers.  The police officers are facing so much brutality from a small handful of people.  The people physically threaten the police officers, even though the police offers are still affected by all of the governmental budget issues.  They have to fight and defend their country from their family and friends.  It is a difficult time to be in any position of authority.

Later this afternoon, I walked down Domino’s Street to go to the grocery store.  By this point in time, people had cleaned the remnants of the fire.  It is impressive to see just how quickly the Athenians move to return their city to its former state.  Again, only a few exhibit violence, and these few cause much chaos and danger to all other citizens.  I can’t think of any sort of right answer, but I certainly hope that Greece will manage to find their way out of the current economic crisis.