KIPSELI, A NEIGHBORHOOD FULL OF
GENTRIFICATION, SEXISM &
SPECIESISM
The following text was written because we were informed
by a passerby about the verbal, physical assault
and videotaping of a queer femininity and her
non-human companion in Kipseli by a boss- shop
owner, for leaving the dog tied up for two minutes
in the flower bed next to his shop.
So, welcome to Kypseli! To one of the main spikes of
urban gentrification, in recent years, in the center of
Athens that has made us experience our presence in
the public space more and more enclosing. Speaking
from the position of people living on minimum
wage or are unemployed, we see increases in rents,
while Greek bosses and their shops are expanding.
Observing the simultaneous and increasingly frequent
displacement of migrants living and working
in the area, their impoverishment and the grabbing
of an ever larger piece of our living space, makes
us furious. Against the backdrop of the metro works
and the imminent further increase in rents, bosses
and posh artists rub their hands together and believe
that all public space belongs to them. Whether
that means they don’t want to see non-human animals
in the flowerbeds, or that they want to take the
public benches and turn them into tables, or setting
up their hipster alternative shops on streets, (like
Agia Zoni- that until recently were mainly inhabited
by immigrants).
Continue reading ATHENS, GREECE: KIPSELI, A NEIGHBORHOOD FULL OF GENTRIFICATION, SEXISM & SPECIESISM →
EN: Comrade and hunger striker Giannis Michailidis today completes 59 days of hunger strike. He has lost more than 24% of his body weight, as he has gone from 73 kg on 23/5 to 55.5 kg today. The threat to his life is now very serious as his white blood cell count has dropped so far below the lower normal limit (value: 2.43 with a range of 4.60-10.2 K/μL) leading to immunodeficiency.
Platelets are also counted much lower than the lower normal limit (value: 90 with limits 142-424 K/μL) and Thrombocytopenia can cause serious and threatening internal bleeding. Based on his latest medical examinations and according to the treating physicians, he is at risk of serious osteoporosis and already feels pain in his joints. In addition, he has strong chest pain when trying to move around. He already has a possible permanent neurological problem in his eyes as the neurological examination showed diplopia in extremities due to lack of nutrients.
The latest radiological examinations and ultrasound examination (on 18/7) showed that the organs that are now at immediate risk of permanent damage are the bile and the spleen, with the latest one facing an additional burden as Giannis has congenital Mediterranean anaemia (thalassaemia).
Continue reading Greece: EN/GR/ Update 20/7/21,about the health condition of the hunger striker Giannis Michailidis →