Spare a thought this Christmas while you are enjoying all the good things in life, for the Roma of Votanikos who I have blogged about for the past two years.
From the Greek Helsinki Monitor
Greek Helsinki Monitor (GHM) cannot send this year holiday wishes. It cannot even celebrate them, as, on the eve of Christmas, it was obliged to inform scores of Votanikos (Athens) Roma families that, with the beginning of the next year, they should leave their temporary settlement, on private company Biamax’s property, in implementation of a court eviction order issued on 26 November 2007. When asked by these Roma where they can go and settled in mid-winter, GHM told them to find another place to resettle illegally, obviously with the risk of being arrested and tried with the in flagrante procedure. GHM explained to them too that their right to adequate relocation, repeatedly mentioned by Greek state and independent authorities as well as Council of Europe competent institutions turned out to be nothing else than another “Greek myth.” The background of this story and of other Roma evictions or threats thereof in 2007, including all four appeals to Council of Europe and UN institutions that remained unanswered if not unacknowledged, is available here.
To all these authorities GHM dedicates, instead of a holiday wish card, Dutch rapper Raymzter’s video “maak lawaai” (“make noise”)
In the directors own words:
Directed by Dutch Director Aldo Smit, this video was shot in Greece for Amnesty International, Europe in No1’s favorite Dutch holliday country. The video was shot about 30 minutes driving from Athens. I have been traveling around the world many times, went to places like Delhi India, Rio de Janeiro etc. but this is Europe. Hidden poverty. These roma kids have nothing, no future, no school, no chance. I was shocked when I arrived. No difference between these people or other third world country’s. These people are discriminated, and dont even excualy exist (no passport or anything)
So MAKE SOME NOISE AGAINST RACISM!
I would like to add my voice against this discrimination and illegal evictions that are still going on as I prepare for tomorrows feast. The experience of acually meeting these communities has changed me in ways I could not have predicted. I will post more about the current situation at Votanikos as soon as I get a chance. I just wish I had more to offer than these words.
Peace
DD
Technorati: roma, votanikos, greece, amnesty, make some noise
Rejected Europeans on January 12th, 2010
Make Some Noise on December 21st, 2009
The Mandra Settlement on December 17th, 2009
Asproprygos Revisited on December 9th, 2009
Roma and Madonna on August 28th, 2009
Loading...
DD
You have offered tremendously more than words to these people.
But others betrayed them and preferred instead to engage in “human rights tourism” in Nafplio, not even bothering to visit those Roma about whose rights they talked in theory so as to spend the “eunomia” eu money and pretend they care.
P.
Yes, I agree, Panayote. There is a serious lack of contact between most of the Greek legal advocates of rights and the real people who need them. I have not visited the Roma, but I do meet with immigrants groups that I am writing about. I consider this a moral and intellectual obligation for being paid for my work. I can also say, in the context of such meetings, that I have observed Greek political parties interfering in immigrant issues for their own advancement — even to the extent of trying to block my own discourse with the people whose rights are being negotiated away…
For the Roma, I can only offer my sorry apologies that my work does not really involve them, which is why I am have not got involved with them. Nevertheless, my heart goes out to them and if ever I can help, I will. Congratulations to DD for her wonderful humanitarian approach and activities: if only more people actually made an effort!
Martin
I did not much mean the human rights advocates, though migrants are flooded with the support of often paid advocates while the Roma regretfully have only GHM volunteers and people like DD who volunteer to work with Roma alongside GHM.
I meant -as we wrote in the released referred to by DD above- the institutions like the Ombudsman and the Council of Europe HR Commissioner and Coordinator for Roma, who chose a lavishly paid by state and EU money Nafplion excursion over visiting the Roma in despair under eviction. About the latter they only write texts to pretend they care and support them.
Panayote
Yes, you are right, Panayioti. The Council of Europe was always a completely useless institution for practical action [as opposed to theoretical posturing] and the Greek Ombudsman has turned out to be a dead duck. Overall, it is a scandalous abuse of taxpayers’ money that these institutions do so little…
Do the Roma pictured above have land title papers?
legein: I hope that Panayote will provide some specific facts, but my general recollection is that on the rare occasions that Roma have had legal ownership of the land, it has made not the slightest difference. They have still been evicted. This is actually about the real dislike [hatred?] that Greeks have of gypsies; besides, who ever heard of the law mattering in Greece? Please, be serious…
Martin, you make a good point. Whenever the Greeks burn the forest land and then build illegal houses, where are the racists then? Or do racists not care about arsonists? Now, that’s an interesting question?
The question about ownership is irrelevant.
In other posts there are thousands of words explaining the housing rights of Roma.
Here suffice it to say that there are several state documents committing the authorities to the right of adequate relocation of these Roma, which is however denied in effect as the true intent of the authorities is to violate these rights as the would rather see these Roma vanish in thin air.
So it appears they have no land title. Then they should be evicted because it is someone else’s land; either the State or private interests.
What about the rights of the poor sod who owns the land?
so from legein’s reply, we see that he views the State as having no obligations and the only thing that matters is private property. Nice right wing argument, also very consistent with a racist mentality. Is that what you meant to tell us?
legein, why are you refusing to read the comments that are in answer to your questions ?
This is from the comment directly above yours. As I have said time and time again (and I am pretty sure I’ve had this discussion with you before) the Roma can be evicted from the site BUT the evictions must be done LEGALLY. The evictions of the Roma in Votanikos and elsewhere in Greece, was illegal. No eviction orders were issued and no relocation was offered. That is ILLEGAL. As in AGAINST THE LAW. The “poor sod” who owns the land has rights and those rights are being protected absolutely. The Roma who were living there have rights too but they are being ignored.
The “poor sod” is a major private company, BIAMAX, that has this land unused for years.
Again legein is against the state of law and for the right of the oppressing powerful. I believe he can find other blogs to exchange such views with like-minded persons who anyway do not like to argue but to repeat their intolerant views.
“Private property equates with right wing racist mentality”. Very academic argument. Martin, do you own any private property such as a car, real estate, microwave oven etc? And if you do does that mean you have a racist mentality?
Diva, I asked a question on land title not on relocation. If the State has made a committment to relocate the Roma then they should honour their committment.
Panayote, I am for respect of the law. Not oppresion of any sort. Contrary to your comments there is a positive correlation between the two i.e. not respecting the law is oppression.
legein: I really doubt that you are as stupid as you pretend to be. I see your positions in this blog as always being a game, covering up what you realy think at the same time as trying to feel superior.
If you really do not know, then you have no business talking about politics. An emphasis on private property, and a de-emphasis on social rights, are the hallmark of right wing polticial parties. Tell me that you didn;t know that, so we can all laugh. My own personal property has little to do with political ideology, but I actually do not own any fixed property or a car. I am not a great fan of private property rights, partlly because we have seen where that takes us.
Your last comment to Panayote I cannot understand at all. It makes no sense in legal or political terms, to me. Perhaps Panayote can decipher it.
Martin,
I find your comments refreshing and obviously you are a scholar. Although, I was not sure I liked one comment you recently posted.
You said, “You are not a great fan of private property rights”.
Can you explain further. Although I’m not fond of people taking advantage of the Roma, I do enjoy the property I purchased myself thru my hard work I do on my job.
Again, I agree with most of the comments you write, but that one caught me for a loop.
Happy Holidays from George.
oh Martin, you have uncovered me you clever dick! I knew it would be difficult to hide my true intentions from someone as intelligent and academic as yourself.
On the issue of private property, don’t worry I have had my fair share of Proudhon, Bakunin and Marx. But also Bastiat, Sorel, Valois and Pareto. However, I would argue, like de Soto, that the only way the under and working classes can escape their position in society is through the ownership of private property because it can be used as collateral to create capital. Some of these ideas are post-1968 so I am uncertain you would have had enough time away from the cafes of Exarcheia to update your knowledge. Furthermore, your ignorance is blindingly obvious by your comment that “the emphasis on private property and de-emphasis on social rights are the hallmarks of right wing political parties”. Most of the rights we enjoy that have come down to us from the Enlightenment were a result of propertied bourgeoise seeking a better deal from the aristocrats and improved general social justice. Property forced social change until it was itself threatened by communist forces which resulted in less demands for social change or various forms of anarcho-syndicalism or Fascism.
However, the question was whether the Roma had land title? They do not seem to have it so under the law they should leave the land they are squatting on. It is irrelevant who owns the land.
Whether property is good or bad is another issue. Panayote and you should not confuse ideology with law.
Legein
I do not confuse ideology with law but you are confusing alleged defense of property rights with racism.
Any human rights activist inter alia respects the European Human Rights Convention which includes in Article 1 Protocol 1 a property right.
Had you bothered to read about Votanikos and make an effort to argue on the basis of facts and not slogans you would have seen that it is in effect out of respect of property rights that the Roma are being evicted from the Biamax property.
The human rights violation is however that they are not offered alternative adequate housing which is a state obligation confirmed by state documents but are let go and relocate by squatting elsewhere.
In fact Biamax being more sensitive than you had not used their right to evict them for six months and even pleaded with the state – including the hopeless Ombudsman – to relocate them humanely and decently. But as the state did not even acknowledge their appeals they -in agreement with us- filed for eviction. Then they waited for one more month before they implement the eviction order.
But all that is small print for you obviously.
It apparently is not for Eleftherotypia which today covered the same story as DD here adding another telling picture (http://www.enet.gr/online/online_print?id=73684720) and attacking the state.
I would like to apologise to everyone here at my blog for the lack of posts and updates. For now, I have no access to my dashboard. What does that mean ? It means I can’t post and I cannot edit or delete comments. Or change anything on the blog.
[legein, please refrain from the personal insults once and for all]
As I can’t do anything about comments for now, I am asking EVERYONE to please respect my place.
I am working on the problem but my blog guru is very busy so it might be a few days before anything can be done. Please be patient and please don’t get your socks in a twist if unsavoury comments appear here. There is absolutely nothing I can do about it at the moment.
Thank you for your understanding.
BTW To Mariana and everyone else who couldn’t find my email! Big sorry. In my upgrading and tweaking a month or so ago, I forgot to put back my contact page. As you will see, I have added the page back again but then my blog broke so the page is empty. It will be fixed as soon as possible. In the meantime, my email is mailto:thedeviousdiva@gmail.com
Diva, I would recommend you change the “@” symbol to the word “AT” or add a digit after diva and let the readers know to remove that prior to sending email. This will keep the auto spam robots from sending crap to you.
George: my remark about private property was a bit cryptic, which was not such a good idea of course. Basically, I was thinking of the post-Thatcher neoliberal and individualistic experience of the UK (as well as the family obsession of Greeks) which puts personal gain over the social good. I am all for the individual being able to acquire a reasonable degree of wealth, but what we actually see across the world is a growth in corruption in many countries, and even in highly corrupt countries like Greece. The worship of private property is a very dangerous idiolatry, and a very serious illness in Greece and many other countries.
It is when people like legein show their true colours, claiming that private property rights count more than legal or social obligation, that we need to worry. Such sophists use every trick in the book to convince people that they are right, with scant regard for any conception of truth or reality.
Thanks George. I don’t actually get any spam via comments so I think it’s OK to write my email address like that. I had meant to make that a clickable link so that people could easily contact me but it didn’t come out properly! And now I can’t edit my comment ! I hope things will be sorted out very soon.
Martin, OK, thanks for clarifying that. That sounds quite reasonable. I’m still trying to reach that reasonable amount of wealth and still aways off.
Your comment on Greeks and their worship of material wealth (private property) reminds me of another comment recently on another blog. The writer thought how comical it was to see some Greek women in lavish fur coats with low quality products from the supermarket in their baskets. In other words, they go out with a wonderful fur, but come home to generic brand products.
We call that “Big Hat–No Cattle” syndrome.
The video story got wide coverage on Thursday in Eleftherotypia and today in Avgi
http://www.enet.gr/online/online_print?id=73684720
http://193.218.80.70/cgi-bin/h.....int&-P
There was absolutely no reaction to these either.
As if we needed any proof that absolutely no one -including the supposedly sensitive like Tsipras and Synaspismos, not to mention the supposedly human rights and/or anti-racist NGOs- cares.
Silence means complicity.