Where should the focus be? On the massive crowd that gathered at Syntagma Square to pay their respects to the victims of the 2023 Tempe rail tragedy or on the pockets of violence that scattered the otherwise peaceful demonstration? Who was the center of attention? The hundreds of thousands of citizens who wanted to come together in front of Parliament or a few dozen hoodies who wanted to destroy the demonstration and the city?
The crowd we marched with on Friday – albeit for just a few meters as Syntagma and the surrounding area was so tightly packed with people it was impossible to get very far – covered such a broad generational, social and ideological range, it could be said to represent the country as a whole.
The people were citizens, in a way we have rarely witnessed before. And that is something that will not go away or be forgotten
Families with toddlers and children, groups of teenagers, middle-aged and elderly people, alone or in couples, carrying small homemade placards, chanting their own slogans or verses from poems and songs, came together to form a sea of humanity that flooded thoroughfares and sidestreets, alleys, sidewalks and squares, with specific demands and one collective thought in their heads: Enough is enough. Enough is enough with the neglect of the country’s railways, of its services and infrastructure, with the shortages of so many elementary things that make up a state that is designed to serve its citizens rather than the interests of a privileged few.
Around three hours into the peaceful protest we watched small waves of troublemakers launch their (expected?) attacks. One group captured live on camera had hammers and was smashing the steps of the Grande Bretagne hotel, as some guy stood by, nonchalantly rolling a cigarette. The tension between the troublemakers, a few protesters and the police carried on for hours, ebbing and peaking.
With its closed shops and empty homes – almost everyone had taken to the streets – the city on Friday left behind its virtual (online) existence and found its beat. Was it a vibrant, sorrowful, exhausted, shattered, determined, angry, uneasy beat? It was all of the above. To each his own.
The people were citizens, in a way we have rarely witnessed before. And that is something that will not go away or be forgotten. It happened. The moment has been recorded – and not just within us. From now on, it will serve as a point of reference and comparison. A constant reminder for both citizens and those in power: No one can carry on without accountability. Not us, not you, not justice.