The Building

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This arson in the centre of Athens is one of the Many races, attacks, presented by artists in Greece

It was a Warm Spring afternoon in March 2018. Language classes had just finished for The Day at The Afghan community centre in The Heart of Athens The remaining employees showed up in the lunch break, locking the door behind him.

A while later, as he wandered back, he was burning smelled. "Your building is called On Fire !" a neighbor. Rushing back, he saw flames shooting from the Windows.

The centre attack had been targeted in a fire. No one was injured, but the computer system and important files have been destroyed.

Two years on, that the race attack is one of 100 that were illustrated by 50 different artists.

"not Many people come, because they were too afraid," says Board member Mohammed Mirzay. The center connects The Afghan migrants with basic services such as translation, and is currently the community to help navigate the coronavirus lockdown.

"We were particularly concerned about The Women and children, the most visited for us. "

" the people need us,'

This was not The First attack on The Afghan centre. In 2010, the former President was beaten by a neo-Nazi gang, the outside of their old premises.

A digital map with Xs and the pictures shows where the attacks took place,

the members had also received death threats by telephone and letter. "It was scary, but what can we do?" Mohammed Mirzay says. "We had to wear, because the people need us. "

Today The Building is empty, and the municipality has the space in a different neighborhood. The only sign, to the left of The Attack is a white square with a QR code in The Middle .

scan with your mobile phone, and a comic illustration by local artist Giorgos Gousis appears, showing The Building On Fire .

It is part of X-it, a creative project documented racist violence in Greece. The illustrations were also collected in a book and a traveling exhibition.

"Racist attacks are usually Packed In Silence ," says Electra Alexandropoulos of the Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung in Greece who worked on The Project with the Racist violence recording network (RVRN) and Human Rights organization 360.

"We all want to understand that in The Streets where we walk, talk, kiss and embrace, it was the shedding of blood. "A lot of victims have attacks no papers and the fear of being deported if She reports, She adds.

Neo-Nazis On Trial in Greece

In The Years after the financial crisis of 2008-2009, Greece, a wave of attacks against migrants saw.

Many have been with the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party, which in 2012 won 18 seats in The Greek Parliament.

According to RVRN, there was a "huge rise" in racist attacks between January and September of this year, with Many witnesses reporting attacker wearing Golden Dawn Logos .

X, you, Out, aims, and hold the Greeks focused on the attempt of the neo-Nazi group " Golden Dawn , whose logo resembles a swastika

A group called the Crypteia, the blush is assumed to be admitted carrying out The Attack on the house of a citizen, affiliated to the Golden Dawn .

Since 2013, The Party 's leaders were accused in court of running a criminal organization, with the judgment expected later this year. X the aim of the study at the top of The Greek spirit.

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Most of the attacks were made at night with few witnesses and Many of those affected have since left the country, so artists created images on the basis of the activists of the network panels.

the Deadly ambush of Pakistani workers

"I had heard, in this case, but I don't know Many details," says Alexia Othonaiou, which illustrates, in 2013, for the murder of 27-year-old Pakistani worker Shehzad Luqman.

"I didn't know he was stabbed in the back while Cycling . "

caption reads: "Two men jumped him and stabbed him,"

While he is by the media reporting on The Attack , She was impressed by The Words of Luqman mother, whose reaction was: "But people do not do such Things . "

"you just couldn't believe that someone could do this to your son," says Othonaiou. "It has touched me really. So I decided to illustrate The Story from their perspective. "

exhibitions have taken place in Athens, Crete and Lesvos, and there are more planned, as soon as the coronavirus is from the lockdown will be lifted, including in Thessaloniki and Volos. All proceeds from The Book go to The Trial lawyers, the work, without fee.

According to RVRN, racist violence has declined in recent years due to the interruption of Golden Dawn 's activities through The Trial -and-better police work.

picked up But The Number of attacks in the Last Year and beginning in 2020, as new migrants in Greece arrived. Alexandropoulos hopes to add some of these on the map.

"people were very touched that we includes in such notification of this issue," She said. "But more needs to be done to stop attacks Happening . "

racism, art, greece

Source of news: bbc.com