Information was ricocheted off…
Alexis was killed by a bullet that a cop shot at Exarcheia, from his chest blood came out… However, it took plenty of days for the ballistics report to come out…finally the boy was killed by a ricochet and not by a direct shot. One can say that all the stones, the molotov cocktails, the fruit that was thrown at the shop windows, expensive cars and against riot police were also by ricochet. In the end, reality is constructed by many subjective events that everyone can interpret as he/she wishes. Except journalists.
But that is another story. What we are interested in is what picture was painted in the minds of the rioters and not the picture projected by the media, the politicians, the Ermou and Tsimiski shop-owners…generally by all those who in this confrontation fortunately took a stance against us, so that we know who they ally with. We finally experience the much anticipated social polarization. Alexis’ assasination was truly the spark that triggered the expression of compressed repression of a good part of the greek society, immigrants included. The winds blown by the riots shook up not only the pavements, but also the couches, the political parties, the commissioned journalists and the rest of the social mob who year after year organize their “safety” against contemporary proletarian negations. We don’t know if this time we caught them sleeping, but we are certain that their sleep will never be as sweet as it was. It is with confidence that we speak, and this is a feeling that we share among us. It is our collective experience and memory. It is the history we’ve written and the knowledge we’ve acquired. For our goals and our means we care not to apologize.
For all those reasons, and even more, this newspaper is issued by the people who took a stance in this rioting December week somewhere in the northern hemisphere. Thought this won’t be easy we we must meet again. For all of us out there in the streets, aroused by the tragic death among us, our outburst was against all those things that steal our lives away. A life chopped everyday into pieces between house, work, entertainment – they divided us into pupils, students, workers – kids, teenagers and adults – boys, girls, men and women – natives and immigrants. They divided us into rediculous tiny categories and they stacked us up into schools, universities, workplaces, shops and bars. They offer us houses as small as cages, poorly-paid jobs and a gloomy future. But these days we were given the chance to destroy some of the things that we hate and live some of the things that we desire.
As for those men and women who are captive by the state here and there on this planet, they must know that in these difficult moments, hours, days that we are out here for them, and that they are in there for us. Our desire for a world without authority, without nations, armies, borders, police, prisons, torture, exploitation and deprivation is expressed and manifested through solidarity.
You are not alone brothers and sisters!
So, for all the reasons in the world…
P.S. This edition was printed in Thessaloniki in 50.000 copies. We apologize for any omissions or errors. Words cannot replace actions.
