Welcome To Europe expresses its joy over the vindication of the hunger strikers’ demands on day 44. We have followed and supported the hunger strike closely, and often we feared for the hunger strikers’ lives. Our relief given the successful conclusion cannot be expressed appropriately.
The results of the struggle are of extreme importance, especially as they have been achieved under ever harsher conditions. The fact that the possibility to obtain a residence permit will affect all migrants in Greece points to the general nature of the struggle. The political symbolism of the travel permits that will be given should not be underestimated: it allows for free movement across the walls of Europe, and contributes to making the dream of a common social and political space uniting the Mediterranean and providing freedom of movement within more concrete.
As the promises of the government have yet to be put into law and action, we declare that we will continue to follow the developments very closely. Should the need arise to take further action, we will be at the side of our brothers, sisters and friends.
The hunger strikers’ struggle for political and social rights is a big step within a new cycle of struggles for the inclusion of migrants into the European societies. It is part of a process towards a great transformation, that will lead to a Europe without borders and fences.
The struggle is complete. With the documents in hand and our heads up high, we return to our homes and our work vindicated, after 44 days on hunger strike.
The struggle continues. The announcements for an 8-year limit and the increase of work credit as prerequisites for the issuing and renewal of residence permits must become law immediately.
The struggle is the only option. The struggle against the daily exploitation and racism’s walls, the struggles for the legalisation of all migrants with no prerequisites, for equal rights between local and foreign workers, for a life with values and dignity, these are our next steps. Together with the anti-racist and migrant movement we will walk along this difficult path, the path of struggle.
The struggle unites us. With the documents in hand and the head up high we salute and wish farewell to everyone who supports us. To the people in solidarity in Greece and all other countries in the world, the doctors and their colleagues, all who stood by our side in these days of the hunger strike, in all days when our lives and our deaths demanded vindication and freedom.
See you at the struggles!
Since today, Wednesday the 9th of March 2011, 6pm, the hunger strike is over. The hunger strikers feel that their demands have been met by the Greek government. More information soon!
post on occupiedlondon (english)
post on hungerstrike300.espivblogs.net (greek)
This morning Mr. Mousionis, representative of the hospitals administration, “visited” the Ipatia building [where the hunger strike takes place] three times. The first without any document whatsoever, the second time with a document with no signature and only on the third time did he manage to bring the “correct” document.
He came to pass on to us the government demand for all hunger strikers to be transferred to hospitals and to abandon the site of their struggle. Hunger strikers-representatives of ours responded that if he came to tell us that the generous government can offer us a bed in a hospital in order to die on it, he should tell them that a struggle is a struggle, even when death looms. This means that we only go to hospital because those who sent us there continue robbing us off dignity, resulting in our collapse. If they care about our health, they should meet our demands, so that we can return to our homes and to our jobs. In other words: us hunger strikers will only go to hospital when our doctors deem it necessary.
We the hunger strikers want to emphasize yet another time that when we decide something, we do so alone and in our own assemblies, exclusively.
We insist on continuing our struggle until reaching our target. This target comprises the meeting of certain demands, the most important of which have been co-signed by GSEE and ADEDY [the largest mainstream trade unions in the country] as well as many other social bodies supporting us from across Greece – including all the main social bodies of Thessaloniki (the city’s mayoral assembly, the dean of its university, the barristers’ union, the journalist union, the labour union etc) with a collective letter sent to the prime minister on March 4.
Continue reading ‘Statement by the 300 hunger strikers March 7, 2011’
Please post your planned solidarity actions in the comment field!
New York Indymedia calling for a worldwide solidarity action day on 10th of March – day 45 of hunger strike:
The 10th of March will be the 45th day of their hunger strike, but the Greek State has not yet responded to their rightful claims!
We call people in Greece and throughout the world to carry out civil disobedience actions on the 10th of March in solidarity with the 300 hunger strikers.
Announcement – Response to the government’s proposal, after the meeting (of the immigrants-workers hunger strikers) with the ministers:
1. We hunger strikers, from the places of our strike in Athens and Thessaloniki and from hospitals, unanimously reject the government’s proposal for a regime of tolerance, because it does not respond to our claim for legalization with freedom of movement, work-based renewal and all other rights that legal immigrants have in Greece and Europe.
2. We reject the request of the minister of Health to transfer all Athens’ hunger strikers to hospitals due to weather conditions’ worsening. As we have done for 39 days with cold and floods, we continue the hunger strike in Hypatia building (Patission Ave, and Ipirou Str.), and of course those who are in critical condition will be transfered to hospitals under our doctors’s orders.
3. We stress once again that the nationwide hunger strike is our struggle, that we take the decisions on all issues, and we demand the lies and slander to be stopped.
The 300 hunger strikers in Athens and Thessaloniki, 4 March 2011
On Wednesday the 2nd of March 2011 beginning at 11:00 a.m. Greek time a worldwide act of solidarity is planned by Elecronic Civil Disobedience against the Greek state!
This action was chosen to demonstrate the solidarity with the 300 labourers-migrants hungerstrikers who decided to fight back with their own body and life against a system of exploitation and oppression that capitalism sets up for migrants.
The attack works by loading images of the Greek State web-pages, overloading their servers and making them unfunctional and useless for some time.
For more information in different languages check out the call at:
http://hungerstrike300.espivblogs.net/2011/02/27/solidarity-is-our-wepon-abroad/
Today (28th of February), on the 35 day of hunger strike solidarity groups occupied the Ministery of Labour in Athens to protest against the unwillingness of the Greek government to comply with the demands for legalisation by the 300 migrant hunger strikers. In December 2010 an egyptian man, who was working as a cleaner at the Ministry of Labour, due to lack of security measures fell to his death from the 3 floor of the building while cleaning the windows. The solidarity groups call for a gathering at 2 p.m. in the Platia Korai, in front of the ministery.
solidarity!