300 migrants in hunger strike in greece

Statement by the 300 migrant hunger strikers – March 13, 2011

The hunger strike of the three-hundred migrant workers has ended. The struggle for a world of equality, solidarity and freedom continues!

March 9, 2011 6pm: THE HUNGER STRIKERS WON!!!!!

Meanwhile, there was a tragedy in a greek port:

44 days of psychological war

March 8, 2011: Greek government spreads rumors that all hunger strikers will be deported if they do not accept the offered 6-months “tolerance status”. We remind that yesterday the government demanded all hunger strikers to be transferred to hospitals and to abandon the site of their struggle. On Tuesday morning, 2 women who were escorting hunger strikers at an Athens hospital were arrested, accused of preventing the strikers from eating. In the afternoon, a public prosecutor held the doctors legally responsible for the health of the hunger strikers!

Statement by the 300 hunger strikers – March 7, 2011

Call for a worldwide solidarity action day on 10th of March – day 45 of hunger strike

A brief chronicle of the hunger strike, through the texts of the hunger strikers and the solidarity initiatives in Athens and Thessaloniki

Announcement of the hunger strikers (March 4, 2011)

Call for European coordinated solidarity actions to the 300 immigrants hunger strikers in Greece on Monday, March 7

March 4, 2011 – Athens: Ministers disagree in public. The government repeats the same “proposals”. Hunger strikers continue the struggle. Demonstration. Thessaloniki: City Council, Labour Center, Aristotle University, Trade Unions etc. press the government. Paris: Greek Embassy occupied in solidarity.

March 3, 2011 – 98 hunger strikers in hospitals. Critical moments for the 300 hunger strikers.

Thessaloniki: 2.500-strong demonstration! > photos > video

Demonstrations in Chania, Mytilene, Xanthi
Solidarity occupations in Chios, Orestiada, Volos, Komotini

March 2, 2011 – 78 hunger strikers in hospitals

Thessaloniki: activists occupy the offices of E. Venizelos (Minister of National Defense) and H. Kastanidis (Minister of Justice).

In the same time, other activists chained themselves to the entrance gate of the General Secretariat of Macedonia and Thrace, while a huge banner was hung from the 4th floor of the building with the slogan: “The Papandreou government is committing murder”.

March 1, 2011 – Athens: Riot police attacks press conference!. The number of hunger strikers brought to hospitals has risen to 42. Thessaloniki: 6 hunger strikers more to hospitals.

February 28, 2011 – Athens: The number of hunger strikers brought to hospitals has risen to 41. Meanwhile, 36 other immigrants are on thirst strike, since Sunday noon. Thessaloniki: 12 hunger strikers are brought to 4 hospitals.

Ministry of Labour occupied in solidarity with the 300 migrant hunger strikers – 28 February 2011

February 27, 2011: Athens: 16 hungerstrikers are brought to several hospitals in Athens,Thessaloniki: the 50 hunger strikers have announced their decision to abstain from sugar too, now only receiving water and salt.

THE HUNGER STRIKERS ARE IN DANGER – 25 February 2011

A “compassionate” politician turns cynical prime-minister, while his government ignores even the EU legislation it uses as a pretext to deny migrants’ regularization >>

Text for the Press Conference with the doctors – 25 February 2011

Hospitalized strikers were offered food by the nursing staff! – 24 February 2011

Hunger strikers’ assembly decision – 21 February 2011

Emergency Medical Report – 22 February 2011

It is time to ACT NOW! The 300 hunger strikers in Greece are in need of YOUR support!

INFO & SUPPORT

Athens solidarity initiative: http://hungerstrike300.espivblogs.net
Thessaloniki solidarity initiative: http://allilmap.wordpress.com/
Well known writers and thinkers like Noam Chomsky, Naomi Klein, Eduardo Galeano, Alain Badiou, Slavoj Zizek, Ken Loach, Toni Negri , Dario Fo, Immanuel Wallerstein, Étienne Balibar, John Holloway, Raúl Zibechi, Michael Albert, Geoff Eley etc. have allready declared their solidarity. You can do the same!
Send letters of support here: ypografes.allilegyi.stin.apergia@gmail.com

THESSALONIKI SOLIDARITY INITIATIVE PRESS RELEASES

THE GREEK STATE TORTURES HUNGER STRIKERS
Text of Thessaloniki Open Solidarity Initiative: SOLIDARITY WITH THE 300 MIGRANTS ON HUNGER STRIKE

INTERNATIONAL MESSAGES & ACTIONS OF SUPPORT

We are migrant men and women from all over Greece. We came here due to poverty, unemployment, wars and dictatorships. The multinational companies and their political servants did not leave another choice for us than risking 10 times our lives to arrive in Europe’s door. The West that is depriving our countries while having much better living conditions is our only chance to live as humans. We came (either with regular entry or not) in Greece and we are working to support ourselves and our families. We live without dignity, in the darkness of illegalness in order to benefit employers and state’s services from the harsh exploitation of our labor. We live from our sweat and with the dream, some day, to have equal rights with our Greek fellow workers. During the last period our life has become even more unbearable. As salaries and pensions are cut and everything is getting more expensive, the migrants are presented as those to blame, as those whose fault is the abjection and harsh exploitation of greek workers and small businessman. The propaganda of fascist and racist parties and groups is nowadays the official state discourse for issues of migration. The far right discourse is reproduced through media when they talk about us. The “proposals” of the far right are announced as governmental policies: wall in Evros, floating detention centers and European army in the Aegean, repression in the cities, massive deportations. They want to convince greek workers that, all in a sudden, we are a threat to them, that we are to blame for the unprecedented attack from their own governments. The answer to the lies and the cruelty has to be given now and it will come from us, from migrant men and women. We are going in the front line, with our own lives to stop this injustice. We ask the legalization of all migrant men and women, we ask for equal political and social rights and obligations with greek workers. We ask from our greek fellow workers, from every person suffering from exploitation to stand next to us. We ask them to support our struggle. Not to let the lie, the injustice, the fascism and the autarchy of the political and economic elites to be dominant in their own places too; all these conditions that are dominant in our countries and led us to migrate, us and our children, in order to be able to live with dignity. We don’t have another way to make our voices heard, to make you learn about our rights. Three hundred (300) of us will start a Hunger Strike in Athens and in Thessaloniki, in the 25^th of January. We risk our lives, as, one way or another, this is no life for people with dignity. We prefer to die here rather our children to suffer what we have been through.