Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube

Pursuit and massive deportations of immigrants in Greece

By Isabel Infanta Thursday, August 9, 2012 Last weekend, the Greek government sent the police on an enormous operation of raids against immigrants in the central areas of Athens, poor neighborhoods and brothels, in a real pursuit that involved around 4,500 policemen. Also in Evros, in northern Greece, near the border with Turkey, around 2,500 […]

Left Voice

August 16, 2012
Facebook Twitter Share

By Isabel Infanta
Thursday, August 9, 2012

Last weekend, the Greek government sent the police on an enormous operation of raids against immigrants in the central areas of Athens, poor neighborhoods and brothels, in a real pursuit that involved around 4,500 policemen. Also in Evros, in northern Greece, near the border with Turkey, around 2,500 police were sent, on what is considered the most porous border in Europe.

More than 6,000 immigrants, with or without papers, were detained because of simple “racial profiling” in the first two days of pursuit, when thousands were jailed in real concentration camps, under humiliation and the lack of respect for human rights, waiting to be deported. In fact, dozens of Pakistani immigrants were already deported the same weekend.

This institutionalization of racism and xenophobia represents a jump in the actions against the immigrants, that had already been developing, pushed by groups from the ultra-right, like the Golden Dawn party, that got a surprising number of votes in last June’s general elections (7%). In addition to physically attacking immigrants, this party carries out massive activities to promote xenophobia, organizing charitable activities where the beneficiaries must prove their Greek ethnic origin to get assistance.

The political operation that includes the measure taken by the government has a double aim. On the one hand, it allows them to shift the focus of responsibility for the economic crisis from the concentrated groups of capital and their agents, the Troika, the austerity government, etc., to the immigrant workers, using them as scapegoats and inciting hatred from the poor against the poor. On the other hand, the parties in the government, New Democracy (right-wing) and PASOK (social democratic), find themselves in a profound crisis of legitimacy, that was expressed in the enormous difficulty in forming a government after the last elections, and they are seeking to contain the most right-wing group of their voters, in view of the rise of Golden Dawn, that, according to reports from some of the Greek media, would count among its own voters, precisely a very large group from the repressive forces.

The embryonic neo-nazi tendencies, a result of the social polarization that the capitalist crisis is creating, are already beginning to be used by austerity governments against the workers, now the immigrants that are seeking a life in Europe that they cannot have in their countries of origin, devastated by poverty, civil war, or political and religious persecution. The repudiation of these policies and the struggle against xenophobia and racism are a priority need of the working class. The unity of the working class, native-born or foreign, will be essential, in order to confront the attacks that the capitalists’ crisis will intensify.

August 8, 2012

Facebook Twitter Share

Left Voice

Militant journalism, revolutionary politics.

Archive

The Unknown Paths of the Late Marx

An interview with Marcello Musto about the last decade of Marx's life.

Marcello Musto

February 27, 2022

The Critical Left in Cuba

Frank García Hernández discusses the political and economic situation in Cuba and the path out of the current crisis.

Frank García Hernández

February 27, 2022

Nancy Fraser and Counterhegemony

A presentation from the Fourth International Marxist Feminist Conference.

Josefina L. Martínez

February 27, 2022

Who is Anasse Kazib?

Meet the Trotskyist railway worker running for president of France.

Left Voice

February 27, 2022

MOST RECENT

All That's Left, the podcast from Left Voice.

#AllThatsLeftPod: What the Historic UAW Victory Means for the Working Class

In this episode of the podcast, we discuss the historic UAW victory, its shortcomings, and the tasks for the future.

Left Voice

December 5, 2023

The New Hollywood McCarthyism Emerging Around Palestine

Over the past week, a new Hollywood McCarthyism has emerged: multiple people in Hollywood have jobs and representation over their support of Palestine. We must denounce and fight these attacks which weaken the movement and scare supporters into silence.

Sybil Davis

December 3, 2023
A UAW sign is held next to a "Free Palestine" sign

The UAW Has Called for a Ceasefire. It’s Time for All of Labor to Stand Up.

The UAW International union has joined calls for a ceasefire and is exploring how to divest from Israel. This is a step which should inspire union activists to take up the fight to bring their union into the fight against Israel's attack on Gaza and the struggle against imperialism.

Rose Lemlich

December 2, 2023

Robert Habeck Wrote a Play Praising a Right-Wing Mass Murderer

Germany's Green vice chancellor strikes many as an idealist who has been struggling with the tough realities of government. Yet before he was a national politician, he wrote a play that opens a window into a dark soul.

Nathaniel Flakin

December 1, 2023