Guerra EUA e Israel x Irã
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Surrounded by an improvised barrier tape recently tied up to a tree, a bench’s leg and a post, men dressed in red wait tensely for the first explosion. Or for the first blaze of Molotov cocktails that would cover in a strong yellow light the walls of the iconic Hotel Grande Breatgne, on the Syntagma Squarte, in Athens.
They are voluntary doctors and nurses who, based on solidarity, give the protesters first-aid on the ground made of stone, to minimize the scars left by the crisis. They are not working for the State of Greece, which can barely keep its hospitals open, never mind for some private entity. The group has no name and it’s not an issue. It feels like it’s a war.
Read more:
Hopeless, Greeks depend on solidarity to survive the crisis
Greece and the Future of Europe
On the metal table there’s gauze, sticking plaster and gas masks. Yes, without gas masks the men in red’s work would be impossible. Usually, an artificial fog, made by the Greek police using tear gas, closes throats, irritates nostrils and causes tears on the protestor’s eyes.
“Not to mention that we never know what kind of chemicals are used in these bombs”, says one of the volunteers to Opera Mundi, warning about a possible rise in cancer in the future.
It’s the beginning of November and it’s 4 pm. The sun is strong in Athens. Temperature is above 30ºC and the tempers, even with the iced frappés, start to boil. A fight on Syntagma Square leads to outcry. A man gets kicked on the floor. The voluntary doctors intervene (watch the video) and then ask us to not put the victim on camera.
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There’s great concern about the images of the protests in Athens. To many protesters, it is sad that only the clashes with the police are shown on the international news — which they consider to depend on to fight the austerity narrative. The man’s cause is not serious.
The heat continues and the doctors, always ready, treat the day as “practice” for next night, when the Greek parliament would vote the second memorandum of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), that has hundreds of pages detailing unpopular measures to make the country revert its deficit and pay what it owes.
“I don´t know why I still come back here”
It’s getting darker and Domenicus is pretty nervous. They know that a confrontation between the protesters and the police is unavoidable. “I don´t even know why I still come here after what happened in June [of 2012, when bloody confrontations with the Greek police took place], he explained. “This turned into, and still is, a war zone”.
The first explosion and the first blaze push thousands of protesters outside the square. Going in everybody’s opposite direction, the men in red proceed to try to rescue wounded people in front of the Greek parliament. “We take care of everybody. It doesn´t matter if it’s a policeman or a protester”, he said.
The first-aid system survives from donations. There´s a list of necessary medications, written on a cardboard box, hanging from the improvised barrier tape. “We always need more, we never know what might happen”, said Domenicus.
A storm falls on Athens and, added to the fact that the police were advancing upon the protesters, the manifestation is rapidly dispersed. The night wasn’t as long as the men in red thought it would be, but it wasn´t the last night Syntagma Square becomes an area of conflict. The war continues.
