A-Infos (en) Italy, FAI, Umanita Nova #16-26 - Occupied Prosfygika. Resistance to the bitter end in Athens (ca, de, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

Near the center of Athens, nestled between the central police 
headquarters, the courthouse, a (possibly) closed stadium, and one of 
the city's largest public hospitals, the eight buildings that comprise 
the political community and the occupied space of Prosfygika still 
survive. ---- Prosfygika occupies a strategic position within the most 
recent urban transformations. These buildings, in addition to providing 
homes for approximately 400 people, have significant symbolic value, 
starting from their very name: Prosfygika literally means "of the 
refugees." Built in the 1930s to meet the housing needs of the million 
refugees who arrived from the newly formed Turkish Republic following 
the massive population exchange between the two nations, the Prosfygika 
buildings were also a center of anti-fascist resistance during World War 
II, as evidenced by the bullet holes still clearly visible on the 
buildings' exterior walls. The complex includes over 200 apartments and 
several common spaces.

The Assembly of Occupied Prosfygika (Sy.Ka.Pro) was founded in 2010, in 
the wake of the multifaceted mobilizations that took hold following the 
economic crisis and the police murder of Alexis Grigoropoulos in 
December 2008, composed of those who had already occupied apartments 
within the complex. The Assembly has created a cohesive political 
community, with various structures, working groups, and initiatives, 
organizing legal assistance and language courses for migrants, social 
kitchens, and public health clinics. Today, the residents of Prosfygika 
speak different languages and come from distant geographical 
backgrounds, but they find themselves fighting for the survival of a 
community whose value extends far beyond the spaces they inhabit. The 
contribution of political refugees from revolutionary organizations of 
the diverse Turkish and Kurdish left has been important from the 
beginning and has shaped the community's political practices. Over 
twenty autonomous structures operate within the spaces, coordinated 
through a weekly plenary assembly, the hub of community life, where all 
collective decisions are discussed and made. Among the various 
structures are the children's structure, the women's structure (which is 
the only one with decision-making power equal to that of the plenary 
assembly), those coordinating the activities of a public space (the 
kiosk), the library and the cinema, the maintenance management 
structure, and a self-managed bakery. In recent years, a support 
structure has also been established for the families of patients from 
the nearby oncology hospital, who have access to apartments and beds 
within the squat.

All of this is now under attack, but it's not the first time. In the 
last 10 years alone, police have entered Prosfygika four times, one of 
which resulted in the arrest of 78 people in November 2022. In general, 
since the first apartments were occupied, more or less in a coordinated 
manner decades ago, threats of eviction have piled up. In the early 
2000s, a number of squatters and residents waged a long resistance 
against attempted expropriations of several apartments, culminating in 
the complex being declared a Historic Monument. This made its demolition 
impossible, but did not protect residents from various redevelopment 
projects.

As in many other European cities and beyond, the threat of redevelopment 
is what is plaguing Prosfygika today. The Attica Region and the Ministry 
of Culture and Public Administration have signed a programmatic 
agreement for the eviction of the 400 residents and the redevelopment of 
four of the eight buildings in the complex, with funding from the 
European Union, to convert the structures into social housing and a 
hostel for the families of patients admitted to the nearby hospital. 
That these are two of the many activities already offered by Occupied 
Prosfygika, without the need for any public funding, has not escaped 
anyone's notice. The squatter community has noted in recent months that 
the Municipality of Athens owns at least 80,000 empty apartments in the 
city center alone, and that the squatters have not been consulted at 
all, nor have they been offered alternative solutions.

Since the beginning of 2026, Occupied Prosfygika has been in permanent 
mobilization. Open assemblies, sit-ins, demonstrations, and initiatives 
are held daily, while efforts are being made to expand the network of 
solidarity both locally and internationally. The occupiers' demands are 
very clear:

- the immediate revocation of the programmatic agreement by the Attica 
region;
- All residents of Prosfygika must be able to remain in their homes, in 
the complex, and in the neighborhood where they live and have built 
social, cultural, and vital ties;

- Concrete guarantees for the restoration of Prosfygika by the 
non-profit organization "Residents and Friends of Prosfygika by L. 
Alexandras" through its own self-financing;

- no public funding for the 'redevelopment' of Prosfygika"

Signaling the urgency of this struggle, comrade Aristotelis Chantzis, 
one of the long-standing members of Sy.Ka.Pro, began an indefinite 
hunger strike on February 5th. As of this writing, Aristos is on his 
95th day of hunger strike, and another comrade, Suzon Doppagne, began on 
May 1st. This week is considered crucial by the occupiers, both due to 
Aristos' increasingly precarious conditions and as a time to extend the 
struggle to the European level. On May 16th, marking the 101st day of 
Aristos' strike, a large demonstration has been called in central 
Athens, while comrades across Europe are mobilizing throughout the 
coming days to create moments of solidarity with the Athenian 
experience. In Italy, the mobilization is ongoing, with groups of 
solidarity traveling to different experiences throughout the peninsula. 
They will be on the 12th to Burjana in Trieste, on the 13th at Spazio 
Autogestito 77 in Bolzano, on the 14th at the Faculty of Sociology in 
Trento, on the 15th at Aut Aut 357 in Genoa, on the 16th at 
TeatrOfficina Refugio in Livorno, on the 17th at Spazio Antagonista 
Newroz in Pisa, on the 24th at Iskra in Naples, on the 28th at Casa del 
Popolo Città Vecchia in Taranto, and on the 31st at the Urupia commune.

The existence of a project like Prosfygika Occupato doesn't just concern 
the people who compose it, but raises central questions about the 
development of the world we live in. "In a local and international 
context, where states, institutions, and people are transforming to face 
a dystopian horizon of globalized crises and conflicts, can our social 
experiments really succeed? And if so, how? With what social imagery and 
examples?" (Sykapro, 2026).

https://umanitanova.org/prosfygika-occupata-resistenza-a-oltranza-ad-atene/
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