Lawlessness threatens to turn heart of Athens into no-go zone

This week 12.09.08 – 18.09.08
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ATHENSPLUS • FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2008
SECOND PAGE
In the no-go area behind City Hall, rival gangs often clash over drug and prostitution rackets. [Alexandros Philippidis]
In the heart of Athens, things are falling
apart. The streets and smaller squares
surrounding Omonia Square at the city’s
center are becoming no-go areas for lawabiding
citizens, as rival gangs clash over
control of drug and prostitution rackets.
Shopkeepers live in fear of crime, even
as revenues shrink because customers
move away. With suburban malls just
now becoming the fashion in Athens, the
city’s center was already threatened as
a commercial district. But it was still attractive
in terms of providing homes with
a good location at affordable prices, as
well as attracting people interested in
trendy offices and edgy bars. There was
just enough color and multiculturalism
to make things interesting, breaking the
monotony of the rest of the city.
But nature loathes a vacuum and where
the city fathers turned their backs, the
criminal element took over. Now the immigrants
– legal and illegal – living in the
area have no choice but to take sides and
live according to gang rules. All this
around City Hall and within two kilometers
of the Acropolis, that beacon of
enlightenment and human liberty that
the Greeks never tire of bragging about.
Today, longtime residents and shopkeepers,
and those who invested in the
area when it looked as if it were on the
way toward revival, have seen their
EDITORIAL
Malevolent neglect
hopes dashed. Many are thinking of
leaving, which will speed up the area’s
further decline. Municipal officials and
the police are talking about taking back
the center by showing a greater presence.
This is a step in the right direction but
it may be too little too late. Because police
work is not enough: When the criminals
have invested in the area and have
placed its people under their control, they
will find ways to avoid the patrols by sim-
No alternatives
If the migrants had somewhere to
turn for aid and protection they
would not become foot soldiers in
the wars of others
ply moving their activities underground.
The fact that the drug and sex rackets are
completely in the open points to the
patent failure of the authorities but
does not mean that if they were not as
evident things would be better.
The problems go deeper. One of the root
causes of trouble is the inadequate handling
of migrants. They receive nothing
close to the minimum rights that they
are entitled to and so, being outside the
social order, fulfill no obligations and, at
the same time, fall prey to organized
gangs who provide them with work and
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protection in return for their participation
in criminal activities. If the migrants
had somewhere to turn for aid and protection
they would not become footsoldiers
in the wars of others. Also, the lackadaisical
attitude of the police, who
have left migrants to exploit migrants,
is yet another manifestation of malevolent
neglect that passes for policy in
Greece. In this way, people are left outside
of society so they get the message
that they should not expect any benefits
or any protection here – that they would
do well to just keep moving.
But society does not work on an a la carte
basis – being there for some and not for
others. When some people are excluded,
there is no protection, no benefit, no
life worth living for anyone. In short, society
collapses and the black hole keeps
growing until nothing can stop it. The
only way to stop the decline is to offer
protection to those who live and work
in the center, to come down hard on
crime and to slowly build up areas
where people can live, work and play in
safety. This will push back the borders
of anarchy and bring more people and
commerce back.
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and comments to editor@athensplus.gr.
Editor Nikos Konstandaras • Deputy Editor Nick Malkoutzis
Art Director Valentina Villegas-Nikas
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