“…The potential to tap into this dissatisfaction and win over Greece’s future voters has not been lost on the controversial Golden Dawn party: an investigation by The Independent found the neo-fascist party gaining ground among the country’s youth, aggressively spreading their anti-immigrant, far-right message through social media, the internet, and youth clubs.
The vigilante, truculent and anti-establishment features of Golden Dawn offer a seductive alternative to the radical left or anarchist movements that have traditionally appealed to Greece’s teenagers. Over 50 teachers, parents and teenage students from schools across Athens interviewed by The Independent agree that the party is slowly becoming fashionable, when three years ago it was barely known.
“It’s the feature of vitality: a need to show they’re strong, young and fresh and are creating something new: be it a new party, a new country,” explains Vassiliki Georgiadou, professor at Panteion University and an expert of far-Right wing radicalism who has studied Golden Dawn for years. “They discard the label of Nazism and instead play up the nationalist card. They use ancient Greek history as a camouflage to hide their true identity: that they’re fans of Hitler, anti-Semitism.”
Sixteen-year old Stavros doesn’t see his parents often as they work hard to put food on the table. His mother is a fervent supporter of the left wing Syriza party, but Stavros was drawn to the nationalist rhetoric of Golden Dawn. He admits that he has in the past thrown rocks and fruit at the homes of Pakistani residents.(Κ.Ε. i.e. because he comes from a communist party family, they love to throw rocks to the policemen mainly, they most probably gave him the “good” example! )
“I did this to get them to respect our country because I love Greece so much,” he boasts. “Golden Dawn kids are not killers but people who are worried that we won’t be able to find jobs because of all those illegal immigrants.”
Evdoxia, also 16, wants to be a lawyer. She wears pink glasses and her manicured little finger sports a golden ring with a sparkly heart. Her nails and clothes are black – the favourite colour of many adolescents, but also of her favourite political party. “Golden Dawn is not a descendent of Nazism,” Evdoxia insists, playing with the cherry shaped pendant dangling from her neck. “Whoever thinks it is, doesn’t know what the party’s really about.”
She is typical of the new Golden Dawn supporter. The punishing austerity programme that has gripped Greece as it struggles to cling to its eurozone membership has radically eroded her middle class quality of life. The weekly supermarket shopping became monthly. Birthday and Christmas gifts vanished. Evdoxia is extremely worried about her future.
“Golden Dawn is trying to offer solutions amid difficult times and contrary to other parties, they actually do what they say they will,” she eloquently explains. The Zoro-style saviour tactics of this party is what also appealed to Evdoxia, who says her cousin was attacked and robbed by an African immigrant. (Κ.Ε.: her cousin was lucky, many others are also raped…!)
She discovered Golden Dawn on the internet – the far-right movement actively uses social media to expand their presence. A few months ago, Facebook removed the profile pages of Golden Dawn MPs (Κ.Ε.: that is “freedom” typical example of how democracy works) and other related pages for breaching the site’s terms on racism and promoting violence (K.E.:Frequently, police aressts left side mostly SYRIZA members or even their relatives, terorrists robbing banks, killing people e.g. Paros last summer, a poor taxi driver was murdered by a member of “PYRINES TIS FOTIAS”), but there are plenty of other websites hosting their views.
The party is reaping the fruit of its tireless campaigning. Grassroots mobilisation is its main recruitment technique, and the party is actively involved in neighbourhood initiatives, especially in areas that saw a rise of crime and strong influx of migrants(Κ.Ε.:illegal immigrants). One teen told of how party members sometimes hand out mobile phone numbers to youths, claiming they are to help protect them from crime when they return late from school.
Gyms, athletic and martial arts clubs are easy ground to recruit youngsters and there is even a patriotic supporters club, Galazia Stratia (Blue Army), which draws its membership from the youth. Music is also influential in attracting young followers. Two of Golden Dawn’s MPs are musicians. One of them, Artemis Matthaiopoulos, was the bass player of white power rock band Pogrom which sang the praises of Hitler’s Auschwitz death camp. Another nationalist song of theirs is entitled “Speak Greek Or Die.”
The problem for teachers and other officials is how to tackle the rise of the far-right. A mainstream political party trying to recruit new members is not illegal, and Golden Dawn is no longer a fringe movement. After emerging from obscurity to win 7 per cent of the vote at last year’s elections, the party has seen its popularity nearly double. If elections were to take place soon, polls predict the party would likely come into third place.
While Ioannis Vouldis, the Golden Dawn MP who heads the party’s youth branch, agreed to receive The Independent at their offices, he refused to answer any questions about its activities, saying only that: “At present there is a decision not to talk to the press.”
Golden Dawn denies ties to any racist violence, although immigrant organisations strongly contest this, while analysts say their rhetoric has prompted many of followers to act on slogans like “clean up Greece of the stench” – in reference to illegal immigrants. A few months ago, Golden Dawn MPs smashed the stalls of immigrant vendors who failed to provide the necessary permits for selling goods at street markets. The daughter of the party’s leader was also detained over a racist attack last June.
These culture clashes appear to be spreading into the playground. Graffiti of Greek flags, nationalist slogans, and signs that bear a resemblance to swastikas(Κ.Ε.: it is the Greek key for those who are educated. After all, the Palace or the Greek Parliament today is full of this signs! Reporters ought to know this… ) have started appearing around schools. Nikiforos, 12, blames Golden Dawn for the recent rise of violence between his Greek and foreign schoolmates. “We’ve turned into Age of Empires,” he shyly jokes, making reference to the popular computer war game where kingdoms clash in an effort to expand their civilisation.
Ernesto, 17, is an Albanian who grew up with his Greek friend Kostas in central Athens. They shared their food, discussed girls and played football. But a few years ago, Kostas started spending his time with a group of black-clad youths with shaved heads who claimed to support Golden Dawn.
“Kostas felt he was different by hanging out with them: they were the mean and cool guys that everyone was afraid of,” he recalls. “They hated immigrants and even taught their dogs to growl at Africans – it was crazy”.
The widespread anger that Greeks have experienced since the beginning of the economic crisis has been channelled to children and is shaping their psyche, experts say. Child psychologist Amalia Louizou explains that in such an environment, children are the easiest recipients of extremist messages.
About 50 teachers set up the Anti-Fascist Front of Education to deal with the rise of right-wing extremism, but with deep cuts to the education budget, there are few resources to help them win the fierce battle for the minds of youths. Concepts like Nazism, fascism and prejudice need to be endowed with significance to youths who can’t relate to them, experts say.
“Kids need to start loving people who are different in colour and religion and this can only really happen from schools,” argues Mr Georgiadou from Panteion University. “They’re being taught about ancient Greece instead of what is a democracy and the benefits of living in it instead of a dictatorship.”
Meanwhile, at a Golden Dawn youth festival at the foot of Mt Ymittos in Athens, a few months ago, the party’s leader thundered to thousands of supporters: “They’ve called us thugs, fascists, racists but we answered: we are the future, you are the past.”
“We are the Greece that is coming.”
Golden Dawn: Exploiting austerity
Until recently, Golden Dawn was a fringe party – thought of by most Greeks as too extreme. But as the economy has worsened, the party’s fortunes have improved.
Founded in 1993, the party’s breakthrough came in the 2012 elections – marked by deep economic recession and budget cuts. Golden Dawn took around seven per cent, vowing to expel both legal and illegal immigrants. In the previous election it polled just 0.2 per cent.
Golden Dawn denies that it is a neo-Nazi party, preferring to call itself nationalist. But its members (K.E.: DO YOU HAVE PROOFS FOR THIS? OF COURSE NOT! BECAUSE IT IS A BIG LIE! PROPAGANDA…) are accused of acts of violence against immigrants and ethnic minorities. The party’s flag is an ancient Greek symbol similar to the swastika and its leader, Nikolaos Mihaloliakos, gave a Nazi salute at an Athens city council meeting in 2011.( K.E.: WHAT YOU PERSIST TO CALL “NAZI SALUTE” IS A SALUTATION THAT COMES FROM THE ANCIENT TIMES OF THE ARIAN NATIONS!)
The party made headlines last year when Ilias Kasidiaris, a high-profile member, slapped a female MP on live television.(K.E.: Mr. Richard Hall, you better watch again the scene of Ilias Kasidiaris and the… female MP, who slapped whom first!)
Richard Hall
OUR ANSWER TO THEIR LIES OUR MARCHES THROUGH ATHENS WITHOUT ANY EPISODES!
“…
αναφέρει η Independent, και συνεχίζει: «η Χρυσή Αυγή επιχειρεί να αξιοποιήσει τη δυσαρέσκεια των νέων και να κερδίσει μελλοντικούς ψηφοφόρους». Η δημοσιογράφος της Independent Nathalie Savaricas σε έρευνά της διαπίστωσε ότι «το νεοφασιστικό κόμμα κερδίζει έδαφος στους νέους, διαδίδοντας επιθετικά τα ρατσιστικά της μηνύματα μέσω των κοινωνικών δικτύων, των μέσων μαζικής ενημέρωσης και των χώρων που συγκεντρώνονται νέοι».
Περισσότεροι από πενήντα καθηγητές, γονείς και έφηβοι μαθητές από σχολεία της Αθήνας σε συνέντευξή τους στην Independent συμφωνούν πως το νεοναζιστικό κόμμα γίνεται μόδα σταδιακά, ενώ πριν από τρία χρόνια ήταν ελάχιστα γνωστό στους εν λόγω χώρους. «Σχετίζεται με το χαρακτηριστικό της ζωτικότητας», αναφέρει η Βασιλική Γεωργιάδου, καθηγήτρια του Πάντειο Πανεπιστήμιου, σημειώνοντας πως«η Χρυσή Αυγή απορρίπτει τη νεοναζιστική ετικέτα και αντ’ αυτού παίζει το χαρτί του εθνικισμού χρησιμοποιώντας την αρχαία ελληνική ιστορία για πέπλο, ώστε να κρύψει την πραγματική της ταυτότητα: Είναι οπαδοί του Χίτλερ». (Κ.Ε.:Αυτή “ξέρει” καλύτερα; Είναι δε τόσο “δημοκράτισσα”, που μας αφαιρεί το δικαίωμα να αυτοπροσδιοριζόμαστε!)
Ο δεκαεξάχρονος Σταύρος προέρχεται από μια οικογένεια Αριστερών, η μητέρα του υποστηρίζει τον ΣΥΡΙΖΑ, ωστόσο ο ίδιος συντάχθηκε με τη Χρυσή Αυγή, όπως αναφέρει η Independent τονίζοντας πως ο μαθητής παραδέχεται πως έχει πετάξει πέτρες (Κ.Ε.: ΠΡΟΦΑΝΩΣ ΘΑ ΕΧΕΙ ΠΑΡΑΔΕΙΓΜΑΤΙΣΤΕΙ ΑΠΟ ΤΗΝ ΟΙΚΟΓΕΝΕΙΑ ΤΟΥ ΝΑ ΤΟ ΚΑΝΕΙ ΑΥΤΟ ΚΥΡΙΩΣ ΣΕ ΑΣΤΥΝΟΜΙΚΟΥΣ… ΕΙΝΑΙ ΑΓΑΠΗΜΕΝΗ ΣΥΝΗΘΕΙΑ ΤΩΝ ΣΥΡΙΖΑΙΩΝ…) σε σπίτια Πακιστανών. «Το έκανα για να μάθουν να σέβονται τη χώρα μας, γιατί αγαπώ την Ελλάδα. Τα παιδιά της Χρυσής Αυγής δεν είναι δολοφόνοι αλλά άνθρωποι που ανησυχούν πως δεν θα βρουν δουλειά εξαιτίας όλων αυτών των παράνομων μεταναστών», δήλωσε στην Independent.
«Οι Χρυσαυγίτες δεν είναι νεοναζί», αναφέρει η 16χρονη Ευδοξία και υποστηρίζει πως «όσοι επιμένουν στο αντίθετο τότε πολύ απλά δεν ξέρουν την αλήθεια». Η 16χρονη δηλώνει ανησυχία για το μέλλον της. «Η Χρυσή Αυγή προσπαθεί να δώσει λύσεις στις δύσκολες στιγμές σε αντίθεση με τα άλλα κόμματα». Η Independent επισημαίνει το «ζορό στυλ» της Χρυσής Αυγής, όπως της το παρουσίασε και η 16χρονη μαθήτρια, το οποίο όπως είπε την γοητεύει ενώ ανέφερε επίσης πως κάποιοι μετανάστες έκλεψαν τον ξάδερφό της.
Στο ρεπορτάζ επισημαίνεται πως τα γυμναστήρια, οι σχολές πολεμικών τεχνών και οι οπαδικοί σύνδεσμοι αποτελούν πρόσφορο έδαφος για στρατολόγηση από τη Χρυσή Αυγή. Ο Γιάννης Βουλδής, βουλευτής της Χρυσής Αυγής και επικεφαλής του κλάδου νεολαίας του κόμματος, συμφώνησε να δεχθεί τον Independent στα γραφεία τους, αρνήθηκε να απαντήσει σε ερωτήσεις σχετικά με τις δραστηριότητές τους, λέγοντας μόνο ότι: «Προς το παρόν υπάρχει απόφαση να μην μιλάμε στον Τύπο».
«Το πρόβλημα για τους εκπαιδευτικούς κ.α. είναι πως να αντιμετωπίσουν την άνοδο των ακροδεξιών. Ένα πολιτικό κόμμα που προσπαθεί να στρατολογήσει νέα μέλη δεν είναι παράνομο και η Χρυσή Αυγή δεν είναι πλέον ένα περιθωριακό κίνημα», σχολιάζει η Independent.
Η ρατσιστική και νεοναζιστική νοοτροπία εξαπλώνεται και στους τοίχους των σχολείων όπου μπορείς να δεις πλήθος από graffiti με Ελληνικές σημαίες, εθνικιστικά συνθήματα και σύμβολα που θυμίζουν αγκυλωτούς σταυρούς.(Κ.Ε.: ΕΓΚΛΗΜΑ ΤΑ GRAFFITI ΜΕ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΕΣ ΣΗΜΑΙΕΣ ΚΑΙ ΕΘΝΙΚΙΣΤΙΚΑ ΣΥΝΘΗΜΑΤΑ ΓΙΑ ΤΗΝ ΕΦΗΜΕΡΙΔΑ INDEPENDENT και όσο για τα σύμβολα που θυμίζουν αγκυλωτούς σταυρούς, δεν έχουν παρά να ανοίξουν ένα βιβλίο και να μάθουν την ΑΛΗΘΕΙΑ. ΑΛΛΩΣΤΕ ΜΕ ΤΑ ΙΔΙΑ ΑΚΡΙΒΩΣ ΣΥΜΒΟΛΑ ΕΙΝΑΙ ΓΕΜΑΤΕΣ ΠΟΛΛΕΣ ΑΙΘΟΥΣΕΣ ΤΟΥ ΚΟΙΝΟΒΟΥΛΙΟΥ…!) Ο 12χρονος Νικηφόρος δηλώνει χαρακτηριστικά για την κατάσταση που επικρατεί στα σχολεία πως «Έχουμε γίνει Age of Empires» κάνοντας αναφορά στο ηλεκτρονικό παιχνίδι στρατηγικής που σχετίζεται με τη σύγκρουση διαφορετικών πολιτισμών-αυτοκρατοριών στην ιστορία.
Από την πλευρά του ο 17χρονος Ερνέστο, αλβανικής καταγωγής, είδε να χάνει ένα φίλο. Με τον Κώστα, γράφει η Independent, είχαν μοιραστεί φαγητό, γνώριζαν μαζί κοπέλες και έπαιζαν ποδόσφαιρο. Ωστόσο πριν από λίγο καιρό ο Κώστας άρχισε να κάνει παρέα με Χρυσαυγίτες. «Αισθάνθηκε διαφορετικός με την παρέα τους. Όλοι τους φοβόντουσαν. Μισούσαν τους μετανάστες και είχαν μάθει ακόμα και τα σκυλιά τους να γαβγίζουν στους Αφρικανούς. Ήταν τρελό», δηλώνει ο Ερνέστο.
Περίπου 50 δάσκαλοι έστησαν το εκπαιδευτικό αντιφασιστικό μέτωπο, για να να ασχοληθούν με την άνοδο του ακροδεξιού εξτρεμισμού, αλλά και με τις βαθιές περικοπές στον προϋπολογισμό για την εκπαίδευση, καθώς υπάρχουν λίγοι πόροι για να τους βοηθούν να κερδίσουν τη σκληρή μάχη για τα μυαλά των νέων. Έννοιες όπως ο ναζισμός, ο φασισμός και η προκατάληψη θα πρέπει να ενδύονται με σημασία για τους νέους, οι οποίοι δεν μπορούν να συνδέονται με αυτές, λένε οι ειδικοί. ”