Email Protest Campaign – Act now to save Prosfygika!

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Memorandum Concerning the Situation at Prosfygika, Alexandras Avenue, Athens

Dear Sir or Madam,

We submit this memorandum regarding the ongoing situation affecting the residents of Prosfygika on Alexandras Avenue in Athens. The actions and agreements related to the planned redevelopment of the area, raise serious concerns regarding the protection of residents, their rights, and the future of this historically and socially significant community. Today, more than 400 residents from 27 countries speaking 20 languages reside in the complex. The community includes families with more than 50 children, women, elderly individuals, people with chronic illnesses, immigrants, asylum seekers, refugees, and individuals in addiction rehabilitation. For almost 20 years the community has operated as one of Europe’s largest self-organized neighborhoods, running over 22 open, self-organized social welfare structures, not only to the residents but also to the broader population of Athens. Key structures include: Education and Childcare, Healthcare and Solidarity, Food Security, Protection of Women, Legal and Paralegal Services and so many others.

We bring this situation to your immediate attention due to its extreme urgency and the critical risk to human life. We express our deepest concern regarding a hunger strike until death (deatfast) of Aristotelis Chantzis and Suzon Doppange, residents of the Community of Prosfygika. This resolute act of protest is a direct response to the imminent threat of eviction and the continuous, documented pressure and harassment exerted by police forces against the residents. Furthermore, the community has officially announced that other inhabitants are prepared to join this strike.

To protect their fundamental rights as well as the historical and collective memory of the buildings, as listed monument of modern history, the community proposes a phased renovation plan, organized by the Community, its legal entity (Non Profit Civil Law Company), a specific  Committee as well as with the collaborating group of architects, civil engineers, archaeologists and academics that have already been working on it, that allows residents to remain on-site. The community is actively mobilizing to highlight the state's violation of the UN International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)—specifically Article 11 and General Comments No. 4 and 7 regarding protection against forced evictions and the right to adequate alternative housing—as well as the violation of the EU Partnership Principle (Article 8 of Regulation EU 2021/1060) in managing EU funds due to the authorities' refusal to consult with the affected civil society.

Given the gravity of the eviction threats and the severe consequences for the health and life of those on hunger strike since almost 100 days, we urgently request your intervention to ensure that the Greek authorities adhere to their international obligations. Specifically, the Community and the hunger striker and the more than 400 residents of the complex of Prosfygika demand:  
• All actions leading to the forced eviction or criminalization of the community be immediately halted.  
• The immediate cancellation of the programmatic contract be ensured by the Regional Government of Attica, along with a formal declaration stating that it will not proceed with the implementation of the current redevelopment and exploitation plan.
• The authorities immediately after the above cancellation and declaration of it by the Regional Government of Attica to convene a formal multi-stakeholder concertation with the Prosfygika community and their representatives to initiate a transparent, mediated dialogue aimed at a dignified and rights-based resolution.  
• All residents of Prosfygika to remain in their homes, in the place and area where they live and have established social, cultural and organical ties.
• Concrete guarantees to be given for the restoration of Prosfygika by the Non-Profit Civil Law Company “Katoikoi kai Filoi Prosfygikon  L. Alexandras Non-Profit Civil Law Company” with its own self-financing.

We submit this document in order to raise your awareness about the situation and the criminal policies of the Greek state and its institutions, which humiliate and violate a series of human rights as well as international and Greek laws, and in essence dignity and life itself.

It is essential and we urge all competent subjects to exert maximum pressure and take all necessary action immediately, as the lives of the hunger strikers are directly at risk while hundreds of other vulnerable people of the Community of Prosfygika are in danger until this programmatic contract is canceled by the Greek regional government of Attica.

There is no time left and since you now also know, there is no excuse and we hold you co-responsible for the life or death of Aristotelis Chantzis and Suzon Doppagne as well as for the life or death of the hundreds of residents.

We respectfully request that the Ministry of Culture examine the situation and take the necessary actions within its competence to ensure the protection of the rights of the residents and the proper application of the law.

Respectfully submitted,
Internationalist Committee for the Defense of the Community of Squatted Prosfygika