As you may have already understood, on the buses, in the streets, in the shops, cameras are watching and recording our every step. The social media industry has made us accustomed to the presence of cameras at events, in marches and in our daily lives (in workplaces, schools, etc.), so that our resistance to them is diminishing. It seems as if there is no other way and this leaves us no room to breathe.
The state is installing cameras to protect its infrastructure, to record demonstrations and to monitor its citizens. On the other hand, the petty bourgeoisie use them to protect their sacred property while their visual material is always available to the cops and is used as incriminating evidence in court cases. Under the pretext that this system of surveillance and control will create greater security, it shields the system of domination.
Cameras have never prevented any “crime”, nor have they ever “protected” anyone. The goal of surveillance is to create a sense of constant monitoring of our every step, every social media post is recorded and creates profiles with data that can be used against us.
Then we start to think twice, where we go, what we say, who we talk to and what we do. This superstitious obedience is part of repression and self-censorship. When we are not anonymous we do not act and speak as we would like, but according to what is socially acceptable.
Gentrification is also related to the expansion of surveillance.
Gentrification is a violent process that depends on the state and its goons. The police break into homes to evict people who can no longer pay their rent and clear the neighborhoods of squats and the resistant communities within them. Whatever the cost, the state is always there to defend the interests of big corporations and startups that see neighborhoods as investment projects.
In every park, square or public space they see some “untapped potential” for profit.
They plan in the above investment projects, fancy cafes to serve the needs of capital. At the same time they try to sell this situation as development and improvement of our quality of life.
But we know that because of this process, the residents have been suffocated by the burden of rising rents and displaced from the centre of Athens, where they have no experiences, companionship and social relationships.
Big companies like AirBNB have had their eyes on our neighborhoods for a long time and because of the increasing repression and decreasing resistance, they are getting stronger and more aggressive.
They believe it’s time for them to reach out into our vital spaces. We observe this development in all the big cities of Europe and we know that they will not stop in front of our favourite haunt, but will continue until the last space in the neighbourhoods is commercialised, until all our social relations are subordinated to the dictatorship of the free market, until the last wall is cleared of slogans, until they ask for the QR code in the cafes and expect us to leave as soon as we finish our drink, so that the next customer can take our place. This situation leaves nothing behind but capitalist wastelands that we see today in most city centres. It’s not worth living there anymore since after three days there is nothing new to discover. But anyway, it doesn’t matter, since the average length of a tourist’s stay in Europe is only 2.5 days. Days spent buying meaningless and overpriced stuff and processed “local” food. Meanwhile local people and the multinational working class are working in miserable jobs in the tourist sector, hoping to save enough money to live in the metropolises or to travel themselves once or twice a year to a place that is no different from their own.
At the same time we see resistance movements all over the world, fighting against the exploitation of neighbourhoods. They may not always be completely successful, but they certainly help in their own way to slow down the process, while building solidarity relations between struggling individuals. Neighborhood assemblies are a way to take back control of our lives and fight gentrification. All forms of struggle must have their own space and “legitimacy” since they work best in combination. Our strength is our knowledge of our neighborhoods and our spontaneity is what they will never be able to control. We can choose the time and place of our attacks and no matter how many cameras and cops they install, we will always find our own ways to move. We are taking a first step and to encourage others to do the same, we are taking responsibility for three attacks in Exarcheia, all very close to the presence of the cops. We want to show that it is possible and easy to sabotage the ongoing upgrade and surveillance, no matter how infested the area is with repressive forces. Just get your buddies and get out of the comfy chairs of the shops for a half hour. There are enough targets for all of us.
IF WE DON’T RESIST IN ALL NEIGHBORHOODS, OUR CITIES WILL BECOME MODERN PRISONS.
Targets:
Anexartisias & Skalakia
Harilaou Trikoupis 76 Athens Way Apartment
95 Harilaou Trikoupis
Source: athens.indymedia