128 days at the roadblocks – Keratea, Greece

Crisis Mirror has the pleasure to invite you to the screening of the documentary 128 days at the roadblocks on Thursday, 10 April, at Støberiet (Blågårdsplads 3, 2200 Copenhagen N), starting at 20.00.

The film refers to the self-organised struggle of the town of Keratea, outside Athens, against the mob of contractors and politicians who tried to force the implementation of an environmentally unacceptable waste management project of huge dimensions in their area. In spite of court decisions prohibiting the works and in spite of the lack of the required permits, the government besieged Keratea for 128 days with unspeakable police force and brutality. However without any result, which turned their struggle into a symbol of resistance against the oligarchy.  Here is how one of the people of Keratea describes his 128 days at the roadblocks:

“The most important thing is that the people of Keratea have changed. They now have a fighting spirit, they have called themselves to arms, they started to think in a revolutionary way, they have observed the habits and the reactions of the enemy, used their advantages, united, spotted the undercover security officers between them, became unpredictable, realized that the decision to take to the streets immediately meant they could not retreat in defeat, they overcame their fears – and without fear, state authority was reduced to nothing. The people of Keratea wrote and continue to write (nothing is over) their own epic story using their own lives as their flags – and this is someone no-one can overlook, no matter how many interests are fostered in the case.

They attracted the solidarity of social groups, of conscious people in struggle – they even gained the respect of their enemies. They did not bow to unjust prosecutions, they did not shut the fuck up, they didnʼt even for a moment think they might not have the right on their side.

What will follow can only be the full-on attack of society against the enemies of Keratea, the mega-contractors, the politicians, the cops (in order of authority). The police forces went beyond any brutality limits in the collective consciousness and were revealed for what they really are.

All those who found themselves in the struggle of the people of Keratea can understand why I am emotionally charged when I bring to mind the thoroughness of the “scouts” who up until yesterday were simple employees, workers, pensioners or housewives… the braveness of the “commandos” who were until yesterday bricklayers, farmers, students, migrants and petit-business… the impulsiveness of the impromptu “correspondents” whose words would come out of their mouths with the speediness of the water running in Ovriokastro [the area intended for the landfill].

They brought guerrilla struggle back into our lives. Each of us, enraged by the police brutality, the loss of income, the unemployment, each of us knows that somewhere in Keratea there is a front that keeps on resisting. Keratea cannot be defeated. The longer it takes them to understand this, the worse it will be for them.’