Near the center of Athens, nestled between the central police headquarters, the courthouse, a (possibly) closed stadium, and one of the city's largest public hospitals, the eight buildings that comprise the political community and the occupied space of Prosfygika still survive. ---- Prosfygika occupies a strategic position within the most recent urban transformations. These buildings, in addition to providing homes for approximately 400 people, have significant symbolic value, starting from their very name: Prosfygika literally means "of the refugees." Built in the 1930s to meet the housing needs of the million refugees who arrived from the newly formed Turkish Republic following the massive population exchange between the two nations, the Prosfygika buildings were also a center of anti-fascist resistance during World War II, as evidenced by the bullet holes still clearly visible on the buildings' exterior walls. The complex includes over 200 apartments and several common spaces.
The Assembly of Occupied Prosfygika (Sy.Ka.Pro) was founded in 2010, in the wake of the multifaceted mobilizations that took hold following the economic crisis and the police murder of Alexis Grigoropoulos in December 2008, composed of those who had already occupied apartments within the complex. The Assembly has created a cohesive political community, with various structures, working groups, and initiatives, organizing legal assistance and language courses for migrants, social kitchens, and public health clinics. Today, the residents of Prosfygika speak different languages and come from distant geographical backgrounds, but they find themselves fighting for the survival of a community whose value extends far beyond the spaces they inhabit. The contribution of political refugees from revolutionary organizations of the diverse Turkish and Kurdish left has been important from the beginning and has shaped the community's political practices. Over twenty autonomous structures operate within the spaces, coordinated through a weekly plenary assembly, the hub of community life, where all collective decisions are discussed and made. Among the various structures are the children's structure, the women's structure (which is the only one with decision-making power equal to that of the plenary assembly), those coordinating the activities of a public space (the kiosk), the library and the cinema, the maintenance management structure, and a self-managed bakery. In recent years, a support structure has also been established for the families of patients from the nearby oncology hospital, who have access to apartments and beds within the squat.
All of this is now under attack, but it's not the first time. In the last 10 years alone, police have entered Prosfygika four times, one of which resulted in the arrest of 78 people in November 2022. In general, since the first apartments were occupied, more or less in a coordinated manner decades ago, threats of eviction have piled up. In the early 2000s, a number of squatters and residents waged a long resistance against attempted expropriations of several apartments, culminating in the complex being declared a Historic Monument. This made its demolition impossible, but did not protect residents from various redevelopment projects.
As in many other European cities and beyond, the threat of redevelopment is what is plaguing Prosfygika today. The Attica Region and the Ministry of Culture and Public Administration have signed a programmatic agreement for the eviction of the 400 residents and the redevelopment of four of the eight buildings in the complex, with funding from the European Union, to convert the structures into social housing and a hostel for the families of patients admitted to the nearby hospital. That these are two of the many activities already offered by Occupied Prosfygika, without the need for any public funding, has not escaped anyone's notice. The squatter community has noted in recent months that the Municipality of Athens owns at least 80,000 empty apartments in the city center alone, and that the squatters have not been consulted at all, nor have they been offered alternative solutions.
Since the beginning of 2026, Occupied Prosfygika has been in permanent mobilization. Open assemblies, sit-ins, demonstrations, and initiatives are held daily, while efforts are being made to expand the network of solidarity both locally and internationally. The occupiers' demands are very clear:
- the immediate revocation of the programmatic agreement by the Attica region;
- All residents of Prosfygika must be able to remain in their homes, in the complex, and in the neighborhood where they live and have built social, cultural, and vital ties;
- Concrete guarantees for the restoration of Prosfygika by the non-profit organization "Residents and Friends of Prosfygika by L. Alexandras" through its own self-financing;
- no public funding for the 'redevelopment' of Prosfygika"
Signaling the urgency of this struggle, comrade Aristotelis Chantzis, one of the long-standing members of Sy.Ka.Pro, began an indefinite hunger strike on February 5th. As of this writing, Aristos is on his 95th day of hunger strike, and another comrade, Suzon Doppagne, began on May 1st. This week is considered crucial by the occupiers, both due to Aristos' increasingly precarious conditions and as a time to extend the struggle to the European level. On May 16th, marking the 101st day of Aristos' strike, a large demonstration has been called in central Athens, while comrades across Europe are mobilizing throughout the coming days to create moments of solidarity with the Athenian experience. In Italy, the mobilization is ongoing, with groups of solidarity traveling to different experiences throughout the peninsula. They will be on the 12th to Burjana in Trieste, on the 13th at Spazio Autogestito 77 in Bolzano, on the 14th at the Faculty of Sociology in Trento, on the 15th at Aut Aut 357 in Genoa, on the 16th at TeatrOfficina Refugio in Livorno, on the 17th at Spazio Antagonista Newroz in Pisa, on the 24th at Iskra in Naples, on the 28th at Casa del Popolo Città Vecchia in Taranto, and on the 31st at the Urupia commune.
The existence of a project like Prosfygika Occupato doesn't just concern the people who compose it, but raises central questions about the development of the world we live in. "In a local and international context, where states, institutions, and people are transforming to face a dystopian horizon of globalized crises and conflicts, can our social experiments really succeed? And if so, how? With what social imagery and examples?" (Sykapro, 2026).
https://umanitanova.org/prosfygika-occupata-resistenza-a-oltranza-ad-atene/
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Source: A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
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