Well, I’m back in cold and wet Seattle now! I flew in from Athens to Portland, Oregon last Friday and went straight for the coast to attend the birthday party of a very dear friend. I have to admit, there is a certain cachet in dropping into a weekend beach party direct from Athens … it’s kind of fun to cause a little buzz among your friends by being a bit of a globe trotter. Anyway, suffice to say that it has taken me a couple of days to settle down and I am now feeling a bit more stable and able to dig into what’s next.
As most of you know, this was my third trip to Athens for the December 6th anniversary of the death of Alexi Grigoropoulos and Athens had a very different feel this year … on the surface everything seems normal: the streets are decorated for the holidays, people sitting and talking in cafes and traffic is insane. However, to me there was a subdued and slightly apprehensive tone underlying everything, as if on a sunny day there are some dark clouds out on the horizon and you are not quite sure if you are going to have to pack up your picnic and run for it; or not.
In past years, the December 6th anniversary has been a pretty big event with major demonstrations that end in violent clashes with the police. This year, the demonstrations were much smaller and the police purposely stayed well back which gave the more extreme factions few targets to vent their wrath on.
I will cover more of this dynamic and my personal take on the background of what is happening in Greece in the final publication.
And on that note, I am preparing an email blast to go out in a little bit with an update on the project as to where things stand and what the next steps are. If you are not already subscribed, click here to subscribe to the mailing list …
All the photos, writing and links to other material from Athens will come out in a single “magazine” style package towards the end of next month. Stay tuned here for the link, or join the mailing list and get the info directly!
A protestor hurls a stone at police in front of the parliament building in Athens, Greece on December 6th, 2011.
