A protest organized by squatted community occupiers of the historic Prosfygika complex and leftist activists briefly disrupted central Athens, forcing authorities to temporarily close Amalias Avenue near Syntagma Square.
The demonstration was held to show solidarity with Aristotelis Chatzis, an activist from the Prosfygika community who is currently on a long-term hunger strike. According to organizers, Chatzis’s health has reached a critical and life-threatening threshold. The protesters are demanding an end to the judicial and police crackdowns targeting the self-organized neighborhood on Alexandras Avenue.
The gathering highlights a sharp divide over the future of the 1930s-era apartment blocks, which were originally built to house Greek refugees from Asia Minor. For years, the complex has been heavily occupied by anarchist and leftist networks operating an autonomous neighborhood. Activists view Chatzis’s prosecution as part of a broader state effort to evict the community and clear the site.
The Prosfygika timeline: From refugee haven to ideological battleground
- 1933–1935: Built to house Asia Minor refugees following the 1922 population exchange. The complex contains a total of 228 apartments across eight blocks
- December 1944: Sustains heavy damage during the Dekemvriana clashes; bullet holes remain visible on the facades today.
- 2004: Declared protected architectural monuments after narrowly escaping demolition ahead of the Athens Olympics.
- 2026: The state initiates plans to convert the site into modern social housing, prompting local resistance and activist crackdowns.
Plan to turn Prosfygika to social housing
The demonstration comes amid the state’s rollout of a plan to turn the complex into a model social housing sector. Under the current initiative, the Bauhaus-inspired exteriors will be preserved, while the interiors will be fully modernized to provide subsidized apartments for low-income citizens and young couples struggling with rising city rents. The plan also includes public green spaces and a museum dedicated to the original refugee generation.
While urban planners present the project as a positive use of state property to address the modern housing crisis, the current occupiers view the state-led renovation as an eviction campaign aimed at dissolving their decades-old autonomous community.
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