Back in 1973, on 14th of Nov students at the Athens Polytechnic went on strike and started protesting against the military regime. As the authorities stood by, the students, calling themselves the "Free Besieged", barricaded themselves in and constructed a radio station (using laboratory equipment) that repeatedly broadcast across Athens: "Here is Polytechneion! People of Greece, the Polytechnic is the flag bearer of our struggle and your struggle, our common struggle against the dictatorship and for democracy!". Soon thousands of workers and youngsters joined them protesting inside and outside of the "Athens Polytechnic".
There for on 17th of Nov commemorative services are held and students attend school only for these, while some schools and all universities stay closed during the day. The central location for the commemoration is the campus of the Polytechnic. Students and politicians lay wreaths on a monument within the Polytechnic on which the names of Polytechnic students killed during the Greek Resistance in the 1940s are inscribed. The commemoration day ends traditionally with a demonstration that begins from the campus of the Polytechnic and ends at the United States embassy.
This year 12ooo students participated in demonstrations, in the same time they are giving honor to all people who were killed 36 years ago, but also protesting because there are still so many things they wanna change now (like decrease scholarships :D)
As a security measure, in the city was 6ooo Policeman all the way around, and yeah they were busy and forced to trow tear-gas to group of anarchistic demonstrators in order to prevent massive fights. In total few policemen were injured, and 12 people were arrested.
Pretty intensive experience for the very first day in new city.
Tanja & me, in media res...
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