In late November 2010, returning to work after lunch, I noticed a small crowd protesting in Platia Vathis, a run-down square in central Athens. As I came close, I saw Greek flags and banners reading “we want our neighbourhood back” and “no to the islamisation of Greece”; but I also noticed that the thin crowd of locals that chanted feebly in the middle of the square was surrounded by beefy men with shaved heads, standing at regular intervals and facing out towards onlookers.
This was Golden Dawn spreading its hateful gospel in the streets of Athens, barely a couple of weeks after its performance in municipal elections had secured a seat in the Athens City Council for its leader, Nikos Michaloliakos. Protests organised in a similar pattern that had been going on for over a year intensified.
Committees of “indignant residents” were organised, with Golden Dawn members posing as locals supposedly threatened by uncontrolled immigration. Golden Dawn thugs occupied central squares and declared them “immigrant-free”, chasing down and abusing immigrants and busting up their shops.
