from Occupied London, May 13th:
The second morning after is covered by the shroud of normality. Curious commuters on the streets, friends at the other end of the line, random people in shops tune their conversations to unveil it. “-How is Yiannis doing?” “-Still the same.” “-Will he make it?” “-We shall see.” People take turns in making and answering the questions, sharing the little they already know. A peculiar mantra, a chit-chat over life and death. A collective, irrational belief that makes so much sense right now: If we ask the question enough times, things might be ok.
…
Someone remarks: it’s like that movie, La Haine. Vinz and Saïd spend their hours waiting for news from their friend Abdel, who has fallen into a coma, hospitalized after a riot. Vinz and Saïd roar through the streets practising the idea of revenge, waiting. We, the anarchists, are not in that different a situation. “If only Yiannis doesn’t make it.” Yesterday’s demonstration was a collective “if only” flying through the city. Fists in the air, and for a moment, even a waiting moment, we seemed to grapple control.
But Athens in May has little cinematic about it. In the past two days the killer gangs have come out. They aren’t waiting. The 21-year old from Bangladesh is not waiting, he’s already dead. Last night, at the barricade defending Villa Amalias we encountered some of his friends. They had walked down from the Northern suburbs, chains and crowbars in hand, looking for his murderers. They aren’t waiting.
Will Yiannis make it? I can only hope so, with my whole heart. I have no god on which to lay any hope and no faith in any state justice either. Will he make it, will he not? Will we take revenge for him, for our 21-year old brother whose name they still conceal from us? Will we at least, and at last see that the other pole is grouping together — the packs of national unity, of racial purity, of peace-seeking lackeys? Will our time come? There is little of a comma to stop us and no punctuation mark to set down any affirmation of what will now happen. This is the time of the question marks. Will our own time come?
