In Athens, the student rally is scheduled for 12:00 at the Propylaea under the slogan: ‘Three years since the crime in Tempi, we do not forget, we do not forgive. Either their profits or our lives.’

The Athens Student Coordinating Committee (SEMA) issued the following announcement:

‘28 February marks three years since the “foretold” crime of Tempi.

‘Students do not forget the 57 dead of Tempi.

‘We keep our promise, we become the voice of all the dead, this crime will not be covered up.

‘We do not forgive those responsible: the state, the government, the EU directives governing the railways and the parties that support them, and Hellenic Train.

‘Students from schools across Attica are taking to the streets, because our slogan, “their profits or our lives”, is confirmed by our lives today.

‘Why does the politics that measure our lives and needs in euros remain in place? The politics of profit that turn our lives into “valleys of Tempi”?

‘This is what the 45 deaths in Spain from train derailments showed us, the boiler fire in Perama that almost burned down half of Attica, the woman who died in Glyfada during flooding, and the workers (from the biscuit factory) in Trikala who never returned home after work. This is what our daily lives at school show us: ceilings and light fittings falling on our heads; classrooms flooding with the first rain; schools closing in bad weather because there are no protective measures.

‘We have no trust in a state that chooses not to protect our lives, because it prefers to spend millions on war. We have no trust in a government that chooses to give money to industrialists and bankers, free fuel to shipowners, and leave us freezing in our homes and classrooms. We have no trust in a European Union that knows how to issue instructions to further reduce funding for safe transport, and increase funding for routes that carry military equipment.

‘We do not trust them because governments, the state and the EU make our school worse each year, turning it into a stressful testing centre. They are responsible for schools operating with shortages and gaps, without measures for our safety.

‘Now they want to make school even more unbearable by introducing the national baccalaureate, meaning panhellenic-style examinations in every year of upper secondary school, in all subjects, with a “question bank”.

‘Those who talk about “dialogues” should listen carefully to students. The national baccalaureate will remain on paper.

‘We do not want the national baccalaureate, because it separates us even more based on our families’ ability to pay for private tuition from primary school onwards. We do not want our dream of studying at the school we choose to be measured in euros. This is unjust.

‘We do not want our school years to be about rote learning, stress and exams. It is bad enough that we already run from morning until night to tutoring, without free time even to go for a walk with friends. With the national baccalaureate they will burden us with even more stress and even more running, turning school into an examination centre, while forcing our families to pay huge amounts for private tuition. In other words: pay, or there is no high school diploma.

‘We have made a promise: we will not stop fighting until our demands and our dreams are justified.

‘It is right today to put a “blockade” on the politics of profit. It is right to live as we deserve in the 21st century: not to have our families crushed by endless hours of work; not to limit our needs to the limits of wages or pocket money.

‘It is right to demand the school we deserve: a creative school, not an examination centre, with activities, excursions and modern books that you should not be deprived of even if your parents have no money.

‘Now we are strengthening our fight for our lives and our future. This is the greatest honour for the dead of Tempi.

‘We call on school councils to meet, to organise school assemblies and class briefings. In every way, students should discuss and proceed to:

‘Closed schools with two-day sit-ins on 26 and 27 February.

‘26 February, 12:00: student rally at the Propylaea.

‘28 February: we participate in workers’ rallies.

‘We demand:

‘All criminal and political responsibilities should be attributed to all perpetrators, no matter how high-ranking: the state, governments, ministers and companies.

‘No more Tempi, no more crimes because they count our lives and safety as a cost.

‘They should not even think about bringing in the national baccalaureate.’

Participation by student associations

Twenty student associations in Athens have already decided to participate, including Philosophy, the Athens University of Economics and Business (ASOEE), Mathematics, Physics, Law and the National Technical University of Athens. Students are also expected to attend the main rally in Syntagma organised by trade unions and the Association of Relatives of Tempi Victims.

In its statement, the Student Struggle Front (MAS) called for mass participation, demanding that criminal and political responsibilities be assigned to all those responsible, regardless of position. It called for safe, public transport, measures for health and safety at work, the repeal of what it described as anti-worker legislation including 13-hour workdays, and wage increases.

Rallies across Greece

Student and pupil rallies are being held in dozens of cities. Listed meeting points include:

  • Thessaloniki: 12:00, Venizelos statue

  • Patras: 11:00, Georgiou Square

  • Larissa: 12:00, Central Square

  • Heraklion: 10:30, Eleftherias Square

  • Ioannina: 12:00, Labour Centre

  • Volos: 12:00, University Dome

  • Kavala: 12:00, Kapnergati Square

  • Komotini: 13:00, Central Square

  • Chania: 10:00, Municipal Market Square

Rallies have also been announced in Agrinio, Alexandroupoli, Veria, Drama, Kalamata, Karditsa, Katerini, Corfu, Kozani, Mytilene, Xanthi, Rethymno, Rhodes, Serres, Trikala, Florina, Chios and other cities.

______________________________________________

Are you seeking news from Greece presented from a progressive, non-mainstream perspective? Subscribe monthly or annually to support TPP International in delivering independent reporting in English. Don’t let Greek progressive voices fade.

Make sure to reference “TPP International” and your order number as the reason for payment.