‘Once again, we call for the realistic proposals of the Prosfygika residents’ community to be heard: proposals for a city for its residents, for ecology, collective memory and history, and the democracy of our societies,’ the assembly said.
Its statement reads:
‘The Prosfygika housing blocks on Alexandras Avenue are home to more than 400 people from 27 nationalities. For 16 years, they have operated as a self-organised community and as a de facto space of social housing, the only one of its kind in Greece.
‘They house families of persecuted people, refugees and migrants, more than 50 children, elderly people, people with physical and mental health conditions, former homeless people and people in addiction programmes. As a community, through hard work, we have managed to ensure that all residents are active and creative, according to the abilities of each and every one. We do not simply provide housing. We care for one another. Because in this neighbourhood, what unites us and makes us stronger is solidarity.
‘The Attica Region insists on ignoring this truth. It says it will carry out “population replacement” and relocate the residents of Prosfygika to “appropriate structures and accommodation”, while of course no such structures exist. Everyone knows that living conditions in state-run accommodation facilities are extremely problematic.
‘By contrast, the Prosfygika buildings have been repaired internally and are completely safe. Their structural adequacy has been judged by engineering experts to be entirely satisfactory. They offer safety and warmth, linked not only to the condition of the buildings but also to the life of solidarity that develops within them. Similarly, the Prosfygika buildings cannot be demolished, not because of your own grace or initiative, but because of decisions issued by the Ministry of Culture and the Council of State in 2003 and 2009.
‘“Return Prosfygika to society as spaces of social housing, dignity and solidarity”, the Region’s statement says, insisting on ignoring the fact that Prosfygika already belongs to society, already functions as social housing, and constitutes the very definition of dignified living and solidarity on multiple levels.
‘Residents not only care for one another and collectively look after our neighbourhood. Cultural, educational and all kinds of participatory creative activities, for young and old alike, also contribute to our socialisation, strengthen our dignity and safeguard our mental health. Children are monitored and supported in their schoolwork by members of the community and by teachers who support us and mediate contact between parents and teachers.
‘Our community, the Occupied Prosfygika community, cleared the area of drug dealers who, because of abandonment, had become entrenched there, an undertaking in which the neighbouring Attica General Police Directorate had failed. In addition, there is already a hospitality structure operating for patients of Agios Savvas hospital and their companions. Why does the Region want to abolish it and create another one of its own?
‘Mr Hardalias insists on dismantling an existing functioning reality in order supposedly to replace it with another, at great financial cost and with dubious results. He insists on ignoring international law, which stipulates that in listed settlements it is not only the shells of the buildings that are protected, but also the life that exists within them. Does he want to circumvent human rights?
‘The Region also states that “those of the residents who meet the conditions will have the opportunity to be housed in the renovated spaces”, without making any mention of what these conditions are. Why? Is it because what is being concealed is nothing less than the uprooting of residents, the replacement and movement of populations, and mass displacement reminiscent of other times and places?
‘Mr Hardalias said there would be consultation, but with pre-determined decisions. The Region’s entire announcement, a product of AI software, screams that the decisions have been made without any consultation whatsoever, which is contrary to the terms of funding through the National Strategic Reference Framework. There is no guarantee whatsoever for the community and no care for the people who have been trying for years to rebuild their lives in Prosfygika.
‘The redevelopment plans for the area are illegal and violate a number of fundamental and constitutionally guaranteed human rights, including:
‘the right to adequate housing,
‘the inviolability of the home,
‘the right to a fair and just trial,
‘the principle of equality and non-discrimination,
‘the right to human dignity and personal development,
‘the protection of the family and children.
‘The district’s redevelopment plans are full of irregularities.
‘The decision to restore only the first four apartment blocks and not the entire urban complex contradicts the approval decision of the Central Council for Modern Monuments dated 25 February 2019, as well as the relevant planning permit, 36956/2019, which refer to all eight apartment blocks and the surrounding area.
‘The old 2019 study by Anaplasis SA, on the basis of which the restoration work will be carried out, bypasses fundamental principles of the current provisions of Greek law, as well as international conventions. It provides for large-scale construction work that will completely alter the historical character of the Prosfygika apartment blocks. Nothing will remain to recall the age of the buildings and their historical course over the years. The planned extensive interventions will cancel and permanently erase their invaluable symbolic and historical value for the collective memory of the residents of Athens, which is precisely why they were deemed worthy of preservation.
‘Specifically, the Region’s redevelopment plan provides for:
‘a) the removal of all old coatings, both externally and internally, regardless of their condition;
‘b) the installation of new reinforced modern coatings, which will not be compatible with the old ones, as expressly required by the relevant legislation, KADET 2022;
‘c) the removal of most of the roof slabs, which means removing the laundry rooms and auxiliary spaces located on the terraces, as well as all the perimeter roof parapets, in order to re-concrete these slabs;
‘d) the disappearance of all traces of the bullets and shells from the street battles of December 1944, which are found on various facades of the apartment blocks, keeping only, as a sample, those found on the side facade of the first complex on Alexandras Avenue;
‘e) the inclusion of the buildings in importance category III/B1, a higher category than that corresponding to the use of the buildings as residences.
‘Mr Hardalias,
‘Aristotelis Chantzis, who has been on hunger strike since 5 February 2026, is not saved by your prayers. Nor is the second hunger striker, Suzon Doppagne, who has been on hunger strike to the death since 1 May 2026. The revocation of the decision approving the conclusion of the programme agreement is what will give life to both him, whose life now hangs by a thread and whose health has already been seriously damaged, and to Suzon Doppagne and the hunger strikers who will immediately follow, as well as to the most vulnerable Prosfygika residents, who risk dying if you proceed with the evacuation of the neighbourhood.
‘The children risk losing the ground beneath their feet once again. Let us be serious. The Ministry of Health, a key contracting party, has withdrawn. The draft agreement refers to the neighbourhood as if it were empty, while you know, and now acknowledge, that it has been inhabited for years. The redevelopment plan ignores laws and international conventions. Associations, clubs, important scientists, intellectuals and people of culture are calling on you to back down.
‘Amnesty International issued a statement calling on you “to freeze all plans that will lead to the eviction of the “Squatted Prosfygika Community”, until the legal and procedural safeguards defined by international human rights standards are established. […] To examine with urgency and sensitivity the situation and the demands of Aristotelis Chantzis and the community, and to take action to ensure compliance with international human rights standards.”
‘Once again, we call for the realistic proposals of the Prosfygika residents’ community to be heard: proposals for a city for its residents, for ecology, collective memory and history, and the democracy of our societies.
‘Once again, we call for the immediate revocation of decision no 864/2025 of the Regional Committee, which approved the conclusion of the programme agreement. Before it is too late.’
The statement is signed by the Assembly of the Occupied Prosfygika.
______________________________________________
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.