In the heart of Athens, things are falling apart. The streets and smaller squares surrounding Omonia Square at the city’s center are becoming no-go areas for law-abiding citizens, as rival gangs clash over control of drug and prostitution rackets. Shopkeepers live in fear of crime, even as revenues shrink because customers move away. With suburban malls just now becoming the fashion in Athens, the city’s center was already threatened as a commercial district. But it was still attractive in terms of providing homes with a good location at affordable prices, as well as attracting people interested in trendy offices and edgy bars. There was just enough color and multiculturalism to make things interesting, breaking the monotony of the rest of the city.

But nature loathes a vacuum and where the city fathers turned their backs, the criminal element took over. Now the immigrants – legal and illegal – living in the area have no choice but to take sides and live according to gang rules. All this around City Hall and within two kilometers of the Acropolis, that beacon of enlightenment and human liberty that the Greeks never tire of bragging about.

Today, longtime residents and shopkeepers, and those who invested in the area when it looked as if it were on the way toward revival, have seen their hopes dashed. Many are thinking of leaving, which will speed up the area’s further decline. Municipal officials and the police are talking about taking back the center by showing a greater presence. This is a step in the right direction but it may be too little too late. Because police work is not enough: When the criminals have invested in the area and have placed its people under their control, they will find ways to avoid the patrols by simply moving their activities underground. The fact that the drug and sex rackets are completely in the open points to the patent failure of the authorities but does not mean that if they were not as evident things would be better.

The problems go deeper. One of the root causes of trouble is the inadequate handling of migrants. They receive nothing close to the minimum rights that they are entitled to and so, being outside the social order, fulfill no obligations and, at the same time, fall prey to organized gangs who provide them with work and protection in return for their participation in criminal activities. If the migrants had somewhere to turn for aid and protection they would not become footsoldiers in the wars of others. Also, the lackadaisical attitude of the police, who have left migrants to exploit migrants, is yet another manifestation of malevolent neglect that passes for policy in Greece. In this way, people are left outside of society so they get the message that they should not expect any benefits or any protection here – that they would do well to just keep moving.

But society does not work on an a la carte basis – being there for some and not for others. When some people are excluded, there is no protection, no benefit, no life worth living for anyone. In short, society collapses and the black hole keeps growing until nothing can stop it. The only way to stop the decline is to offer protection to those who live and work in the center, to come down hard on crime and to slowly build up areas where people can live, work and play in safety. This will push back the borders of anarchy and bring more people and commerce back.

13-06-2008	20-06-2008	27-06-2008

04-07-2008	11-07-2008	18-07-2008

25-07-2008	01-08-2008	08-08-2008

15-08-2008	22-08-2008	29-08-2008

05-09-2008