Students. Pensioners. People with balloons in their hands, with flowers, with children, in costumes, in sports. Grandmother with grandson. A woman in a wheelchair. Representatives of the workers’ unions “Evangelism”, the railway, the women’s federation. Yesterday at noon everyone was center of Athensin a march that drew over 60,000 people for her Tempe tragedy, and not only. It was a protest not only against the current government, but also against the system as a whole.

“SYRIZA, PASOK, New Democracy, this crime has a history,” they said. “No more pain, no more blood and no more dead, we fight for ourselves, we fight for them,” they shouted. “It’s an eternal theme” 52-year-old Natasha declares “K”.“those who have ruled us in recent years are not doing what they should be doing, because they don’t give a damn about us, all politicians are responsible,” he emphasizes.

“To hide behind”

“It’s the least we can do” Thalia, 31, says, whose friend came to the procession with a child, “to protest against everything that is happening.” “Responsibility is eternal” says 71 year old George, “politics and politicians – what happened is terrible, we are here so that it is not hidden.” “I’m here for the Tempe crime because it named the perpetrators, not just the stationmasters” About this “K” reports 74-year-old Dimitris.. He has three grandchildren: “I thought that if they were on the train, they would have met the same fate.” The road, the walls, the shutters down, everything had become part of the course yesterday. “This is not an accident, this is murder, our lives matter,” reads a banner in Rex.

The voices addressed to Omonia are colored with anger, but the eternal feeling of betrayal by the “state and the system” seems even stronger. “There is enormous pressure from the political system in the world,” says 46-year-old Yakovos “K”.. “Cross-system changes are needed,” says Jonathan, who has lived in Greece for many years, “they need to take charge.”

Many protesters told K about the “eternal problem.”

“Enough is enough”

People come to Omonia Square from all over. From the university, September 3, Piraeus. “The glass is overflowing,” ASOEE students report, “politics is costing them their lives.”

On the sidewalks, homeless people watch as protesters crowd in front of them. At the university, someone is selling pretzels and donuts. In Klatmonos he plays “Smoke Dream”. In Stadiou, a monument to the victims of Marfin was desecrated. In front of the old parliament, a man waves a flag. Some people drink coffee. Some are holding empty beer bottles in their hands, wearing masks and gloves. Many begin to feel that the attacks are about to break out. However, most of the world is not here for them.

“We have come to protest peacefully, for the children of Tempi and for what should have been done and not done by every government,” says 21 year old George. “So that they are not forgotten and banned, as is usually the case,” 22-year-old Leda tells K.

In Syntagma, despite the relative silence, tension is felt. Everyone is waiting for the first step. Hooded they throw stones and Molotov cocktails at the police. Flares, chemicals and tear gas fall. In Athens, according to sources from the Ministry of Citizens’ Protection, the police made 26 arrests and 15 arrests.

Meetings in all major cities

Mass strike rallies took place across the country yesterday, many comparing them to the big protests against the 2010-2012 memorandum. In Thessaloniki, demonstrators gathered at the statue of Venizelos, at the junction of Egnatia and Aristotle’s Square, the organizers spoke of 20-30 thousand people. He then proceeded to the Thessaloniki railway station, where minor incidents occurred. After the evening march, incidents also broke out between the hooded rioters and the MAT. The march in Patras is characterized as very large-scale, more than 10,000 people took part in it. In Larisa, too, a large rally was held, which filled the “vast” central square. In Heraklion on Crete, Eleftheria Square was filled with residents of all ages, and in Chania the municipal marketplace was filled. In Ioannina, the central square was filled with people and, according to social media posts, resembled a mass demonstration against the Giannica insurance law. It is estimated that more than 2,000 people gathered in Lamia.