Common struggle of Greeks and Immigrants

The Political and Cultural Two-day Festival of Greek and Immigrant Workers, which was organized by the Attica Party Organization of the KKE in “Fix” Park in Patissia, was successfully concluded. Thousands of people, locals and foreigners, visited the park, expressing in practice the slogan of the festival “Common enemy, common struggle, solidarity is our weapon”.

The climax of the festival was the political rally on Saturday night, where Nikos Sofianos, member of the PB of the CC of the KKE and a councillor of the municipality of Athens, spoke and stressed the following, amongst other things:

“ The mass participation, the success of the Festival for Greek and immigrant workers this year demonstrates that the path of class solidarity and unity is strengthening, the political position is being strengthened that in the face of the common problems, the common opponent, there must be a common response. The dominant political line, the system, ghettoieses the immigrant, uses him to reduce even further the price of labour power, to disorientate the people from the real problems. It provokes, through imperialist wars, waves of refugees and afterwards blames these persecuted people for the consequences of their crowding in the countries which have received them.

We address a common call to Greek and immigrant workers. We live together in the neighbourhoods of the capital, our children play and go to school together. We jointly face the savage assault of the government-EU which foists the burden of the crisis on the majority of the people. Unemployment, the harsh wage reductions and the assault on what has remained of social policies, make no distinctions between the Greek and immigrant worker.

Now we must more decisively and unwaveringly forge class unity in the workplaces and neighbourhoods, the organization in the trade unions and associations.

There is no time for delays, illusions, and inhibitions. Now the strength of the people must become apparent, the strength that it acquires when it marches with the KKE, wit its political line for the overthrow of the system, with its line of rupture. Now the class-oriented movement, PAME, must be even further strengthened. Now we need an even more robust movement of the working class with the determining vanguard role of PAME, which will fight for the salvation of the popular family.”

During the festival various discussions were held, e.g. concerning the immigration policies of the capitalists in the period of the crisis, the problems of Greeks and immigrants in Athens, the proposal of the KKE, concerning the situation in the kindergartens and the problems of Greek and immigrant children etc.

During the festival there was a musical programme, a children’s playground, as well as stalls from the immigrant communities and a book fair. The All-workers Militant Front (PAME), class-oriented trade unions (such as the construction workers, carpenters, textile workers, cleaners), MAS, OGE, EEDYE, EEDDA, the “Democratic Rally for the People’s Freedoms and Solidarity” etc had their own stalls.

5/7/2011