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The two most important days for me in the protests were June 28 and June 29. We had a big concert on June 28, and I remember the police started pelting us with tear gas even though the square was full of people who would have never been in Syntagma if it hadn't been for the concert. They were totally unprepared to deal with tear gas. There were elderly people there and people with children. I thought it was inhuman, what the police did. The next day, on June 29, the police just blanketed us with tear gas. They even threw tear gas at first-aid workers who were trying to help people who were having breathing problems because of the tear gas. It was just disgusting and infuriating. I was ashamed and saddened to see something like this in my country.
On June 28, right before the concert, the police had already thrown tear gas. So we formed a human chain, and many of us tried to clean up the square to get rid of the remains of the tear gas. We all worked together. We didn't know each other, yet we all worked together. I've never felt so warm and connected to other people in my whole life in Athens. There was this strong group of thousands of people who wanted to work to make our gathering peaceful and meaningful. And even though we were already full of tear gas ourselves, we worked together to clean up that square so the concert could go on. And it did.
I made so many good friends at Syntagma. Friends I will have my own life. We believe in the same things and have the same morals and ideas about the world. Many of us cleaned up our lives — we had to let go of people who were keeping us back or had become closed-minded or who couldn't open up to change. I had to leave superficial relationships behind because they no longer made sense to me.
When we believe in something and we really want to make something happen, we can make it happen, even if we don't know exactly how to do it. I learned to trust patience, that patience and discipline can really make things happen. And above all, after living so many years in a culture where people don't trust each other, I realized that, yes, you can trust people. They will have your back, as you will have theirs.
I was never scared for myself. I am a risk taker, and I'm not afraid of anything. I've been in front of fights with police and protesters and taking photos and not worried that maybe the police would arrest me or beat me up. Even on June 29, when the tear gas was so bad, I didn't leave out of fear but out of exhaustion and an inability to leave. Antonis was trying to drag me out of there, but I wanted to stay.
But then, on Oct. 28, some of us showed up at a march that memorializes the day Greece refused to let Mussolini's troops into the country. It's called Okhi Day [okhi means "no" in Greek], but we wanted to remind the powers that be that we wanted to say no to austerity. We were adamant but definitely not violent. Then a few fascist punks showed up and started beating up immigrants who were selling flags. It was disgusting. Antonis defended one of the Bangladeshi men, and as a result, the thugs attacked him. He was beaten badly enough to require stitches. I may have never been scared for myself, but when he got hurt, I was scared because I love him.