The fall of Athens?

It was tough when I first moved to Athens in 2007. Hot, no friends, no clue of where anything was. But eventually I got to know the city, and despite it being overrun by cars, it could be so fragrant... I remember most the scent of jasmine outside the Akropoli metro station, or the orange blossoms early in the new year.

But now... the only smell that leaves an impression is the stench of the mounting piles of garbage, the result of a too-long running strike by rubbish collectors.

Athens feels like what I imagine Saigon felt like when it fell. For the umpteenth time, the city was paralysed by a national strike today. Things kicked off around the parliament, not as violent as it has been, but still...

Afterwards, we walked to Omonia (see pic). The riot cops were ready to clamp down. In the pic, notice the junkies on the far right. The whole area is littered with these drugged out zombies. It was bad before, but not like this, where I'm always looking over my shoulder...

We met with a friend for a bite in the tourist district of Monastiraki. We ordered our food, but before it arrived, a wave of protestors. I went to look. Two young women with rudimentary masks (pic) hurried off somewhere. In the distance a pile of garbage burned. In the foreground, anxious protestors dressed mostly in black watching for the cops.

And the cops did not disappoint. They soon arrived on motorcycles, dressed in black armour, resembling Darth Vader, and scaring the bejesus out of people.

A crowd swarmed our outdoor dinner table, and forced their way inside our restaurant, they verged on panic.

Management lowered the restaurant's corrugated metal shutters. It was surreal. Here we were tucking into our meals, and here came the cops, concussion grenades and all. Stavroula started a coughing fit, the traces of tear gas tearing at her sensitive lungs.

Long story short, it's the shits here in Athens. We escaped to higher ground, and watched from just below the Acropolis, as flaming cardboard boxes ignited an awning belonging to a business. The black smoke wafting over the city of white. We could hear people shouting. I have to wonder whether anyone was listening.