I wrote this for my continuing efforts to expose human rights issues on my other blog THIS IS NOT MY COUNTRY. I thought some of you might be interested...

THE VISIT

A short walk from the spectacularly wasted arts complex at Gazi, a hop skip and a jump from the trendy bars down those back streets, is a place I can guarantee you have never been to and probably do not know it exists. It is a Roma settlement in the centre of Athens. After the trendy bars, you cross the train tracks (the wrong side of the tracks sprang to mind) Suddenly the road becomes dusty. There are no pavements. Dogs jump suddenly out of alleyways and bark at you until you make friends (which I did a couple of times and they became my faithful companion for about ten feet). Hidden behind a warehouse is a dirt track that leads to hell. This is the entrance to the settlement. I visited Soweto township in South Africa, many years ago and I can honestly say, this place is worse. I am ashamed and appalled that this Europe I live in allows this hell to exist within the shadow of the sparkling Olympic developments. At some point, in the near future, this wasteland is set to become a new sports complex and park but for now it is a rubbish dump that people are trying to live on. Once the evictions happen, they will be forced to move on. Probably to an equally disgusting place, somewhere as hidden and forgotten about as this one.

I posted this before as a rant by mistake. It was just a question.Black History month kind of came and went. I'm not sure why?

Chances are...

if you have ever seen that look of barely hidden shock when you walk into a room
if you have ever seen that look of fear and a clutching tighter of bags as you pass
if you have ever been asked by total strangers if they can touch your hair
if you have ever been asked if you are the same "down there"
if you have ever been told you are quite clever for a _ fill in the blank
if you have ever felt the eyes following you around every shop
if you have been at the front of the queue and had others served over your head
if you have ever seen the eyes glaze over when you mentioned the dreaded word "race"

When I was growing up (a black girl in a very white world I might add), it was common for people to call the chinese takeaway "the chinky", the corner shop was the "paki shop" and black people were "nignogs" and "darkies". If you were lucky and very very good, you might be referred to as "the coloured gentleman". While some people today in Britain might find it acceptable to continue with these derogatory terms, most find it abhorrent. If you have ever been on the receiving end of this kind of language you would understand fully why the situation had to change. The saying when I was growing up was:

Inspired by "my biggest fan" (sarcasm required)

From V for Vendetta

It does not do to rely too much on silent majorities, for silence is a fragile thing.
one loud noise and it's gone.
Noise is relative to the silence preceding it. The more absolute the hush, the more shocking the thunderclap.
Our masters have not heard the people's voice for generations...
and it is much, much louder than they care to remember.

We have to listen.
To the poor, quiet
non-existent voices
of people who have no way to vent

What do we lose
to spend a moment
to tune in and really hear
WHAT IS BEING SAID

I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IT IS LIKE TO BE POOR.
I came here to Greece from a wealthy European country. I came here through choice. I came with money to support myself. I was not leaving England due to unemployment. I came here of my own free will, in search of adventure, to discover something different, to experience life in another country. I have had the pleasure of working in my professional field here. I have never had to take a low paid menial job without insurance. I am privileged

I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IT IS LIKE TO LIVE UNDER PERSECUTION.
I did not flee England fearing for my life or for the lives of my children. I have never lived in a war-zone. I have never been attacked because of my religion, my beliefs or my ideas. I do not know what it is like to lose family members or limbs or my sanity because of war, bombings, massacres or ethnic cleansing.