Prosfygika of Alexandras avenue
Προσφυγικά Λεωφόρου Αλεξάνδρας
The Prosfygika as seen from the Alexandras avenue
General information
LocationAmpelokipoi, Athens
Coordinates37°59′19″N 23°45′16″E / 37.98861°N 23.75444°E / 37.98861; 23.75444

The Prosfygika of Alexandras avenue (Greek: Προσφυγικά Λεωφόρου Αλεξάνδρας), or simply Prosfygika, are a neighborhood and set of housing blocks located in Athens, in the area of Ampelokipoi along Alexandras Avenue. They were originally built to house Greek refugees from the Greco-Turkish War of 1919-1922, taking their name from their original purpose (πρόσφυγας, prosfygas, is the Greek word for refugee). Today they have been assigned the status of a preserved building by the Greek government. Besides regular tenants, a large part of the buildings currently houses squats and social solidarity initiatives.

Location

Prosfygika are located on the north side of Alexandras avenue at the height of 165-169 and consists of 8 rectangle-shaped apartment buildings with their long side parallel to the avenue, with a total of 228 apartments, several of which are inhabited.

History

The purpose of the housing blocks of Prosfygika was to accommodate some of the large number of refugees from Asia Minor after Greece's defeat in the Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922. The original plan was for them to be built on the southern side of the Alexandras avenue. However, due to a conflict with Panathinaikos fans, who had been trying to use this space for the construction of the club's field, the location of the refugees' residencies to be created, was transferred to the northern side of the avenue.[1]

The residencies were finally built during the years 1933–1935, with the architect Kimon Laskaris and the civil engineer Dimitris Kyriakou being in charge of the construction.[2]

During the Dekemvriana conflict in 1944, after the liberation of Greece from the Axis forces, the neighborhood was the site of clashes between EAM-ELAS and the British and Greek government forces. Bullet holes on the walls of the houses from these clashes still remain visible.[1]

In 2009 the Central Archaeological Council declared the housing blocks of Prosfygika as buildings to be preserved due to their historical, cultural, socio-political and architectural value.[2]

Social movements

In 2011, the need for political action in the Prosfygika community and their abandonment by the government led to the emergence of the Open Assembly of Struggle of the Prosfygika Community and of People in Solidarity and the Assembly of Occupied Prosfygika, who occupied the buildings creating structures of collective bakeries, collective kitchens, a children's shelter, a structure for self-education as well as health structures.[3] In November 2022, police raids tried to evict the squatters from the Prosfygika,[4] leading to 79 arrests (of which one was released, being a reporter who was covering the event).[5]

Further reading

References

  1. 1 2 ΧΡΟΝΟΥ, ΜΗΧΑΝΗ ΤΟΥ (2014-03-15). "Τα προσφυγικά της Λεωφόρου Αλεξάνδρας και η σύγκρουση των προσφύγων με τους φιλάθλους του Παναθηναϊκού. Η ομάδα είχε ξοδέψει πολλά για να κάνει γήπεδο το βοσκοτόπι". ΜΗΧΑΝΗ ΤΟΥ ΧΡΟΝΟΥ (in Greek). Retrieved 2023-10-14.
  2. 1 2 "Προσφυγικά λεωφόρου Αλεξάνδρας: Ένα "γαλατικό χωριό" στην καρδιά της πόλης". Newsbeast (in Greek). 2022-11-27. Retrieved 2023-10-14.
  3. ↑ Plevria, Souzana (2019-10-04). "Τα Προσφυγικά της Λεωφόρου Αλεξάνδρας". Αθηνοδρόμιο (in Greek). Retrieved 2021-05-03.
  4. ↑ "Οργιο βίας, συλλήψεων και καταστολής στα Προσφυγικά". ΕΦΣΥΝ (in Greek). 2022-11-23. Retrieved 2023-10-14.
  5. ↑ Αριστερά, Συνάντηση για μία Αντικαπιταλιστική Διεθνιστική (2022-11-27). "Για την επίθεση στα Προσφυγικά". Αναμέτρηση - οργάνωση για μια νέα κομμουνιστική αριστερά (in Greek). Retrieved 2023-10-14.
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