Washing hangs from the balconies of an unassuming apartment block on Irodotou street in Heraklion, the capital of Crete. Outside, children ride bikes and old men play cards in a coffee shop. But before May this year, this building looked rather different. A sign hung outside reading: “Golden Dawn, Heraklion region”. The ultra-nationalist, far-right Greek party used this street as its local base.
It was local teachers who first spotted its influence. “Two of my 13-year-old students had family problems,” recalls Maria Oikonomaki, 50. “Golden Dawn approached them in cafes and the gym, presenting themselves as family and protectors. They took them for coffee and gave them lessons on Greek history.”
Then came the violence, including the stabbing of two Pakistani workers. “I thought to myself: ‘My god, what is happening in this neighbourhood?’” says Oikonomaki.
Despite the attacks, Golden Dawn might have kept its foothold in Heraklion – or dug in deeper – had the city’s residents not decided to fight back.
Golden Dawn was formed in 1980 and remained a fringe party until Greece’s devastating financial crisis started in 2009. As faith in the major political parties ebbed away, Golden Dawn’s narrative of a once-great nation ruined by immigration struck a chord with some disillusioned voters. As well as becoming the third-largest party in the Greek parliament, it also established a street-based paramilitary wing that regularly attacked immigrants and political opponents.
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