On a warm evening in August this year, in the quiet residential neighbourhood of Kesariani, in the Greek capital, Athens, several hundred young people gathered in front of a stage as a band fine-tuned their instruments. At first glance, there was little unusual about the scene, but this was not an ordinary concert.

Above the drinks stand, where 20-somethings wearing black waited for their beers, the flag of the anarchist movement swung between two pine trees. Behind the stage, a banner urged the audience, in bold letters, to take up arms against the state.

Soup kitchen activists deliver food to a poor area of Athens
Soup kitchen activists deliver food to a poor area of Athens

“When confronted by tyranny,” it read, “people choose between chains and guns.”

The atmosphere hovered somewhere between festive and threatening.

“Don’t take photographs of anyone’s faces,” warned one bystander. “They do not like the press.”

“Our passion for freedom is stronger than any prison bars,” chanted the crowd, as the band screamed heavy metal rage into the night air. Continue reading “Inside Greece’s resurgent anarchist movement”