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Greek_JulAug 2/9/12 5:14 PM Page 19 The chemical attacks escalated and medical personnel finally decided around 5:30 p.m. that they had to evacuate the first aid station since they felt that the lives of their patients would be at risk if they stayed one minute longer. The police had also shut down central Athens to traffic and denied ambulance access, even when directly requested by Dr. Vasilis Kafetsopoulos, a medical volunteer who phoned the Athens police chief from Syntagma Square several times that afternoon, urgently requesting ambulance access to transfer patients to the hospital. Kafetsopoulos' pleas fell on deaf ears, and medical volunteers had no choice but to carry patients by hand to the nearest subway station, where the Greek Red Cross has set up a triage room, and transport them to the hospital by Metro. Even the evacuation, however, was conducted in the middle of a war zone. Medical workers could barely see and were struggling to breathe. As they carried the patients, with at least seven to 10 people with serious casualties, riot police starting throwing rocks at the legs of the Greek Red Cross men bearing the From left: Greek riot police start launching stretchers. "The riot tear gas outside of Parliament; first aid police who threw rocks personnel carry an unconscious protestor at personnel bearing on a stretcher into a makeshift medical the stretcher of an station inside the subway system. injured person should be under psychiatric treatment," said Kiriakou. "This has nothing to do with politics. I have three children and grandchildren. How do you think I feel about their future in such a community? Even in the heat of battle during war, no one comes to attack medical personnel or the injured!" But even the Metro station was no safe haven; police continued to throw chemical agents down the subway stairwell. Despite these attacks, the medical volunteers and the Greek Red Cross treated 700 people and transferred 100 patients to the hospital by Metro. In the evening, about 20 nurses and 20 doctors of all ages arrived to help out, bringing medications. Together, they worked to care for the injured until the last train departed Syntagma Square at midnight. When the nurses and doctors returned to the square the next morning, they found the first aid station destroyed. "We do not let anyone force us to abandon our medical center," said Kiriakou, "so we got it up and running again straight away, for the sake of our dignity, to breathe again, and to dream again for the future of our children." Police violence at public rallies is not an unusual occurrence in Greece. At previous demonstrations in February, May, and early June, riot police attacked demonstrators, bystanders, and journalists with batons, tear gas, and stun grenades. Amnesty International has issued multiple statements condemning the violent conduct of Greek police in recent years. "Amnesty DECEMBER 2011 International, on various occasions, has raised concerns over repeated and credible allegations of excessive use of force by the police and prevailing impunity in the context of police ill-treatment," read one statement in response to police actions on June 15. "The organization has therefore called for the establishment of an independent and effective police complaints mechanism to investigate all allegations of human rights violations by the police. Moreover, Amnesty International reiterates its call to the Greek authorities to address the longstanding systemic problems of policing and the failure of law enforcement officials to comply with international human rights standards." Fortunately, there were no fatalities, which observers attribute to the organization of the Syntagma Square first aid station volunteers and the Athens Metro for inviting the Greek Red Cross to set up a medical room inside Syntagma Square station. Though first responder medical care is clearly desperately needed during these Greek protests, on July 31, police evicted the entire Syntagma Square camp in a 4 a.m. raid, confiscating tents and equipment, including the first aid station. The Ministry of Justice followed this up with an announcement on Aug. 10 that plastic bullets, water cannons, and dogs will be introduced to policing future demonstrations. In the wake of these proposed measures, Greek medical personnel now fear that protestors will be at risk of serious injury or even death. Sir Hugh Orde, who deployed plastic bullets and water cannons against protesters when he was chief constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, warned against the use of plastic or rubber bullets in an Aug. 9 article in The Guardian. Police are supposed to fire at a person's legs, but 17 people, eight of them children, have been killed since 1969 with rubber or plastic bullets. But the chemical gas, clubs, and rocks have not driven demonstrators off the streets or intimidated the population. The Greek people have continued to protest through fall and into winter, staging the latest general strike on Dec. 1. Manias, Kiriakou, and other nurses, doctors, first aid, and Red Cross personnel met again at Syntagma Square on Aug. 24, resolving to reestablish the first aid station for the fall. They have consistently been providing medical care at demonstrations throughout the fall and into winter, a very difficult task, given that tents and equipment are not allowed since the eviction of the Syntagma Square protest camp in July. Meanwhile, nursing staff working in Greece's NHS are dealing with a rapidly worsening situation as severe budget cuts and staff shortages take effect. Registered nurse Maria Papadopoulos, who works at a public hospital in central Athens, said that "drastic shortages of equipment and supplies are commonplace now. We are lacking the basics, such as needles, surgical gloves, sterile equipment, bed linens, even toilet paper! Some nurses have been buying supplies from pharmacies out of their own salaries. We are also dealing with major staff shortages, with one nurse being allocated to care for 35 or 40 patients. We are united in our view that public healthcare in Greece should not fall to third-world standards and so we are doing our best to prevail." The campaign to save the NHS continues. "This attack is very high, but doctors, nurses, and other staff have it within our power together to stop it," said Chris Argyris of the Genoa Initiative of Hospitals. "Every hospital and clinic will create strike committees and take the initiative to activate the base and organize each hospital to directly challenge the plans of the ministry." Kia Mistilis is a freelance journalist and photographer based in Athens, Greece. W W W. N A T I O N A L N U R S E S U N I T E D . O R G N AT I O N A L N U R S E 19