# The golden dawn party in Greece



## pgnewarkboy (Oct 21, 2012)

The golden dawn has seats in Greek  parliament.   They idolize Hitler and act violently against foreigners.   They are making an already unstable situation volatile.   Greece is now off my itinerary.


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## persia (Oct 21, 2012)

18 seats out of 300 is more a nuisance than anything serious.  The coalition of ND, PASOK and DIMAR have 179 seats and should be able to pass what they need to pass.  I wouldn't let them affect my travel plans.


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## Carolinian (Oct 21, 2012)

The specific foreigners they target are illegal immigrants, not tourists, so this should not be any huge concern.  In fact from what I read iin some of the European press, as a tourist I would be more wary of the illegal immigrants than this neo-nazi party.  There is a lot of drug use and crime associated with them.

Golden Dawn is just one of several fringe parties now active in Greece, and it is more a problem for the Greeks than for tourists.  

Also the activities of the fringe political groups, as well as the concerntration of illegals tends to be in the big cities.  You should not see much of either in the Greek islands, but it does make Athens a bit dicey these days.  Violent political demonstrations / riots also tends to be a problem in the cities and some participants seem to care little about human life.  In one riot, they set a bank on fire with people in it, and at least one person died in the bank.  Imagine if you had just popped in to change money?

The other big problem that is a crap shoot in Greece these days is the stike situation.  Your ferry, airline, bus, or train might not be going on the day you have scheduled due to a strike.  The situation is bad enough that surrounding countries have suspended all three international passenger train services that used to run to Greece for months, with it uncertain if and when they will start again.  The lines to Istanbul and Belgrade probably will sometime in the future, but I am not so sure about the one to Sofia and Bucharest.


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## pgnewarkboy (Oct 21, 2012)

persia said:


> 18 seats out of 300 is more a nuisance than anything serious.  The coalition of ND, PASOK and DIMAR have 179 seats and should be able to pass what they need to pass.  I wouldn't let them affect my travel plans.



One seat for Hitler is one too many.


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## Carolinian (Dec 4, 2012)

I had lunch at a Greek restaurant here yesterday, and had a chat with the Greek owner in which I asked him if he had been back to Greece lately.  He told me that he had not taken his usual annual family trip back this year due to the dangerous situation there but hoped it would be better next year.

I asked him about the danger, and he said there were two main components. With the economic situation and protests, there were some radicial groups among the protesters who were prone to violence.  While that violence when directed against people was almost always aimed at representatives of the State like the police, they also often targeted property, and in those situations seemed unconcerned if civilians in or near the property happened to be collateral damage.  He said if there were any protesters about, he would not set foot in places like a government office or a bank.  There has been at least one death from protesters burning a bank with people inside it.

The other component was crime which he said was really out of control.  A small part was out of work Greeks, but most of it was illegal immigrants.  With the economy so bad that many Greeks could not find work, the job opportunities for illegal immigrants were worse, and almost non-existant, so many turned to crime.  If you knew what areas to stay out of, it helped, but that was no guarantee.

He said that Athens and the other big cities were the most dangerous, with the least danger in the small towns and islands.  He had members of his own family in the Athens area, and the reports he got back from them were much of the basis of his concern.


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## CarolF (Dec 4, 2012)

The neo-Nazi thugs of Golden Dawn are openly hostile to illegal immigrants and it suits them to channel the public's anger towards the immigrants.  



> US Embassy warns Americans about the possibility of racist attacks in Greece
> http://www.edmontonjournal.com/trav...lity+racist+attacks+Greece/7560031/story.html



US Department of State - Travel.State.gov

THREATS TO SAFETY AND SECURITY and CRIME sections provide good information.
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1127.html#safety


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## Maple_Leaf (Dec 4, 2012)

*Come to Greektown*

Come to Toronto's Greektown!  Our Greek restaurants are better than those in Greece and you can conveniently drive from most of the eastern US.  We don't have too many Nazis and the only strikes on the horizon are the schoolteachers.  Many of the Greeks from the islands have shut their businesses for the season and are here anyway, so enjoy!


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## Carolinian (Dec 4, 2012)

Maple_Leaf said:


> Come to Toronto's Greektown!  Our Greek restaurants are better than those in Greece and you can conveniently drive from most of the eastern US.  We don't have too many Nazis and the only strikes on the horizon are the schoolteachers.  Many of the Greeks from the islands have shut their businesses for the season and are here anyway, so enjoy!



Sounds like something I would like to check out next time I am in Toronto.  I love Greek food.

Actually, I had hoped to go to Crete this year but did not make it.  Between the cancellation of all international trains to Greece, cancellation the convenient air route that used to exist from here to Crete, and the crap shoot on using ferries due to the strikes, I unfortunately had to bag it.  Maybe next year!


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