Racism against refugee children fuels the far-right

By Vasilis Kanellis

A heavy resounding battle sound is heard; many xenophobic guns are fired, to paraphrase a famed Greek demotic song about combat.

Unfortunately, we are not dealing merely with the recent expression of xenophobia by just one MP as regards refugee and migrant children, no matter whether his motivation was vote-mongering or an authentic expression of extreme and racist theories.

A segment of society has been inculcated with the ideas of a political current that has bolstered, aggrandised and maintained in the limelight Golden Dawn and so-called "goldendawnism".

Until now, we believed that we had left behind for good the era when their minions chased and beat up migrants in central Athens.

We believed that a large proportion of refugees and migrants had been integrated in Greek society, or at least that the mature segment of society had exhibited tolerance, sympathy, empathy, and compassion for people who had literally been persecuted and were hungry, destitute, and chased.

Yet, there are still strong extreme-right, racist enclaves comprised of well-dressed people, regardless of their gender, or their social and professional recognition.

They may be politicians, managers, fledgling saviours of the fatherland, singers, actors, or simply professional super-patriots who wanted mainly to garner political benefit.

Any attack of one person against another, especially if it is motivated by racism and xenophobia, is absolutely unjustifiable.

Yet one must ask, o ye shameless putative followers of the religion of tolerance, love, and respect for others, how could you train your fire against children?

How is it possible to throw five-year-old children into the den of lions, making them the prey of a...