Photos: In remembrance of Kostas Fragoulis

Photos: https://umbruch-bildarchiv.org/in-erinnerung-an-kostas-fragoulis/

On December 5, 2022, 16-year-old Roma Kostas Fragoulis was shot dead by a motorcycle Cop in Thessaloniki, Greece. Almost three weeks later, artists and activists from Berlin and Thessaloniki responded to this event, which kept Greece in suspense at the time, with a joint mural campaign in collaboration with his relatives. Kostas died just 500 meters away from the Roma settlement where he lived. He had allegedly left a nearby petrol station without paying for 20 euros worth of petrol. The fatal shots were fired after a chase with two police officers who happened to be present. The incident sparked protests and sometimes violent clashes with the police throughout Greece. There were coordinated riots in more than ten regions of the country, which originated in the respective Roma neighborhoods and settlements. They were also fueled by the proximity to 6 December, the anniversary of the murder of 15-year-old Alexandros Grigoropoulos by a police officer in the left-wing alternative district of Exarchia in Athens in 2008. After Kosta’s death, left-wing activists supported the Roma protests. A local activist from Thessaloniki established contact between the artists, the Roma settlement and Kostas‘ relatives.

In consultation and direct cooperation with the relatives, the artists painted the spot where Kostas died with his name, the date of death and the slogan “It wasn’t the gasoline, it wasn’t the money, the cops shot me because I was Roma”. At the highway exit leading to the settlement, they spray-painted a larger-than-life portrait of him. Both pictures were taken during the day and without permission. At the hotel where they wrote the name, there were verbal arguments with the Greek operators. They wanted to prevent their business from suffering from the media attention. The atmosphere there was very tense simply because it was suspected that the police had deliberately destroyed the CCTV footage on site. The day after the murder, activists from the Copwatch initiative drove to businesses in the entire area and persuaded them to make the footage from their cameras available in order to provide Kosta’s relatives with legal support. Of all things, the camera that was pointed at the place of death was missing. The murals were intended to commemorate Kostas, make the police violence visible and raise public awareness. The images of the Roma during the painting campaign went viral in Greece, with several newspapers reporting on them.

However, they also triggered violent reactions from neo-Nazis on social media channels, who called for the murals to be destroyed – to no avail. As in many other European countries, antiziganism is widespread in Greece – many Roma have no access to housing, clean water or urban infrastructure. More than other population groups, they are excluded from the labor market, have hardly any political lobbying and are exposed to attacks by the police.