Costantina, You Are Not Alone
Posted on August 24, 2009
The following is from a paper circulated by Greek feminists about the vicious acid attack on Costantina Kuneva, General Secretary of the Janitors Union (PEKOP-All Attica Union for Janitors and Home Service Personnel).
On the 22th of December 2008, in Petralona, an old working class neighborhood of the city of Athens, Bulgarian immigrant worker Costantina Kuneva, General Secretary of the Janitors Union (PEKOP-All Attica Union for Janitors and Home Service Personnel), was the victim of an attack using sulphuric acid while returning home from her workplace. She was seriously wounded, losing the use of one eye and of her vocal chords and she is still in a hospital intensive care unit. Almost three months after that scandalous attack, the Greek unions complained that the “investigations to locate the perpetrators are effectively at point zero, in stark contrast to the dazzling speed of the authorities in cases against workers and strike action!” Neither eye witness reports nor laboratory tests have been used in this case. The victim’s statement has not yet been recorded, despite the fact that she can now communicate in writing.
“Costantina you are not alone” has been the core chant of an emerging solidarity movement to the female militant labour activist and migrant worker Costantina Kuneva that was attacked and is incapacitated. This paper locates the solidarity movement at the intersection of the women’s, anti-racist and the precarious workers labour movement. This is one of the few times in recent Greek history of social movements we have the interconnection of the all three movements. The interconnection of gender, race/ethnicity and class along with the impunity of the transgressing employers and the complicity of the government are the main reasons that motivate activists bringing them together to the solidarity movement. Thus the solidarity movement to Kuneva incorporates struggles against all forms of oppression. This presentation through the example of the movement will aim to answer certain theoretical and practical questions that we think will be useful to all of us who theorize on or/and participate in social movements.
