If We Are Afraid Today, We Will Be Afraid Tomorrow and Forever – Dimitra Zarafeta

It took 512 days for the authorities to finally decide that it was time to put our case, the case of Ampelokipi, to be tried. Just one breath before the end of the 18-month period. Not because the investigative process was truly endless, nor because new evidence was constantly emerging in the meantime. From the very first moment, the facts were more or less the same. However, the choice to set the trial at the last minute was neither accidental nor procedural. It was a purely political choice, a conscious method so that the process would run on a fast track and the desired decision would be produced, with the same speed. Nevertheless, in this last text of mine before the trial, I will not dwell in detail on the practices and methods that the judicial authorities employ against us. These are already known to anyone who wants to see them. My purpose is to restore things to their true dimension, against the fabricated version that the anti-terrorist and then the investigating and prosecutors tried to impose initially. That is why I want and must talk about what has already happened and what is to follow.

In two days I will be in this court, because a year and a half ago I lent the keys to an apartment to my friends and comrades, Kyriakos and Marianna, so that they could host acquaintances.

I will be in this court accused of terrorism, with charges of membership and participation in an unknown organization, with an unknown structure, unknown roles, unknown duration, as well as for manufacturing, supplying and possessing explosives and weapons. An indictment that was drawn up overnight, based on flimsy evidence, which 2 months ago the court began to collapse with the removal of charges of this explosion and deterioration.

Or, to be more precise, the only “evidence” that the anti-terrorism department relied on to construct this indictment was the criminalization of everyday acts, the criminalization of political opinion and the criminalization of friendly and comradely relationships.

Nothing more, nothing less.

Thus, our case not only has a past that already counts a year and a half, but also a future. A future inextricably linked to the struggle.

That is why, in two days, I will be in this court to give my own struggle, defending my anarchist identity, the radical revolutionary struggle, my relations with my friends and comrades, and above all the memory of my comrade, Kyriakos Xymitiris.

I will be in this court to fight to the end for my freedom — a freedom that I do not grant them, not even for one more day than the 512 that they have already deprived me of. And if institutional cover is given to the anti-terrorist police to fabricate indictments in this way, then the responsibility for whether I am convicted of an indictment that I deny, falls on the current composition of the bench.

This also concerns all those who feel that behind bars are not only the prisoners, but also a part of themselves. Those who remain present and present in every field of the radical struggle. Because it is also in their hands to erect a mound, to not allow injustice to become law.

Nevertheless, in two days I will find myself in this court, which has a weight much greater than that of indictments and legal characterizations. Because within this process there is also a loss. There is the memory of our friend and comrade, Kyriakos Xymitiris, a memory that does not fit into any case file. For this very reason, this court has an importance that goes beyond the limits of a formal trial. That is why more is at stake around this process than meets the eye. Because in these halls I will not only defend myself, but also Kyriakos himself. I will speak about my friend and comrade on my own terms, not with the language of power, nor through the filters of the case file, but through the life he lived, the struggles he gave and what he chose to defend with all his heart, dedicating his life to it. With his absence, it is at the same time a deep, intense presence; because there are people like Kyriakos who, even when they are gone, continue to light the way and show with their very lives why it is worth standing up.

So my friend and comrade Kyriakos Xymitiris will be there in the knot in my neck, in the strength I find not to bend, in the need to keep alive everything we shared and everything he defended. He will be with me, next to me, like a hand on my shoulder, like a breath that reminds me that nothing is over and that the struggle continues.

Kyriakos Xymitiris Present
Honor for Ever to Anarchist Comrade Sarah Ardizone and Anarchist Comrade Alessandro Mercoliano

Dimitra Zarafeta

Korydallos Women’s Prison

Source: https://athens.indymedia.org/post/1640443/

Agi: Sicilia: il borgo degli immortali nel cuore delle Madonie

AGI - Il borgo degli 'immortali' si trova nel cuore delle Madonie, i monti che guardano Palermo e la sua provincia: a Geraci Siculo vivono 56 ultranovantenni, una cittadina che compirà 100 anni nel corso dell'anno e un'altra che raggiungerà i 105. Numeri che, rapportati alla popolazione, raccontano una realtà unica e collocano il paese tra i casi più interessanti in Italia sul fronte della longevità.
Il borgo degli immortali 
Il fenomeno richiama da vicino il modello delle cosiddette "Blue Zones", le "Zone blu": aree del pianeta dove si registra la più alta concentrazione di persone longeve. A oggi, le principali Zone blu riconosciute sono l'area dell'Ogliastra in Sardegna, Okinawa (Giappone), Ikaria (Grecia), Nicoya (Costa Rica) e Loma Linda (California).
I segreti della longevità 
Territori diversi tra loro, ma accomunati da alcuni elementi fondamentali: alimentazione naturale, forte coesione sociale, attività fisica quotidiana e stretto legame con l'ambiente. Caratteristiche che si ritrovano pienamente anche nel borgo di Geraci Siculo e, più in generale, nell'intero territorio delle Madonie.
Il sindaco svela il modello di Geraci Siculo 
"I numeri della longevità che registriamo nel nostro borgo non sono casuali – dice il sindaco di Geraci Siculo, Luigi Iuppa – ma sono il frutto di uno stile di vita che si tramanda da generazioni. In questo borgo si vive in modo semplice, a stretto contatto con la natura, con un'alimentazione sana legata alla nostra tradizione agricola e zootecnica e, soprattutto, con relazioni sociali ancora forti e autentiche. È un modo di vivere bello e sano, che appartiene al borgo di Geraci Siculo, ma anche a tutte le Madonie e che oggi può rappresentare un modello per il futuro."
La Sicilia possibile 'sesta zona blu' 
Il borgo di Geraci Siculo, dunque, laboratorio naturale della longevità mediterranea, che spinge osservatori e studiosi a guardare alla Sicilia come a una possibile "sesta zona blu".

Sicily: the village of the immortals in the heart of the Madonie.

AGI - The “immortal village” is located in the heart of the Madonie Mountains, which overlook Palermo and its province: in Geraci Siculo, there live 56 people over the age of 90, a town that will celebrate its 100th anniversary this year and another that will reach 105. These numbers, when considered in relation to the population, tell a unique story and place the town among the most interesting cases in Italy regarding longevity.

The “immortal village”
The phenomenon closely resembles the so-called “Blue Zones” model – areas of the planet with the highest concentration of long-lived people. To date, the main Blue Zones recognized are the Ogliastra area in Sardinia, Okinawa (Japan), Ikaria (Greece), Nicoya (Costa Rica), and Loma Linda (California).

The Secrets of Longevity
Territories different from each other, but united by some fundamental elements: natural diet, strong social cohesion, daily physical activity, and a close connection with the environment. Characteristics that are fully found in the village of Geraci Siculo and, more generally, in the entire territory of the Madonie.

The Mayor Unveils the Model of Geraci Siculo
“The longevity figures we record in our village are not random – says the mayor of Geraci Siculo, Luigi Iuppa – but are the result of a lifestyle that has been passed down through generations. In this village, people live simply, in close contact with nature, with a healthy diet linked to our agricultural and livestock tradition, and, above all, with strong and authentic social relationships. It is a beautiful and healthy way of life, belonging to the village of Geraci Siculo, but also to all the Madonie, and which today can represent a model for the future.”

The Possible “Sixth Blue Zone” of Sicily
Therefore, the village of Geraci Siculo, a natural laboratory of Mediterranean longevity, is pushing observers and scholars to look to Sicily as a possible “sixth blue zone”.

#Sicily #Madonie #theMadonieMountains #Palermo #GeraciSiculo #100th #Italy #BlueZones #Sardinia #Okinawa #Japan #Ikaria #Greece #Nicoya #CostaRica #LomaLinda #California #LuigiIuppa #Mediterranean #sixth

https://www.agi.it/cronaca/news/2026-04-01/borgo-geraci-siculo-madonie-sicilia-36372520/