EXARCHEIA, LE CHANT DES OISEAUX

The Exarcheia district, in Athens, is known as the cradle of Greece’s anarchist movement. It is where the uprising against the military dictatorship began in 1973, and the 2008 riots started there as well. In this hub of alternative culture, squats and cybercafés have flourished in recent years. Today, the neighbourhood is also a refuge and support centre for migrants. Nadine Gomez walks its lively streets to take the pulse of a society reeling from economic crisis and standing on the front lines of the intractable migration issue. Over the course of a night, she records the words of the people she meets. Hopeful or worried, welcoming to outsiders or fearful for the future, their many voices sketch the outlines of an idealistic West and its paradoxes.