Another photo shows a group of sisters smiling weakly into the camera in stoic powerlessness, as they cradle in their arms one travesti girl whose face is smashed to a pulp by police riot batons.
She was part of a peaceful demonstration against the fascist party assaults and "cleansing' that went unaddressed by the police, until the police themselves turned the demo into a riot. Later, her face smashed and life, fortune and future ruined, she turned to drugs of which she died.
Where was this? Some third world corner? No. Athens, Greece, an EEC country which likes to call itself the "cultural capitol of Europe, and home of democracy'. A place which in two world wars was the back door to the east and the linchpin in Allied plans, and is still a sensitive and powerful political centre for western powers. Last in the series of photos is of Aloma Haralambos, showing the results of her botched mastectomy for breast cancer, which has now moved as a tumour to her spine. This study was taken in Larisa prison, a special unit housing many Travesti and Transexual inmates, where Aloma has suffered for three years, without pain killers, with many police beatings, hidden from the world and facing 37 years in prison.
Her crime? Forming the organisations in the 1990s which fought against the hate crimes, and total lack of equal due process of law depicted in the first set of pictures. Aloma actually did very much to change the situation for the better for Greek sisters. She frequently ran to the call of sisters who needed her help, to force police to act for them, and she threatened police with individual law suits until they did so. Often she and other sisters spent their weekends doing the detective work for police before the authorities would accept to prosecute a case; the three men who burnt the sister in the photograph are now serving sentences in jail, directly because of Aloma's brave and tireless work.
She began the 90s by running for Parliament, and would have polled a lot more votes had her party not been cheated by bureaucracy at the last moment out of the necessary ballot papers at a time when their funds were too low to make up the balance.
Many times Aloma's group stood up for other minorities, using their strength to protect woman sex workers as well from pimps and corrupt officials, abuse on the streets, and doing much to reduce the threat of AIDS and other viruses, drug and alcohol abuse, and the corruption of minors by the vice trade, among other good and necassary works that any thinking, caring government ought to have ministered to itself. It was Aloma's groups, and their income from the street, which built the now powerful and media-connected gay and lesbian groups of Greece.
She also embarrassed them, since not only did she work more effectively, but she is Travesti, and since they have undertaken a "straight gay" stance they have come out as openly, loudly, verbaly anti-transgender. That, along with the creeping fascism of the government and police, was enough to get her framed.
A Nazi boy hurling abuse at Travesti was accidentally hit by a stone, but died from a fall off his motorbike some time later. Aloma was hauled in and accused of "dangerous assault occasioning manslaughter".
Although she proved that she was not even in the area at the time, and it was clear that this was so, she still got three years for that and while in prison, was further charged with a handbag theft. Two woman witnesses were instructed by police to say that Aloma, identified from an 18 year old photograph, was the guilty party.
No identity parade was done (or would have been possible). Later, after Aloma was hospitalised from a severe police beating one witness came to see her, knew she was not the one and so changed her story. But police forced her to change it back. Aloma got 8 years. Frustrated and angry, she accused judges of corruption and was awarded a further two and a half years for libel. En mission in Larisa with the members of AKOE group, the remnant of her original organisation, we were able only to get the half a year taken off by appealing to the court.
Despite the fact I was sworn in as a character and expert witness, prosecution still attempted to challenge my gender identity and right to be there, but the bench threw that out. After my speech and exchanges with the bench, prosecution then tried to cite an old and repealed law, protecting government officials from any "defamation" by the public; this same law is still in effect in Turkey and was used against group leader Demet Demir in 1992, and went with physical torture. It is a relic in Greece of military rule.
Recently a further sentence of eighteen years was added, when some Travesti were rumoured to have said that Aloma blackmailed them. It was merely one of those catfight comments that girls sometimes come out with, not serious, but police leapt on it. The girls refused to swear out a complaint and they were not in any sense afraid of Aloma, and had more to lose by not obeying police pressure. When later they were brought in on another matter, the district attourney for Athens came down to add his own pressure, but still they would not agree to complain, so he, the DA, swore out the complaint himself and prosecuted it in court, bringing her total up to 37 years, and proving how terrified the Greek government and law are of one old and ill Travesti.
At time of writing, and previous to completion of this report in finished form, a report came from AKOE that Aloma had lost yet another case against her by the courts, and gained yet more years added to her already ridiculously long sentence. The present exact total is not yet known. Quite by chance and accident, I came to meet the famously brilliant woman journalist, who three years previously had written articles attempting to reveal the true story and in favour of Aloma, the multitude of evidences for whose innocence are yet to be seen and heard in court.
POLICE CENSORS CUT HER STORIES, AND BANNED THEM FROM PUBLICATION, AS A RESULT, THE WOMAN QUIT FOREVER HER CAREER AS A JOURNALIST.
There is at this time, no Transgender group or organisation in Greece, although AKOE which broke down due to inner battles, was taken over by gays and broke down again, has now reformed with a lot of new, pro Transgendered gays and lesbians, keen to encourage Travesti membership. AKOE is fronting a campaign for Aloma, who fears she may well die in prison, and possibly under supicious circumstances. Worldwide pressure and attention to this case is all that will resolve it. To date, Aloma has been cheated by every lawyer she had and her first took a large portion of her money before turning the case against her, and abandoning her.
A Mr D Clety of Brussels, an international lawyer, whom she was advised by ILGA (International Lesbian & Gay Association the homosexual human rights team) to contact, took a three thousand pound retainer and sent a receipt, knowing full well that until all local law is exhausted he can not act in international law, and since then she has not heard from him.
Amnesty International has to date not agreed to act, (although they remain open to reviewing the case) and it was reported by Spanish TV/TS group sources that ILGA has recently come out as anti TV/TS, and they have declined to comment so far. This is a Transgender case demanding Transgender attention, but it being so close to anybody's so-called democratic home, it would be pure folly to ignore it: it ought to be treated worldwide as a test case in the interests of all Transgender rights, particularly those of Greece.
After I attended their offices on a one week mission, the Istanbul human rights team agreed to mount a campaign in the form of a complaint to the Greek government and courts.
Petitions and letters of protest are solicited openly from all interested parties, the organisations of TVs and TSs of the world, their friends and families and any other sources willing to help.
For further information;
MANTHOS PEPONAS,
AKOE,
PO BOX 4165
ATHENS 10210 GREECE
Phone; 1 5230171
e mail: manthos@iis.forthnet.gr.
For protest:
President of Greece, Kostas Stefanopoules
Prime Minister, Andreas Papandreou
Greek Syndagma (Parliament), Syndagma Sq, Athens.
Phone numbers
President - 3640382, 3228646.
Presidential press office - 7215932/ 72831/ 252, 7248. 721
Parliament press office - 323.9413 ; Journalist's room - 360.0817
Prime Minister- Deputy Minister of PM - 361
9823, 3238882
Director General Political Office - 3238794
Diplomatic
Office - 3237407, 3248966.
Director of PMs personal office - 3221206, 3242713; Press office- 3600818, 3234286
Secretary Gen of Press &
Information - 364 0202, 363 0050, 363 5819
General Secretariat for
Equality - 3215824. 3218044
Ministry of Interior - 3243422, 3230700,
3223521, 3243442; Press Office, - 323 1282.
Ministry of Public Order
- 6927503
Ministry of Justice - 5225930, 5225903, 7709660, 7705186,
7708961.
Ministry of Tourism - 3222885.
General Secretary of National
Tourist Office of Greece - 3238960 (Greece needs tourists!)
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