Aristotelis Hantzis, who spent 140 days on hunger strike over the future of the Prosfygika refugee housing complex on Athens’ Alexandras Avenue, was transferred to the intensive care unit of Evangelismos hospital on Friday in critical condition.
Hantzis had been treated over the previous 24 hours at the ICU of Gennimatas hospital before the transfer. His condition was made public by the Prosfygika community in a Facebook post that expressed alarm over his deterioration.
According to the community, Hantzis is suffering multi-organ failure, including cardiac damage, liver dysfunction and respiratory failure requiring high-flow oxygen. The post also described rhabdomyolysis, a breakdown of muscle tissue, along with bone marrow suppression and electrolyte disturbances brought on by prolonged starvation and compounded by a severe case of refeeding syndrome, a potentially fatal complication that can occur when a body that has gone without food for an extended period begins to take in nutrition again.
Hantzis ended his hunger strike on Wednesday night, after 140 days, following an appeal from the Athens municipality. His protest, joined by fellow striker Suzon Doppagne, who stopped after 55 days, centered on the fate of Prosfygika, the cluster of 1930s apartment blocks built on Alexandras Avenue to house refugees who fled Asia Minor after the 1922 expulsion of Greeks from what is now Turkey.
The blocks are now home to a squatters’ community of roughly 400 people, including children and cancer patients. Part of the complex is owned by the regional authority, which holds 15 million euros in European Union funds earmarked for renovation. The governor has promised social housing and a hostel for the relatives of cancer patients, but residents fear they will be evicted and left on the street.
The community has called for a solidarity gathering for Hantzis at 4 p.m. Friday, June 26, outside Evangelismos hospital on Ypsilantou Street, by the Evangelismos park.
