Despina

From Athens Indymedia
February 13, 2025

The cremation of our comrade will take place this Saturday, 2/15, at 12:00, in Ritsona. Beforehand, we will gather in her beloved Square, so that we can all go together, just as she would have wanted. Pre-meeting: Saturday 2/15 09:00 AUSTIRA Stournari 4 and Tsamadou corner

On Wednesday, 2/12/25, our Sister, Comrade and Friend, Despina, left us. Despina found herself on the streets of Fire and Struggle from a young age. She defended Anarchy and its ideals until the end. Always close to working women, prisoners, persecuted women, refugees and immigrants. She was a pillar from the beginning of the creation of the Squatting Refugee and Immigrant Home, Notara 26, and was part of the Anarchist Collective "Apopeira". She hated the image of Exarcheia Square (the Square of her heart) full of cops and metal bars and she never stopped fighting for its liberation. Despina, without any exaggeration, gave her all to the Struggle for Life and Dignity. Even in her most difficult times, she remained on the Front Line, led by the Smile and Passion, which permanently possessed her. Comrade Despina was always there for me, for you, for all of us. A rock that you could stand on, knowing that it would remain unshakable in its place. We will miss you Despina, but your fire will burn forever within us. In the Square, in the Struggles, in the Fire of the next uprisings, you will always be there with us.

The fire of February 12, 2012, burned all of Athens. Your fire, of February 12, 2025, lit the hearts of all of us.

- from comrades and friends

------------------
We say goodbye to comrade Despina
Athens Indymedia
February 14, 2025

We bid farewell to comrade Despina, with whom our marches on the roads of struggle met for years. Despina was an example of a fighter to the end who left as she lived: with perseverance, strength, dignity and inexhaustible spirit, with her jokes and laughter in every difficult moment, fighting for the small and the big and standing with dignity and solidarity always.

We hold onto her passion, her honesty, and her big smile. It is our honor to have walked on common paths, and we promise her and all those who left early that we will not take a single step back in our common journey.

Comrade Despina, you will live forever in our hearts and in our struggles.

Assembly of Occupied Refugees (SY.KA.PRO.)

Comments

anon (not verified) Thu, 02/20/2025 - 05:45

a great comrade-- her passing is a loss for the anarchist struggle and for exarcheia. her courage, commitment and hatred for police will live forever

C (not verified) Thu, 02/20/2025 - 12:18

Forever in our hearts and in our struggles, wherever we may be. She touched us deeply and we’ll keep her flame alive in Amsterdam ❤️‍🔥

anon (not verified) Sun, 03/02/2025 - 07:29

Video: The last march with Despina through the streets of Exarchia, just before the last goodbye, on Saturday February 15th, 2025.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rO_sB-7TeTY

Despina was Exarchia. Exarchia of disobedience, comradeship and solidarity. She was our family, our friend, our sister, our companion. She was the woman who made her last march from Exarchia Square to the Polytechnic in Stournari, with friends and comrades shouting "Despina Markopoulou, Present Always".

Despina was flesh of the flesh of the anarchist movement, with impeccable political judgment and consistency. She had the ability to bridge but also to draw red lines when necessary. She could immediately smell those who were trying to extract surplus value from the movement.

She was there for those in need, not as a philanthropist, but as a solidarity worker. From the occupation of immigrants in Notara to the missions in burnt-out Evia, you could find her everywhere. Despite her failing health, she was never absent from the lampposts of Exarchia Square when action was to be taken. She held the banner at the march for the racist murder of Lukman and participated in the demonstration for the Tempe protest with her wheelchair.

Despina cared about her buddies, she was always there to help, to support, to care. She was a "mother", man! And the essence of the person she was could be summed up in the following written in a post about her, "You know what? Your greatness was seen in the small gestures...taking care of us!"

Standing one meter and a half tall, as she teased her friends, she had a stature that you rarely see. She was a huge hug, full of love, solidarity and passion for life and freedom.

On Wednesday, 12/02/25, our sister, companion and friend, Despina, left us. She left as she lived, with her head held high and her middle finger raised in the air.

Despina Markopoulou present! Always!

*** (The above text is a small compilation of many posts by many people that were written about her in recent days and despite all this, it is extremely difficult to capture the character of this person we lost...)

Add new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.

Filtered HTML

  • Web page addresses and email addresses turn into links automatically.
  • Allowed HTML tags: <a href hreflang> <em> <strong> <cite> <code> <ul type> <ol start type> <li> <dl> <dt> <dd>
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.
CAPTCHA
s
F
D
S
Q
T
R
F
Enter the code without spaces.
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.