Nikos Romanos' case: Antigone all over again

Greece is in an uproar again because of the hunger strike of an imprisoned young anarchist who has been refused education leave.

Nikos Romanos, 21, is serving a 16-year sentence for armed bank robbery. He and his friends decided to rob a bank to hurt the system and they also took a hostage during the event but thankfully nobody was hurt. The young man’s story is quite disturbing, as six years ago, Romanos witnessed his friend die in his arms during a protest in Athens. In 2008, 15 year-old Alexandros Grigoropoulos was shot dead by riot police. Romanos was one of his best friends and one of the people who carried his coffin at his funeral. This experience led him to extremism; he abandoned his elite private school and started fighting the system in an active and violent way.

Nikos Romanos, age 15

That is how he got in trouble. While in prison, the 21year-old studied hard and managed to gain a place at University to study business administration. He was denied education leave and he was only granted permission to study online. Romanos called this method “fascist” and subsequently rejected it starting a hunger strike. He is currently on hunger strike for 29 days and threatens to refuse water as well.

What is intriguing about this case is not only the perseverance of Romanos, which I find admirable, but the way the others see his case. Some see him as a young terrorist who is taking advantage of popular discounted to pursue undemocratic goals—which is ridiculous. Others forget that he is a convicted felon and perceive him as a victim wronged by the system.

Romanos´parents

Romanos and his family have repeatedly said that he is a “political prisoner”. Unfortunately, I don’t think this could be the case. Armed robbery could never serve the greater good. It could have a tragic outcome for everyone involved, a risk young Romanos was willing to take.

If we were to play devil’s advocate, how would the public treat him, had he been supporting ideologies of the extreme right instead of the extreme left? Well, they would all say he is blackmailing the state. Most artists would refrain from supporting his cause. The press would have a different stance. SYRIZA, the Greek leftist party would definitely make sweeping statements against fascism and the government.

Romanos in his cell, age 21

Of course, I am not supporting the extreme right wing or even saying that it is the same as the extreme left. Nevertheless I see a pattern here: violence is rising and it can be expressed by both leftist and right-wing populism. Greeks are looking for a martyr and they found him in the face of a young man, whose ideologically romantic way of living reminds me of the self-destruction of Antigone, a protagonist so characteristic of the Greek spirit.

Painting of Antigone by Nikiforos Lytras

Antigone defies authority and demonstrates civil disobedience in a milder way than Romanos, but for argument’s sake let’s assume that there is a similarity in their cases. As a result, she gets herself killed and brings havoc to the kingdom. Her uncle Creon, the king, is also to blame for his implacable stance. Sophocles taught us, centuries ago, that we must be moderate in such cases. Antigone’s defiance of the human law could be destructive for the city-state. Similarly, Creon’s defiance of the divine law could be equally destructive. In the end, they are both in the wrong and they both bring a catastrophe upon the state.

I fear that this is where this situation is leading. An implacable state refuses to give a young man access to education. He cannot accept it and starts destroying himself. What he could not foresee, however, is how he was turned into a martyr by the masses. Some say that the government of Antonis Samaras want to demonstrate how violent the left can be if it is allowed to roam the streets so as to be able to suffocate it later. The media are not helping either, as Romanos was going through hunger strike the Parliament approved the new budget and things look quite bad for the Greek economy.