Greece: Public Suicide of 77 Year Old Man in Athens Square · Global Voices
Veroniki Bacharidi-Krikoni

This post is part of our special coverage Europe in Crisis.
All Greece was shocked this morning by the news that Dimitris Christoulas, aged 77, shot himself in the head around 9 am, in full view of passersby in Syntagma square, Athens, across from the Parliament building.
The man is reported to have been a retired pharmacist, who sold his pharmacy in 1994. Before the shot, he reportedly shouted that he “didn't want to leave any debts to his children”.
A Facebook event calls for a gathering to Syntagma square today evening: “Everyone at Syntagma. Let's not get used to death”.
Global Voices author Asteris Masouras has made a collection of posts and media on Storify.
Poster from a Facebook event for this evening in Syntagma square. It reads: "It wasn't a suicide. It was a murder. LET'S NOT GET USED TO DEATH."
Greek Twitter has been buzzing all day with mixed comments and reactions on this tragic event:
@YanniKouts: Suicide of a 77-year old man this morning in Syntagma Sq shocks #Greece. “It's the only way for a dignified end, I can't eat from garbage”.
User Arkoudos makes a wish for all those left behind [el]:
@arkoudos: Μακάρι να μη φύγεις. Μακάρι να μείνεις, να παλέψεις. Κι άλλο. Μακάρι.Μακάρι να μη ντρέπεσαι. Μακάρι να ντραπούμε, πρώτα, εμείς.
User Magica underlines the shame both sides share on this controversial issue [el]:
@magicasland: ειναι ντροπή αυτο που κανει το κράτος στο λαό του. αλλά ειναι και ντροπή να αυτοκτονείς ενω επιβίωσε με πεισμα τόσος κοσμος επι κατοχής
Syntagma Square, Athens, Greece. Image by Flickr user YanniKouts (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0).
Online debate went political, apart from its unquestionable humanitarian aspect. Journalist Aris Chatzistefanou drew parallels to the Bouazizi suicide in Tunisia [el]:
@xstefanou: Η Ελλάδα έχει το δικό της Μπουαζίζι. Πρέπει να δείξει αν έχει και λαό ισάξιο της Τυνησίας και της Αιγύπτου η μόνο ψηφοφόρους ΠΑΣΟΚ -ΝΔ-ΛΑΟΣ.
User Elikas seeks justice [el]:
@Elikas: Κάποια στιγμή πρέπει να δικαστούν και οι ηθικοί αυτουργοί για όλες αυτές τις αυτοκτονίες. Που στην πραγματικότητα είναι δολοφονίες.
User Sara Firth criticizes the European methods for Greek rescue:
@SaraFirth_RT: Europes [sic] methods for ‘saving Greece’ are now literally killing the Greek people. The syntagma suicide should never have happened #greece
Athens News reports about a suicide note found on the victim, where reportedly he compared the present Greek government to wartime collaborationists:
The Tsolakoglou government has annihilated all traces for my survival. And since I cannot find justice, I cannot find another means to react besides putting a decent end [to my life], before I start searching the garbage for food.
Georgios Tsolakoglou was a Greek military officer who became the first prime minister of the Greek collaborationist government during the Axis Occupation in 1941-1942. The reference is obviously seen as a comparison between the wartime government and the current government of Lucas Papademos.
User PenelopeD10, mocking Athens Mayor Giorgos Kaminis for his decision last summer to oust tents protesters off Syntagma square, because it was a bad image for Athens tourists, says ironically [el]:
@PenelopeD10: Μη βγάλει κι άλλο φιρμάνι ο Καμίνης “απαγορεύονται οι αυτοκτονίες στο κέντρο γιατί βλάπτουν τον τουρισμό”…
Many also accused people that tried to politically exploit and use a simple person's death for politics or their own interests:
@dianalizia: shameless! karatzaferis opportunistically uses man's suicide this morning to criticize corrupt politicians & system (he is a part of)
@mindstripper: Οι δημοσιογράφοι πανηγυρίζουν, οι πολιτικοί παπαγαλίζουν κι εμείς στις εκλογές θα κάψουμε γι άλλη μία φορά τη χώρα. Καλό ταξίδι στον άνθρωπο
Apart from any political interpretation or exploitation of this tragic incident, user Serk01 brings on the simple truth of human existence [el]:
@serk01: κανε ενα βήμα ‘πισω’ και σκέψου τι σημαίνει να αυτοκτονεί ενας ανθρωπος.
This post is part of our special coverage Europe in Crisis.