Portside

About 150 people gathered on a very cold night in midtown Manhattan in front of the offices of the EU delegation to the UN.

This rally was part of a coordinated effort throughout Greek cities -- as well as cities around the world -- to bring people together in squares, streets or other public areas to show their solidarity and support to the efforts of the recently elected Greek government.

The newly elected Greek government, which is composed mainly of members of the radical left party Syriza, is asking its counterparts in the EU to reconsider the way they have addressed the debt crisis in Greece. The bailout packages, which have in fact increased the country[s external debt -- as well as the austerity measures that accompany them -- have plunged the country into the most severe postwar economic crisis any first world country has gone through since the 1930s.  The social cost of austerity in Greece is huge: unemployment has skyrocketed, homelessness has increased dramatically, and foreclosures and evictions threaten large part of the population, which cannot meet its basic needs. At the same time extreme-right, nationalist and even fascist parties have gained support and are now in the parliament.

The new Greek government challenges the methods used up to now in dealing with the debt and wants to address the humanitarian crisis that has arisen by increasing public spending and investing in the economy instead of borrowing more to service old debts and enlarge the profits of foreign creditors.

Moreover, the new Greek government wants to be in charge of the means and methods used to rebuilt the economy, and not follow the directives and the neo-liberal agenda of the Troika, which asks for cuts in wages, pensions, social benefits, and workers' rights. This is why the main slogan in the demonstrations across the world is "A breath of dignity."

The rallies have also attracted many more than just Greek people since austerity is has plunged into recession one after the other many countries of the European periphery and the Greek struggle is an example to follow.

In New York, most of the attendees where Greek or Greek-American, left leaning or non-politically affiliated, a few journalists and several progressive non-Greeks who support efforts of the new Greek government.