City’s untreated injuries

Athens suffers from a lot of problems which have been allowed to fester and often gives the impression of a city in a sorry state of decline with its graffiti-marred walls, dirty sidewalks, smelly dumpsters and abandoned buildings left to ruin.

One such building is the former home of the Apollon cinema, a historic edifice in the city center that was once a jewel of eclectic architecture.

The building was destroyed in a fire caused by hooligans throwing petrol bombs during violent anti-austerity riots in 2012 and has yet to be fully restored to its former grandeur despite the fact that the project has received a significant amount of funding from a major private foundation.

There is no excuse for the building not to be fully operational again just because of the reactions from certain obstinate parties. It is imperative that this major scar be healed if we want Athens to start recovering.