in the 1960s there were still
in Drapetsona and the surrounding areas
sheds,
from the refugees of Asia Minor in 1922.
nearly 40 years later....
...............................................................
all the help given by all the institutions
never reached these people.
was eaten by the rodents of Athens.
...............................................................
people hunted from the first day they set foot in old Greece.
with the reproach of the Turkish seed and the disdain of the Greek society, they had to stand on their feet.
...............................................................
were pursued by all governments.
Metaxas.
the Germans.
the Bolsheviks.
the civil war and post-civil war state etc.
...............................................................
Today, November 14, 1960, the government of Constantine Karamanlis
orders the Piraeus police director with over a thousand police officers and an escort of excavators,
to invade Drapetsona and start tearing down the embankments.
had given the area to Bodossakis to expand his fertilizer factory.
...............................................................
Yannis Theodorakis, brother of Miki,
covered developments in the region as a reporter for the newspaper Avgi.
...............................................................
recounts Mikis:
«My brother had suggested that I write a song about the events.
At that time, the government wanted to evict the refugees from their shacks in Drapetsona, without giving them compensation.
For them it was a struggle for survival, a life or death struggle, as the bulldozers went in and tore their houses apart.
One day, on my way by car to ‘Kolumbia‘ for a voice-over of ’My Mother and Holy Mother’, I suddenly got the inspiration for ‘Drapetsona‘, in front of the Kalouta Theatre.
I stopped abruptly and wrote the melody.
That same night I called Livaditis, sang the melody over the phone and he wrote the lyrics.
That's how the two songs came out in a 45»
(back then records came out with two songs. one on each side.
and they were looking for a song to pair with ‘My Mother and Holy Mother‘)
...............................................................
and thus one of the most beautiful and historic Greek songs was born.
(it's my best man's favorite song 
)
)...............................................................
the snapshot is from the show of George Papastefanos on state television in 1976.
the filming has taken place at the house of Miki Theodorakis in Nea Smyrni
...............................................................
the folk song is the song of the people.
comes from the bowels of the people.
from its bitter and its joys.
comes out of his soul and historical memory.
therefore I will always respect and love it.
