Conditions of the establishment of the SSC
At the end of 2010, a Joint Ministerial Decision changed the legal framework for the renewal and/or issuance of residence permits for migrants who had been living and working in Greece for years. This decision put thousands of migrants who had legal documents at risk of deportation and illegal residence. Thus began the hunger strike of 300 migrants in Athens and Thessaloniki who demanded documents, legal residence and legal work. Between December 2010 and January 2011, the Thessaloniki Labor Center was occupied by 50 immigrant hunger strikers and many solidarity citizens. The team of health workers who cared for the 50 hunger strikers formed the core of the people who, a few months later, founded the Solidarity Social Clinic of Thessaloniki.
Shortly after the state’s attack on migrants’ rights, in the spring of 2011 and amidst conditions of social unrest and the implementation of harsher neoliberal policies, Health Minister Andreas Loverdos, with a single signature, excluded three million people from the state health system. In this context, people without work and consequently insurance, all those without legal documents, were deprived of their medical care and medicines. What happens in this situation? Very simply: If someone has the means to pay all is well. Otherwise, they lose their health or even their life.
This tragic condition was gradually restored when, starting in June 2015, social security number (AMKA) was granted to all legal residents in Greece and later to refugees as well. However, the exclusion remains because people who do not have legal documents (i.e. a large part of migrants) and a large part of Greek society continue to be excluded, since they are now addressed to an NHS that is on the verge of collapse, where waiting times for any medical procedure are enormous.
Under the conditions of institutional exclusion from any state health structure of almost one third of the inhabitants of Greece, the Social Solidarity Clinic was born in the city of Thessaloniki. The initiative was immediately embraced by the city’s residents and finally the idea of the SSC was realized in November 2011. Since then, it has been housed in a building provided by the Thessaloniki Labor Center and operated continuously and daily in two shifts until the 1st lockdown.
Operations of the Solidarity social clinic
Until March 2020, the SSC received approximately 10,000-15,000 visits per year. From March 2020 until today, it has served 500 people per month, i.e. it receives approximately 5,000 visits per year. Many solidarity supporters have contributed voluntarily to the operation of SSC over the years. There were periods when more than 200 people participated in the operation of the clinic and they were not only doctors but a number of different people (people of different ages, professions, nationalities, etc. The only things that do not fit into our collective are fascist, racist and sexist behaviors and symbols). There are no directors, administrators or executives among us. The general assembly, which is open to all, is the highest decision-making body. All members participate equally in the formulation and implementation of the decisions made.
The SSC until March 2020, i.e. until the 1st lockdown, was subdivided into five departments (pathological, dental, psychiatric-psychotherapeutic, pharmacy and secretariat), which also operated with their own general assemblies that planned, coordinated and decided on all their tasks. These assemblies submit proposals and raise issues to the general assembly of the SSC, but also discuss and work on issues concerning the SSC. Today, the main specialties within the SSC are the following: general practitioner/pathologist, neurologist, pediatrician, orthopedic, ENT, physiotherapist and psychologist. There is also a well-equipped pharmacy, while at times there were: a cardiologist, a dermatologist, a psychiatrist, an endocrinologist, an obstetrics department and a large dental clinic (with more than 40 doctors and assistants) that ceased operation in March 2020 due to Covid 19 and which served almost daily in two shifts, dental, pediatric and surgical needs. Today, anyone who needs dental care is referred to the private practices of our solidarity dentists who cover their needs free of charge in their place.
The SSC has also created an extensive network of external partners which includes hospital and private doctors, diagnostic laboratories such as microbiologists, radiologists, psychiatrists, psychotherapists, cardiologists, dermatologists, gynecologists – a spectrum that covers almost all medical specialties. There is also a large network of hospital doctors that covers the secondary care that our patients may need. In addition, we collaborate with more than 400 pharmacies where the city’s residents offer all those medicines that they do not need. We collect and offer these medicines free of charge to all our patients who need them. The residents of Thessaloniki are very generous with their drug donations. In many neighborhoods there is a pharmacy that collects medicines for the SSC and almost all our patients return their medicines that they do not need to us.
In addition, the operation of the SSC is supported by multiple committees that implement the decisions of the general assembly and working groups that research and elaborate on a topic and make proposals to the general assembly. Examples of committees are the “economics” committee, the “events” group that managed to organize concerts, lectures and many other events inspired by the current social and political context and in this way the social clinic strengthens its actions for extroversion and becomes part of the city.
In addition, the SSC often undertakes creative initiatives to address either scientific or political issues. Some of the many groups that have operated over the years are the following: “The “Reception” group, the “Painting” group where solidarity supporters and patients participated together, the “Calendar” group that was responsible for the calendar published by the SSC every year. Also the “Other Medicine” group, an important working group of the social clinic, which seeks to challenge the discrimination’s and separations of the dominant medical paradigm: the distinction between the physical and the mental, the human being from their social context, the therapist and the patient. From this group, the diabetes group and the workers’ clinic at VIOME were created – as well as the Holistic Clinic – which operated until the pandemic and will continue when the SSC soon returns to full operation. In the Holistic Clinic, the person arriving is cared for by a health team consisting of a general practitioner or pathologist, psychologist / psychotherapist and a non-specialist. This team collects data through a holistic social / occupational / medical history and tries together with the visitors to find feasible solutions for their health problems.
Principles
Our non-negotiable principles are independence from the state, political parties, the market and the church. The SSC of Thessaloniki is financed exclusively by donations from individuals, associations, collectives and unions, both Greek and foreign. It covers its monthly expenses (telephone bills, dental materials, consumables, vaccines and some medicines) and can even support mobilizations and collectives whenever there is need. The independence of the SSC is conditional on its financial independence from businesses, sponsors or state and European funding. In addition to the aforementioned donations, the social clinic is financed by cultural events that it organizes either alone or with other collectives of the city, such as concerts or art and photography exhibitions. It is autonomous, self-managed and its maxim is direct democracy.
Connections with the “outside”
The SSC participates in the public debate on the state of the health system, organizes interventions inside and outside hospitals to combat exclusion and solve patients’ problems, and fights, in collaboration with patients and hospital doctors, for a free and public health system for all. We value our contact with the living elements of the city. Also, the Social Solidarity Clinic of Thessaloniki was part of the network of social solidarity clinics and pharmacies that was created in 2013 in Greece. In this network, the SSC, together with other social clinics/pharmacies, more than 30 initiatives in its heyday, developed practices of solidarity, exchange and cooperation at a national level. Unfortunately, today there are few (maybe 5) active initiatives throughout Greece.
Beyond that, our community participated in the movement against water privatization and actively participated in organizing the referendum against the sale of water to private interests in May 2014. We also participated in organizing the annual anti-racist festival. We support the struggle of the people of Halkidiki who oppose the gold mining operations in Skouries by the Canadian company Eldorado which pollutes both Halkidiki and Thessaloniki. The “Skouries” group is responsible for working in this spirit and has organized many events in the city to inform residents and investigate the effects of mining on public health. Over the years, we have also created ties with university students and supported their struggles in the last year, as they occupied schools and demonstrated both in Thessaloniki and throughout Greece. We participate in anti-fascist actions and demonstrations especially last year when the Golden Dawn political party was imprisoned. Finally, during the pandemic we collaborated with the Musicians’ Association of Northern Greece and jointly organized a concert to financially support Musicians.
In general, the SSC participates in movements that support health, life, freedom and dignity. In the past, we have been active in the migration struggle. We organized a trip to the island of Lesvos to create a temporary medical unit and provide medical services and medicines to refugees. Since the summer of 2015, our members have traveled to the Idomeni border, when the border was closed and the refugees were trapped inside Greece, piled up, according to the state plan, in heinous concentration camps, ten of which were set up around Thessaloniki. The SSC visited several of these camps, recorded health needs, intervened in the refugee camp set up at the city port, collaborated with collectives and squats that hosted refugees, provided financial support of several thousand euros, set up children’s camps on the city beach, organized an open concert at the port and continues to participate in public debate on refugee rights and participate in mobilizations. It goes without saying that it provides medical care to refugees in its space.
Finally, many collectives from all over Europe visit, support and collaborate with social clinics in Greece. We too are open and positive to any collaboration with collectives that have similar principles to ours.
Difficulties, problems & challenges until the pandemic era
There were and still are many issues that concerned us and concern us and touch the practice, operation and political dimension of the clinic. We mention by way of example: we chose not to have a legal entity. There is only the Association of Friends of the SSC that manages all financial issues in order to ensure transparency. Also, some of our practices, such as the collection of medicines from the city, must be carried out by people of absolute trust. In addition, there is criticism both inside and outside of social clinics regarding the following issues:
1) Our work tends to become administrative and resembles the provision of “services” by a state structure.
2) Our work serves as a cushion that absorbs social tension. Are we becoming the support of the system?
3) Our difficulty in involving those who address us not only in the political mobilizations of the social clinic but also in health issues (personal and collective).
4) The direct democratic functioning of the collective requires a lot of time and energy, knowledge and creativity, rejection of selfish behaviors and development of friendly cooperative relationships.
These aspects that, on the one hand, may appear as weaknesses and even involve the risk of “assimilation” are at the same time the challenging side of our history that calls us to modify and transform the “face” of the SSC into a creative force that develops against and in contrast to the dominant way of social relations.
We should also mention that a period of great weakening of the SSC was the period 2016-2018, when people who believed that the lifting of the institutional exclusion of people from the National Health System also meant the end of the necessity of the existence of Social Solidarity Clinics left the clinic, and thus they and many of the other Social Clinics throughout Greece stopped operating.
Pandemic period
(a period that brought us face to face with our basic weaknesses) – some of the rules of operation described in this section do not still apply in 2025.
The pandemic had quite serious consequences for the operation of the SSC. First of all, many solidarity members, due to fear, health problems, and the curfew that lasted 7.5 months in Greece, stopped participating. So today there are approximately 50 people left as solidarity members.
There was also great fear that through normal operation the clinic would become a source of transmission of the virus. This was the main reason for the closure of the dental department, which, due to its nature, was one of the most infectious areas. Because of all this, we reduced the shifts and today we operate with strict rules, for example, only those who need to see a doctor enter the clinic, the waiting time for medication is outside the clinic area and the number of solidarity members inside is small, for example, while the secretariat used to work with at least two people in each shift, today it operates with one.
Although COVID-19 as an epidemic should be addressed first (and foremost) at the primary level, we, although we are a primary health structure, had neither the ability, nor the space, nor the strength (courage) to support our patients at this level. However, we tried to keep our patients with chronic diseases regulated in terms of their diseases, such as diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, knowing that this is very important for the vulnerability of people to Covid disease.
We also spoke publicly about the criminal management of the pandemic by the government with many press releases. Within our community due to the pandemic, a serious debate has opened regarding the mandatory coronavirus vaccine and the political games that the government is playing under the guise of the pandemic and vaccination. This situation has also affected our functioning in terms of our collective processes, meetings and group discussions have become online, a process that favors distance and makes it difficult for human contacts and relationships that are particularly developed and important to us.
Today, we continue to believe that to the extent that:
1) We criticize the way in which health care is provided by the state and the market and we try to create another model, where medical practice will not be turned into a market practice, will not have barriers and exclusions, will be provided freely, collaboratively and based on social needs, will include criticism of dominant scientific knowledge, the creation of new scientific fields and methods and will be “shared” freely in society,
2) The coverage of needs is not assigned exclusively to the state, but each person actively participates in the whole process and assumes responsibility for their life,
3) We evaluate as critical the organic connection of healthcare-visitors-community,
4) The equality, parity, freedom of the members of this community are ensured by its operating framework
Then, we can hope that with our project we provide quality health care and produce knowledge that is free to all and useful to society. That we are creating a community with other characteristics and with human relationships at all levels, different and antithetical to established relationships, where each person will have knowledge and a say in what is happening in their lives and we will collectively provide the answers.
And ultimately, then we can hope that our action at the Social Solidarity Clinic contains and is contained in a dynamic of social subversion.