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The photo does not speak for itself… It babbles in times none of us expected to live through. Usually, photos from clashes show the opposite scene: police hitting demonstrators. Those are the images we are used to. But this photo has something far deeper to convey than what appears in the moment it captures.
Crete, December 2025. Farmers rise up across Greece. Thousands of tractors block roads and clash with police forces. Naturally, the police do not stand idly by. They have orders to strike, and strike they do. Dozens of farmers took heavy blows from police batons.
I saw photos showing police violence, but decided not to amplify. The photo of the frustrated protester chasing a police officer says more. A reversed world. It was bound to happen. Time passes, and everything changes daily at bullet speed.
Are the farmers right? Of course, they are. Where else can they turn? It is an issue that leaves little room for discussion. While the country drowns in one scandal after another, justice seems to have exiled itself, or perhaps has been exiled by higher powers. And absurdity ignites more and more fires, with no one caring who will put them out. Here is one striking example of this absurdity.
On the main road to Heraklion’s “Nikos Kazantzakis” airport, the farmers, in their anger, decided to block the road with their tractors. It is worth noting that farmers are not easy opponents. Their tractors are almost armored, and their mindset, given the pressures they face, is almost primal.
Back at Heraklion airport, negotiations with police tried to prevent the road from being blocked because many travelers, mainly students, were trapped. I report this as I heard it from a Greek news channel. Even though they agreed the road should remain open, the police went ahead and placed their barricades, blocking the road to ensure the farmers would not break the agreement.
Isn’t that absurd? Isn’t it crazy? Where do you even start without losing your mind?
The confrontation was inevitable. Imagine if farmers had weapons, what would happen if limits of restraint were crossed on either side?
The state acts callously, and the frustrated strike back at whatever is in front of them. Awaiting the worst, one overlooked detail: bankrupt farmers are clashing with equally low-paid police officers.
What can you think without despairing? “Greece, your greatness never ends.”