Today would be his celebration day. A normal day, with welcomes, phone calls, people around him. Instead, there’s a room in Korydallos and a family learning to live with absence.
Giorgos Lyggeridis hasn’t been here since that night in December 2023, outside Rentis’s gym, when in a few seconds of chaos a nautical flare changed everything and left behind a void that won’t close. Today the trial proceeds, but outside the courtroom there is a silence that is hard to explain.
In the courtroom, descriptions of what happened that night bring the picture forward again. His colleagues talk about the attack, the confusion, the struggle to keep him alive. It’s not an easy process for anyone, let alone his family who are there every day and hear everything all over again. In a standout moment, his father couldn’t help but smile when he saw smiles that didn’t fit such a case. He reacted spontaneously, as any man in his position would have done. There it is clear that this is not just a trial, but an open wound.
And yet, all of this seems to go almost unnoticed.Mega media are avoiding taking the case seriously, as if it doesn’t concern them. It’s not that there are no events or developments; it’s that they choose not to shine a light on them. When the balance is delicate and interests weigh in, reporting becomes selective and ultimately poor. Thus, such a serious issue is left on the sidelines.
But there are those who do not pass it by. The Manifesto and SKAY continue to cover the trial, insisting on bringing it to the forefront. And in this general silence, Aris Portosalte stands out, because he chooses to speak clearly and highlight what others leave aside. At a time when many prefer not to be exposed, this attitude has its importance.
The story of George Liggeridis is not the only one that has fallen flat. There are other people who perished and never became a slogan, like Thanos Axarlian or the people who burned to death in Mati. They didn’t fit narratives, they didn’t serve agendas, and so they were more easily forgotten than they should have been.
Today, which could have been a simple celebration,the thought goes to his own people. To the home that is missing, to the voice that will not be heard, to a place thatwill remain empty. And with it comes the question of whether this case will find the space itdeserves. Because in the end it is not a matter of timeliness. It’s a matter of justice. And above all, a matter of never getting used to this silence.
