The Last Teddy Boy of the Junta* aspires to be the biography of an entire generation, not just of Makis Balaouras, who grew up in the provinces and was even a “migrant” from Lechaina to Zakynthos and Patras, before Madagascar entered his life. It is also the story of a generation that resisted the tyranny of the junta, in whose struggle he was merely “an archer in the war.” A thousand threads link personal experiences with collective struggles shared with comrades.
Without letting emotion weigh down the narrative, the author draws on his own experiences while also turning to documentary evidence. At the same time, he pays tribute with overflowing affection to fellow activists and fellow prisoners who remained in obscurity, even though they played a pivotal role in the mass growth of the Student Anti-Dictatorship Movement.
The narrative unfolds in the shadow of History, accompanied by poems and songs that reflected the sensibilities of the student youth engaged in the struggle. It also offers a response to those who revise History and, through their multifaceted and insidious targeting of the “Polytechnic generation,” seek to discredit its historical legacy. It speaks to those who cry that “History has spread the rumor that we’re finished…”
The author strives to ensure that the “Polytechnic generation” passes on to future generations a passion for resisting the devaluation of the ideals of Freedom, Equality, and Rights.
Although most of the book is written in the first person, Makis Balaouras wanted to speak of “we,” not “I”—or, to quote Eric Cantona, “my best goals were my assists.”
* “The Last Teddy Boy” refers to the famous “Trial of the 11 Students,” when the author stood trial alongside ten fellow activists following the first occupation of the Polytechnic in February 1973. The indictment listed numerous violations of the Criminal Code, including Law 4000/1958, concerning “teddy-boy hooliganism.”
