WITH HONORS OF A FOLK HERO, judging by the laudatory obituaries, domestic social media bid farewell to Vangeli Rochamiadorning him with all those fancy (and criminally banal) titles that the Greek press had occasionally bestowed upon him, who always treated him as the ultimate headline superstar: “Butterfly,” “Ghost,” “Escapement Meter “, “Robin of the Poor”…
I even saw him being called a “political” prisoner by some, while others simply speak of a symbol of freedom, levity and “indomitable masculinity” (!) who never killed anyone (cases such as the murder of the unfortunate gas station owner in 1983 in Galatsi, where Rochamis allegedly participated, are easily forgotten).
So he neither killed, nor allegedly raped (although it was and always is a common practice of criminals to kidnap women for the purpose of entertaining the fugitives in their hideouts), so all is well and good. Only as a queer or trans symbol have I not (yet) seen him referred to, due to his penchant for cross-dressing as a tool to escape and evade his persecutors.
We are a little more prone than others to heroizing those who appear to ridicule authority, even if they are wildly “controversial” figures.
“His escapes were aided by friends, while his concealment was aided by women”: I must have hit this quote from the Wikipedia entry “Vangelis Rochamis” more than twenty times by now in today’s publications. All peoples love the folklore mythology of the outlaw who constantly manages to slip away in exciting ways from the greasy hands of the system and the authorities, ours a little more, if we consider that the origin of the myth of (armatols and) thieves as well as celebrities bandits coincides in time with the Revolution and the new Greek state.
Consequently, we are a little more prone than others to heroizing those who appear to ridicule authority, even if they are wildly “controversial” figures.
At this time and in the climate of general mourning that prevails, the various objections that have been heard from time to time about the deceased by the criminal community and especially by his fellow prisoners, who had left strong suspicions about his regular cooperation with the authorities, are being forgotten. It is also forgotten the miraculous way in which Vangelis Rochamis in the immortal ’80s, when prisoners’ licenses had not yet been instituted, managed to escape a month or so before the elections and was arrested a day or two before they were held.
Anyway, according to all accounts and versions, the man finally found peace and quiet during the last twenty years of his life, while simultaneously enjoying his fame and “status”, even as a lifestyle icon, as shown by his appearance in 2016 on the nightly talk show of Petros Kostopoulos. “Being a thug is an expensive sport,” he had said at the time. “I had to rent 12-13 apartments at the same time…”.
Other eras. Imagine today what he would have to pay where the rents have reached.
SEE ALSO
GREECE Vangelis Rochamis died 02.06.24