Residents of a tenement in Poznań have been harassed for months by thugs hired by the building’s new owners. Because they cannot be evicted quickly through legal measures, residents have been subject to stalking, intimidation and blackmail; under the cover of renovation works, most of their amenities, including running water and gas, have been cut off. The building was purposefully infested with rats and insects, and many apartments have been substantially devastated.
This strategy, proven successful many times before in Poland, propelled some of the residents of Stolarska to move out. But seven families decided not to give up. In the face of the municipal authorities’ unwillingness to come to their aid, the defiant residents took matters into their own hands, boarded up entrance to the building and now they occupy it.
This is an unprecedented strike of Polish residents. So far they have been treated as objects purchased together with the property. Most of them have lived there for decades. They have invested their time, energy and resources into maintaining the building, and they, in vain, have tried to resolve the muddy property status of the apartments they inhabit. The new owners of the building, Lechosław Gawroński oraz Grzegorz Liberkowski, persistently refuse to meet with them. At the same time, in order to maintain good publicity, Gawroński and Liberkowski sponsor a number of cultural events in the city. Their shameful combination of cynicism and keeping up high-brow appearances is something we know very well from history.
In Poland’s past, there have been many moments when people, faced with abject injustice and indolence of the government, stood up and stood tall. The residents of Stolarska did exactly that. Let us show them, and the world at large, that they are not alone in their struggle. Solidarity — a word that once galvanized global civil society — is a powerful tool that has already demonstrated its extraordinary prowess.
If you want to sign a letter of solidarity, email us: mieszkancystolarskiej [at] gmail [dot] com
Source – http://stolarska.wordpress.com/2012/09/11/letter-of-solidarity-with-the-residents-of-stolarska-2-in-poznan-poland/#more-41
