Zagreb: Presentation about squatting in Croatia. Call for support by the BEK collective

Presentation and discussion about squatting in Croatia, during the Van sistema DIY fest, on 6 October 2018 at the BEK squat in Zagreb: “Our colleague squatter Damir Batarelo will have a presentation about squatting in Croatia, as well as about the squatting scene, its history and context. After his presentation, there will be an open-table discussion so – squatters of the world unite! Come and let us emerge in sharing experiences and let’s talk about the foundations of the squatter solidarity network not only in this area, but wider.” The festival program: https://squ.at/r/69vf

Call for support by the BEK collective, autonomous space for free social and cultural activities.

When talking about our story, first of all, we want to emphasize that one day, hopefully soon, this will really become OUR story. A story of all included, anyone who wants to participate, a story of a community that builds it’s own part of a creative and self-sustainable space, a story of no one left aside. We want to make a new spot for all of us who don’t have a place to create and invest their time into, and for us who don’t have money or access to social and cultural programs that we can be a part of.
We are BEK collective, a group of enthusiastic young people, emerged from the “Food not Bombs” collective, who squatted an old abandoned school at the beginning of 2018. The building is located in the heart of Croatia’s capital city Zagreb. It was built in the 1940’s and it has 2500m2 on three floors. [Read More]

Lecce: Eviction of Canaglia Occupata

On Monday 3rd September Canaglia Occupata in Lecce was evicted. Police stormed the place at 6am along with the fire brigade and ENEL and municipal waterworks technicians, who cut off all electricity and water supplies. Three male and four female comrades who were in the building at the time of the eviction were charged with occupation, defacement and damaging of others’ property, as well as theft of electricity and water supplies. Three were also reported for breach of expulsion orders from Lecce and a comrade who managed to stay on the roof for a while (Digos officers had to use a ladder to reach him) was charged with resistance. Three more expulsion orders from Lecce for another three years were issued. The building was declared sequestrated.

The occupation took place on 23rd July, about a month after the Villa Matta squat was evicted. On social media right-wing groups of Lecce (Northern League, Forza Italia, Sentire Civico, Movimento e Libertà) are rejoicing at the brilliant police operation that restored respect for ‘sacred property’ – be it private or public – followed by cheers from those who have no scruples about calling us ‘parasites to be eliminated’.

Unfortunately for them, it is certainly not a physical place that gives content to our life and struggle; unfortunately for them, we’ll continue to be present in the city. [Read More]

Berlin: Liebig34 must stay!

We are Liebig 34, a self-organised anarcha queer feminist house project in Berlin-Friedrichshain made of different collectives: the Infoladen Daneben, the-queer-feminist living-project Liebig34 and the queer feminist eventspace L34-Bar. 40 people from all over the world with different backgrounds and gender identities collectively live together whitout cis-men, trying to create a “safer political space“ without hierarchies, a space where we try to develop, extend and exert anti-patriarchal practices, where we reflect power structures, privileges and where we empower each other.
Liebig 34 was squatted in 1990 and later legalized like many other houses in east-Berlin. After the failed attempt to buy the house collectively, a contract was made for 10 years.

Now, december 2018, our contract is coming to an end.

Our house, like over 200 others around Friedrichshain, is owned by Gijora Padovicz and his company Siganadia Grundbesitz GmbH, famous for the systematic buying, eviction and destruction of houses and houseprojects for commercial profit in detriment of affordable housing spaces for all. [Read More]

The Hague: Prosecutions for anti-repression demonstrators

We have been informed by our lawyers that the Public Prosecution will start summoning people to court who took part in the anti-repression demonstration in November 2016 in The Hague. Some people have already receive subpoenas to attend court (on November 14th).

For the upcoming court case the lawyers Ineke van den Brûle and Juanita van Lunen will be available for the defense. If you wish to be defended and represented by them you can contact us. Because the case consists of 166 arrests of which all will likely be prosecuted we need to be sure to give the most complete and accurate information to our lawyers. The required information is: [Read More]

London: The Battle for Deptford and Beyond

In Deptford in south east London, local campaigners have occupied a 20-year old community garden to prevent it from being boarded up and razed to the ground by Lewisham Council and the housing association, Peabody. They are also highlighting the absurdity of proposals to demolish 16 structurally sound council flats next door to build new social housing.

What’s happening in Deptford reflects two pressing concerns in the capital today. The first is the prioritising of house-building projects over pressing environmental concerns. The second is the destruction of social housing to create new developments that consist of three elements: housing for private sale, shared ownership deals that are fraught with problems, and new social housing that’s smaller, more expensive and offering tenants less security than what is being destroyed.

The proposed destruction is part of a plan to build new housing not only on the site of the Old Tidemill Wildlife Garden and Reginald House flats, but also on the site of the old Tidemill Primary School, which closed in 2012. Peabody intends to build 209 units of new housing on the site, of which 51 will be for private sale, with 41 for shared ownership, and 117 at what is described as “equivalent to social rent”, although that is untrue. The rents on the latter will fall under London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s London Affordable Rent, which is around 63% higher than existing council rents in Lewisham.
[Read More]

London: Homeless Festival Was a Stark Reminder of How Bad Things Have Got

Immersed in the fun of Streets Fest, you could have been excused for forgetting, just for a day, how vast a crisis homelessness in Britain has become.

Unless, of course, your first sight after walking out of Finsbury Park tube station – towards the health and wellbeing festival for homeless and vulnerably housed people – was a rough sleeper, apparently lifeless and surrounded by paramedics, as mine was this Monday morning.

It was a brutal sign of the times and a stark reminder of why charities are tasked with picking up where those with the power to change the fate of thousands have fallen down. And it is happening in a country where more than 8,000 people are forced to sleep rough on any one night, and at least 300,000 face homelessness. This is an era in which grassroots organisations, such as Streets Kitchen, find themselves having to host a special event – by some cruel irony, in one of the nation’s homelessness hotspots – to offer basic services to vulnerable people. It seems we have reached peak austerity Britain.
[Read More]

Dublin: Masked thugs evict Frederick Street

Masked Garda threatening people with batons in the aftermath of the violent eviction carried out by thugs in Dublin last night. Pepper spray, dogs and batons were deployed, there were 5 or 6 arrests and four housing campaigners required hosptial visits from injuries received in the course of the eviction of the Frederick St occupation [which is the second recent occupation].

[Read More]

Dublin: Third building occupied by Take Back the City

Saturday 8th of September saw another building occupied in Dublin as part of the Take Back the City campaign, this is the 3rd occupation in a little over a month. The new occupied building is on 41 Belvedere Place as the video shows over 100 people gathered outside in support of the occupation.

[Read More]

Dublin: Activists occupy third Dublin property to highlight Ireland’s housing crisis

Take Back the City: a network of 18 grassroots activist groups who are working together to take direct action against property owners across Ireland’s capital, have occupied a property in Dublin. It is the group’s third action of this kind in the last weeks.

In early August, Take Back the City took over a property Summerhill Parade in response to the eviction of up to 120 tenants with only 48 hours notice. This was followed by another occupation of a property at North Frederick Street, whos owners planned to convert it to a hotel for short-term residents rather than for actual housing.

The most recent occupation was conducted when at least 100 people gathered in the city centre on Monday afternoon and marched towards a vacant property at Belvedere Court before taking it over. The property has now been occupied with banners and posters hanging from the windows. [Read More]

London: Queens in Furs guided tour of Brixton

In the 1970s Britain was saturated in political activity right across the board. Not just in the Labour movement, trade unions and the Left but also the new social movements were particularly active in challenging the oppressive established order especially the black, women’s and gay liberation movements. The environmental, countercultural, squatters’ and claimants’ organisations were also fully engaged in defending people against poverty, homelessness, the destruction of the environment and experimenting with ‘alternative’ lifestyles. Throughout this period the anti-apartheid movement, the Anti-Nazi League and Troops out of Ireland challenged the racist regime in South Africa, the growing menace of racism and fascism and the continuing military occupation of Northern Ireland. In the early 70s there were still lively anti-Vietnam war demonstrations. Much of this ‘crucible’ of radical activity provided the ingredients for how politics were practised locally in Brixton.
[Read More]

London: Streets Fest on Monday!

CALL OUT TO ALL SQUATTERS / HOMELESS / TRAVELLERS
All Day Free BBQ / Hairdressers / Doctors / Vets / Showers / Opticians / Housing, Squatting, Boat Advice / Free Clothes /

#STREETSFEST #STREETSKITCHEN #FINSBURYPARK #NFAAF

Bringing together 50+ groups and services
Monday 10th September – Finsbury Park (2pm – 8pm)

[Read More]

Amsterdam: ADM, an update on the actual situation

Upcoming fall, the largest cultural free-haven in The Netherlands, ADM, will be 21 years old. Since its beginning in 1997 ADM has been under constant pressure to a greater or lesser extent.

Especially in recent years we are involved in multiple legal procedures and we’ve put constant strain on the municipality of Amsterdam to purchase the site to prevent a financial loss of hundreds of millions euros. Unfortunately the fate of ADM depends primarily on the outcome of these legal- and political processes and not on the grand cultural heritage which ADM is giving to the city and the world.

After vigorous appeal three major legal cases have been lost by ADM in the last weeks. Mainly because in these lawsuits only a limited part of the entire case is dealt with, without giving proper attention to the overall perspective. This means that on legal grounds ADM can be evicted straight after the December 24th. [Read More]