While the city is being bombarded with the slogan “Stay at home. Please. Everyone.” calls for people to hide in their own homes, the squatters from the Juch are given an ultimatum of 4 days until they are kicked out on the streets.
So, in the shadow of the Corona crisis, people are driven from their homes and cultural freedom is destroyed. This happens without giving reasons, announcing plans nor showing a building permit. The last weeks have probably caused some wet dreams among authoritarian forces and so it is not really surprising that a hard wind is blowing against us right now. Nevertheless, we are speechless about the impudence of the city government, which on the one hand rambles about solidarity and at the same time imposes completely counterproductive, repressive measures against a left-wing project. Last Saturday, the Corona argument was used to try to nip the pandemic-proof demo “Safety for all refugees” in the bud. Although all the precautionary measures recommended by the Confederation are being implemented, it is not possible in this city to take to the streets during a protest. However, it seems justified for the Social Department to put residents of a squat on the streets without giving any reason?
The obvious arbitrariness in the interpretation of their own laws and implementation of the protection measures, depending on who the city is dealing with, cannot be dismissed. But it casts doubt on its credibility in the fight against Corona. So what we are dealing with here is the exploitation of emergency laws. Because all this happens while basic rights are restricted, assembly bans forbid us to organize a real protest and we cannot be responsible for calling on each other to support each other physically.
We must ask ourselves here and now the question in what kind of city we want to live in after the crisis and how we are already acting in solidarity against authoritarian fantasies of omnipotence. In this sense we call upon all anti-authoritarian and emancipatory people, groups and projects to show solidarity with us.
Communique from squatters*in KocHarEAl
To the City Council and Head of the Department of Social Affairs Raphael Golta (SP)
Yesterday, on April 20, we were informed of the evacuation of the occupied Juch-area planned by your department. In the letter written by your department’s secretariat, the squatters and users of the Juch-Area are requested to clear the barracks located on the site by midnight on Friday April 24 at the latest. How the Juch-area will be used by the Social Department in the future is not clear from the said letter.
The way in which the Social Department of the city of Zürich, especially in the context of the Corona crisis which has not yet been overcome, wants to put people without a permanent residence on the streets is incomprehensible to us. The lack of reference to future use and the resulting anticipated impossibility of a discourse on this issue seems arrogant and authoritarian.
In view of the precarious situation during, but also outside of the emergency, the evacuation of an area of this size within such a short period of time is simply not feasible. Moreover, the tearing apart and splitting up of a shared apartment poses a great risk in terms of the spread of SARS-CoV-2.
At a time when even the Confederation is promoting solidarity, it is all the more cynical to attack solidarity based, self-governing and emancipatory projects that also offer housing to people who are excluded from the housing market. Where are the people you want to displace supposed to find a HOME in such short notice?
We therefore urge you to refrain from eviction plans and remind you of the guidelines of the city council regarding the Corona crisis; LIVE AT HOME. PLEASE. ALL.
The Juch-area is a HOME!
Squatters*in KocHarEAl
21 April 2020
Juch
Juchstrasse 27
8048 Zürich, Switzerland
https://squ.at/r/7gaw
https://juch.zureich.rip/
Koch Areal
Rautistrasse 22
8048 Zürich, Switzerland
https://squ.at/r/6kt
http://www.kochareal.ch/
Some squats in Zürich: https://radar.squat.net/en/groups/city/zurich/country/CH/squated/squat
Groups (social center, collective, squat) in Zürich: https://radar.squat.net/en/groups/city/zurich/country/CH
Events in Zürich: https://radar.squat.net/en/events/city/Zurich/country/CH
Some squats in Switzerland: https://radar.squat.net/en/groups/country/CH/squated/squat
Groups (social center, collective, squat) in Switzerland: https://radar.squat.net/en/groups/country/CH
Events in Switzerland: https://radar.squat.net/en/events/country/CH
Barrikade https://barrikade.info/article/3414
Radar https://radar.squat.net/de/event/zuerich/konzert-raum-koch-areal/2020-04-22/pfotenweg-vom-besetzen-juchareal-communique-von-den
