We are human, young, old, pirate, student, homeless, worker, weak,
strong, shy, energetic…
We are Lisbon, Europe, the World. We were born into this society that
sees us as a number, as a list of material possessions, as somebody who
has to play a game for which we never volunteered and that we don’t want
to play. We walk the streets of Lisbon and we see the abandoned houses
that adorn it, we see the cardboard boxes that some buy to move houses
and others use as a bed, we hear music and we hear complaints. We want
to live here. We want to be able to live here. But how? Should we stop
talking of autonomy and enter the vicious cycle that makes us study,
work then retire? Should we try to rent a room, buy a house? Get
ourselves into debt? We don’t want to. We don’t want to! We want to live
the way we want.
We want to be self-sustainable – we want to live outside of this
system that oppresses us and depresses us, this system that fills the
streets with publicity and considers tagging a crime, that raises the
minimum wage 50€ but the rents 200€, that puts people out of their homes
to build more Airbnbs and hostels, that burns food, that doesn’t finish
building schools but makes the streets beautiful in the city center,
that plants eucalyptus trees that burn every year where there is no
water, that… that… We don’t even know anymore… But we know we
don’t want to be a part of this and so we chose to live differently. We
chose to recycle, occupy, sing, not have a boss, get out of the herd.
Anomalia is ours, it’s us, it’s me. No need for the state or the
system.
We need humans, young, old… Anomalia is a home, it’s a kitchen, a
living room, a building that’s been abandoned for more than 15 years
which every day rots and falls. It’s a squat, an occupied building, an
okupa, a place that was abandoned and because it belongs to someone on
paper, it will continue to be abandoned. So, this is a big problem… In
a city with big part of the population being evicted from their homes
and living close to poverty, they still prioritize a paper that says
this house belongs to this or that person, even though this or that
person doesn’t use it. The law favors the right to own private property
all the time, avoiding talking about the right to have a home. Why
shouldn’t we try to solve this ourselves? Why shouldn’t we occupy? We
don’t know. As much as they explain with official laws and ethical
teachings that we shouldn’t steal and “poor this person” or “it’s not
fair to that person”, we don’t feel we are thieves, we don’t feel sorry
for the owner of a house who’s not using but won’t let people who need
it use it, we think it’s fair to try to change the city, the society, to
try to change the future by doing something right now. We sleep very
well, we dream high and we see the possibility of something changing –
that makes us happy!
We will not give up, not now, not ever.
Update from 10 april 2018: we were evicted!
About the benefit Jam Session on 10 march 2018, announced on radar https://squ.at/r/4d7o
Hello Hello! We are Anomalia, a squat / okupa than just opened a few months ago in the center of Lisboa in Portugal! We are an old old building that is being restored and reused. Most of the material we use is recycled and skipped, but somethings we need to buy and so… Our first benefit for the house!! It’s going to be an open day with lots of good food and drinks (non alcoholic ) free price and a jam session, so grab your instruments and let’s light up the city with some music. The free shop and the info point are going to be opened and also there’s space to do creative things all over the house. We invite everyone that wants to join, the doors will be opened!
There’s not going to be a facebook event but we are going to put some posters in some places in Lisboa and Setubal, so keep your eyes opened for more information. For additional information, send an email.
Anomalia
Lisbon, Portugal
anomaliaokupa [at] riseup [dot] net
https://squ.at/r/4d2x
