Dear Friends,
Let’s start with thank you. The support and solidarity we have received over the past six weeks, but especially this weekend, has been overwhelming. On Saturday, we were harshly evicted, with police brutality and a demonstration of power. More on this later, but for now: so much love for everyone who stood there with us. And especially so much love for the people who voluntarily exposed themselves to state violence, prosecution and very literal physical violence by the police. Many thanks to Extinction Rebellion and Comrade Twingo without whom the eviction would have been a lot easier for the police. Thanks to everyone who helped us ensure that Hotel Mokum could not be quietly swept away. But also thank you to everyone who supported us in any other way, this weekend and for the past six weeks. You are all so amazing and so fucking brave and we couldn’t have done this without you.
The enormous support we have received in such a short period of time says something about the size of the problem. Places like Hotel Mokum are much needed. What we experienced this weekend was a demonstration of the power of the movement and the community, of old and new supporters. The exaggerated use of power by the police and the municipality shows that the housing struggle and the squatting movement are a serious threat to the system. Let’s not forget that what happened this weekend is an attack on free spaces and alternative culture everywhere, that it shows that the municipality is prioritising the rights of property owners over the rights of people to live and work, that this is unacceptable, that we need to keep fighting and most of all let’s not forget that we are fucking angry!
Hotel Mokum was our home and our place in a city that is said to have no space left. We showed what is possible with six empty floors next to the Leidseplein. We organised screenings, political cafes, a chess tournament, a neighbour day and a three-day exhibition with work by more than 70 artists. Now we have lost our space, where we had built so much. We are sad and defeated, but also hopeful and combative. We are happy and proud that it all happened. We have lost something but we have also gained so much. We have lost our building, but not our fighting spirit, our anger and our community.
This is definitely not the last you will hear from us. We will continue. The huge bang that cleared Hotel Mokum gives us new energy. This past weekend, we made more noise than ever before and even made the national news. This means that we have reached even more people and therefore that our movement can only continue to grow.
If you loved Hotel Mokum as much as we did, we want to ask you: hold on to this. Turn that love into fighting spirit. Squatting is a desperately needed tactic that must not be allowed to die out. We will continue the fight against the housing crisis, against the corrupt market and the rotten policy, against the commercialisation of the city, against monoculture, against vacancy and for Free Spaces, for freedom, for our city, for Amsterdam.
Support your local squat assistance. Jump on your bike and look for boarded-up doors. Give a hand, occupy a building! We keep our backs straight and our fists clenched, because: LAW OR NO LAW, SQUATTING CONTINUES!
Shoutout to Kinderen van Mokum, to Joe’s Garage, to Croeselaan and Ringdijk and the Bowling and all the other squats, to ADEV and BIJ1 and Woonprotest and Extinction Rebellion, to all our comrades. Love you xoxo
HOTEL MOKUM FOREVER
Hotel Mokum
https://squ.at/r/8g9h
Some squats in the Netherlands: https://radar.squat.net/en/groups/country/NL/squated/squat
Groups (social centers, collectives, squats) in the Netherlands: https://radar.squat.net/en/groups/country/NL
Events in the Netherlands: https://radar.squat.net/en/events/country/NL
