Porto (Portugal): Call for April of Action

APRIL OF ACTION Porto, Portugal 2020

International call for action

This call is born out of the refusal to conform and stand passively watching as States and Governments turn the world into an machine of oppression imposed by rulers that don’t even hide the disrespect they have towards whole populations.

We have been witnessing an escalation of events which demand that we re-think our posture in the world and the way we want to lead our lives and the future of the planet.

Low salaries, unreasonable rents, gentrification that purposely pushes the lower classes out of the cities, out of their local communities to give space to the rich, not only alienating them from their roots and history but also not providing alternative resources for a dignified life. A consequence of real estate speculation and only in benefit of the upper class and capitalist economic interests. The exploitation of resources like Shale Gas, and Lithium without respect for the will and well being of the citizens living nearby. Illegal toll systems. New constructions that destroy entire ecosystems, like the project of a new airport in Montijo, or fracking extraction platforms that pollute soil layers and contaminates water plaques (same contaminated water that goes into the houses of nearby citizens).
Human exploitation, the mass destruction of nature, the killing of indigenous peoples and their habitats, wars…
And the list goes on and on…

All this scenario of insecurity also gives space for neo-fascist political ideologies which are now trying to sneak softly into our lives with the promise of “saving the interests of the nations”

It’s necessary to say ‘’enough’’!!
It’s necessary to take control of our own lives and by our own hands.

We feel its urgent to create structures of collective organization, horizontal, self managed, anti-capitalist, sovereign, that will help us depend less on a State and more on each other, our neighbors, our communities.

We invite @ll for the creation of a squatted autonomous zone on an urban/rural area of Porto starting on the 1st of April. Created by and for @ll.

From the 19th to the 25th of April there will be an international “Gathering of The Struggles”. It will be a meeting point for activism, art and struggles with the theme: Sovereignty. Throughout this period there will be a series of practical actions taking place at the city center related with housing and gentrification issues. This escalation of actions will lead to a final, bigger action on the 25th of April (anniversary date of the Portuguese peaceful revolution that ended dictatorship in the country)

If you have any ideas or proposals for activities/ lectures/ workshops/ concerts/ exhibitions/ workshops/etc for this meeting or if you wish to be involved in the organization, get in touch.

Things to bring:
Tent/sleeping bag/blankets/knives, forks, plates, cups/candles/food donations/all kinds of materials/trust and self esteem.

The meeting on the 1st of April will be at (Jardim de S. Lazaro at 14 o’clock) from where we’ll go together to the place in question.

Follow the white rabbit … abrilaccao [at] protonmail [dot] ch

Rotterdam: Illegal eviction of Tweebosstraat 120

On the 26th of February, employees of Vestia came to the door of a squat on Tweebosstraat 120. They knocked at the door, introducing themselves as the police. Obviously the squatters didn’t believe them, and refused to open the door anyway. Vestia threatened them to call the police, so they gave them the following documents proving they were living here for more than a week. Those documents were stamped by the OM on the 19th of February to prove the authenticity of the date.
According to Dutch law, those documents mean that Vestia is supposed to do a court case against the squatters in order to get an eviction order. After 48 hours of occupancy it’s illegal to evict a squat without an order from a judge. [Read More]

Rotterdam: Tweebosbuurt callout for solidarity

For the freedom to occupy abandoned places, an eviction, 10 occupations!

In a few days from now, next Wednesday March 4th, 6 squats (3 of which officially and the rest very likely) are facing eviction, 6 homes people have been transforming and living in for months, whilst also fighting against the demolition and gentrification of the neighborhood. 6 houses whose residents will be thrown out onto the street with all their possessions by the police. The date of 4 March is decisive, both for the future of these homes and for the continuation of the battle here in Tweebosbuurt. We are therefore launching a call out to come and support us and to be present in solidarity during the evictions. [Read More]

Dublin: New social centre

Ashes to Ashes, Crust to Crust – A revival in the Dublin squatter scene

So here we are, in our very own, “Her Lady Margaret Thatcher Memorial Library,” drinking a can and celebrating that the cunt’s still dead.

We’re writing this article as we are happy to finally announce ‘Sandwitch Gaff’ to the world! (squat.net). After resisting an illegal eviction attempt when a digger came crashing through our walls in the early hours of the morning we have decided to come out from underground and tell others that Sandwitch Gaff is here to stay.

If your familiar with the Dublin squatting scene and you liked Grangegorman or the Barricade Inn then you’ll hate us! We’ve got a warehouse full of trampolines, tall bikes, zip lines, a whole bunch of dogs, our own bar and a bunch of other mad shit. We’ve had a few events; cabaret, ceilí, scum dine with me, comedy nights, and were ready and open to host more. If you’re a cool band or traveling weirdo looking for a venue for whatever you do, send us an email and keep your eyes out for upcoming events posted on radar.squat.net. (hippies and oogles need not apply.)

Brexit got you down? Don’t move to Berlin! We’re calling for all talented immigrant squatters to come here and help internationalise this scene. Give us a shout if you’re travelers passing through or locals that wanna get involved.

Our kru email is antifaffhooligans [at] riseup [dot] net
Sandwitch https://squ.at/r/7rz7

Rotterdam: Squatted house evicted within a day. Nocturnal dialogue with Vestia

Police and Vestia think they can do anything with impunity again!

The police evicted a squat in the Tweebosstraat in Rotterdam-Zuid on Wednesday evening. Squatters had entrenched themselves on the balcony and the roof. Four arrests were made. A group of squatters entered the empty building earlier in the day. The police were present with many officers to remove the group. The houses in the Tweebosstraat are on the nomination to be demolished. Earlier, there were also houses squatted for a short period of time in the neighbourhood to protest against the current vacancy.


The Hague: A nocturnal dialogue with Vestia.

In the night of February 25th a nightly visit was made to the Vestia office at the Loevesteinlaan in The Hague. Several windows were smashed and paint bombs were thrown on the building. Vestia is a mafia embraced by the state. The housing corporation is well known for its malpractices and its total disregard for tenants. After the 2008 crisis, the company continued to cheerfully raise rents, sell out social housing and postpone crucial maintenance of social housing. People were struggling with leakage, moisture and mold problems, and Vestia didn’t seem to care.
Now Vestia is once again demolishing more than 500 social housing units in the Tweebosbuurt in Rotterdam. The corporation will only rebuild 130 social housing units, the rest will be business premises and owner-occupied houses. Vestia’s project in the Tweebosbuurt is one of brutal gentrification. [Read More]

Groningen: Solidarity with 10 squatters

Call for solidarity with the 10 people who were arrested during the eviction of the Heykens-building in the Akerkstraat in Groningen in October 2019. They all are convicted for article 138a.
The judge agreed with the demand of the prosecutor and all have to pay a fine of 300 euro. With legal costs of 150 euro per person op top of that, this amounts to high costs and they could use some support.

Please donate if you can
Solidariteitsfonds Het Zwarte Gat, NL41 TRIO 0391 0365 64, and mention “heykenspand”

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Local news about the verdict

Source

Berlin: Reflection of the occupation of the Greek consulate in December 2019

We entered the building at 11 a.m. with 17 people and calmly asked the staff to stop working for the day. The aim was to disturb the smooth running of the procedure, but without causing further damage. The consulate is located on the 4th floor of an apartment building in Möhrenstraße 17 in Berlin-Mitte. As soon as we entered the rooms, we covered the cameras, explained our reason of the occupation to the staff, hung a banner with the words “Solidarity with the Squats” out of the window and threw out flyers. We made no demands whatsoever, but took the room to spread our ideas and show our solidarity.

The supporters down the street distributed flyers and our statement to the pedestrians. As soon as the rooms were occupied, we sent our text to all ministries in Greece via fax and e-mail and also to some of the mass-media, because we discussed beforehand if we want to use the media to propagate our action and decided to send the text to some of them. [Read More]

Brighton: DIY Kodak Update

Apologies for the delayed update – the past couple of days have been busy! For everyone wondering how the eviction went, we just wanted to let you know that we have managed to find some temporary storage solutions and no one has ended up back out in the streets.

As ever, we fully intend intend to keep this project going and will keep you updated about our next steps.

Watch this space…

With love and solidarity,
The DIY Kodak Collective

Rotterdam: About police actions in Tweebosbuurt

We’ve been silently listening to lots of different people talking about squatters in Tweebosbuurt in the last few days. From the leftist parties supporting squatters and newspapers calling them “heroes of Tweebosbuurt” to far right activists calling them criminals and claiming that they should be jailed or kicked out of the country. We thought that most of what could be said about squatters in Tweebosbuurt has been said. But then Wim Hoonhout, head of communication of Rotterdam’s police, decided to give his opinion on twitter as well, and it says a lot about how this city works: “Anti-capitalists, anarchists and extremists from Europe choose Tweebosbuurt for their actions. Thereby threaten the safety of residents. This requires a strict approach. Police [is] committed to ensuring that safety. Violence must be proportional and subsidiary. These people seek to undermine the rule of law. Leon [a journalist supporting squatters] trivializes their behavior and condemns our action”.

This is important and needs to be analyzed carefully.

Let’s start with squatting: as you might know, squatting is illegal in the Netherlands and was considered a criminal offense. But you should also know that since the 2 December 2010, the state court has ruled that the law forbidding squatting was illegal. Since then, squatting is legally considered as a civil issue, a disagreement of interest between two private parties. It’s not a criminal offense anymore. [Read More]

Athens: Koukaki fell heavy on them

Since 2017, the Koukaki Squat Community (Matrozou 45, Panaitoliou 21, Arvali 3) set up a different competitive example of communal life in the center of Athens. Through horizontal procedures, collective work and persistence, it set up open and social projects of communal housing, public bath and laundry, clothes sharing, spaces for public events and a multilingual library. Operating in an area which has been transforming from residential neighborhood to first-class tourist resort, the Koukaki Squat Community raised an embankment against the repressive and economic policies of the state and the bosses, against fascism, racism, and patriarchy. A living hearth of resistance, it also actively supported and connected with other struggles, political projects and public assemblies [1].

Such an active community of equality and solidarity could not go unnoticed. As many other squats and political projects in Athens, the squats in Koukaki were targeted multiple times by the state, both by syriza and nea dimokratia governments, as well as through fascist attacks [2]. Facing evictions and repression, the comrades resisted and defended their community by retaking the houses and through dynamic interventions. [Read More]

Athens: Update from the trial for the eviction of Gare squat

Three were the accused at yesterday’s trial for the police operation of the 26th of August 2019, when the new wave of state attacks against squats begun. The charges were those relevant with illegal occupation, in another words the offense to private property, and the new package of prosecutions against squatters which is theft of water and electricity.

The accused, each with their own speech , defended the moral right to the use of an abandoned building for social and political work, on top of the “housing needs” and they denied entirely the responsibility of the charges . They referred to the open procedures, events, political and cultural which Gare squat housed, and to the public bath which was operating daily and in a self organized way by its users , the migrants, homeless and excluded. [Read More]

Rubí (Catalonia): Rally against the risk of eviction from El Mirlo community garden

Call out from El Mirlo community garden.

Saturday 15 February 2020, 12:00, rally in front of Rubí train station.

If the speculator persists, El Mirlo resists!

May 2016, we occupied the land on 44 General Prim Street, opposite the Ateneu Anarquista la Hidra, owned at that time by Arrels CT Finsol, a BBVA real estate company, in order to build a community garden among all of them. Since then we have been giving life to this space, making use of an abandoned land. El Mirlo (the Blackbird) and its plants have not stopped growing with the effort of all of us, day after day and in each of the open days to the neighbors that are organized every 15 days. We cultivate vegetables, medicinal plants, tubers and we do it all together to learn together and thus share knowledge. The garden is also a meeting place for people and groups, a corner protected from the asphyxiating pollution and asphalt of this city. [Read More]