Bologna (Italy): former Sani barracks squatted by XM24

Give in to those who would like us to be extinct, exiled or forgotten: we may have little sense, but our imagination is infinite! Today XM24 reopens a place closed and abandoned for decades. What was once the Sani barracks begins a new life as a place of self-management, solidarity and aggregation. We are opposed to the abandonment of public spaces, regaining possession of the spaces we need to live and breathe.
For 17 years XM24 has produced sociality and self-managed culture in Via Fioravanti 24. A Self-managed public space that has also been the starting point of social struggles that have crossed Bologna and the entire country. A place where many activities have been able to escape the logic of profit, a place of human and political experimentation. [Read More]

Zürich (Switzerland): Voices from the occupied Juch

We, and all of us who have entered this space in the last few weeks, have seen what this was and must never be again: a prison. What is clear to all of us is that no one who has seen this space can allow it to be used again for the administration and imprisonment of people. It is inhumane that traumatised people who have fled in the Juch should again be crammed together and monitored.

The SVP says about this occupation at the local council meeting on 6 november 2019: “Apparently some people enjoy more privileges and are not equal before the law, according to the motto: for a few instead of for all”. We say: exactly, talking about tolerance, what about people who are categorized, imprisoned and administered. This state is so far for a few instead of for all – the camps in which people in exile are imprisoned are clear proof of this. The problem isn’t that the repression against a few people who are appropriating space isn’t big enough, the problem is that this system grants some rights that it denies others. The distinction is based solely on where the persons were born. [Read More]

Berlin: Announcement to the court hearing of Liebig34

On Friday, November 15, Liebig34’s eviction trial will be brought to the Court on Tegeler Weg. [Previously on S!N] We are very pleased about the large number of participants, both in and in front of the courthouse.

The trial starts at 9 am in room 100 and will probably not take long, so punctuality is important. Around 8:30 am the doors to the courthouse will be opened. It is possible that there will be a lot of time left at the entrance and so as few people as possible will be tried to gain access to the trial. But let us not be discouraged! From 7:30 am there will be a rally in front of the courthouse, which will be legally accompanied. There will be music and speeches. So please come by between 7:30 a.m. and 8:30 am, come with us to the building or stay in front of it.
[Read More]

Athens: Statement from residents of Bouboulinas squat

Bouboulinas squat [previously on S!N]was evicted on Tuesday 12/11/19 around 6 in the morning, we were transferred to Petrou Ralli and at evening they split us up in 4 buses and let one family and a single woman “free”, homeless in Athens.

Rejection to end up in a concentration camp

The 4 buses were going to Amygdaleza detention center. When we realised where we were taken, we refused to get off the buses, all of us. We refuse because We know the conditions there, nobody would want to stay more than 24 hours in that place. We spent the night without good and water, in the dark.
[Read More]

Madrid: La Ingobernable evicted, but an ungovernable Madrid can’t be evicted

From the heart of Madrid, November 13, 2019

Today, the right wing has carried out the eviction of La Ingobernable, in a demonstration of force. It has closed itself off from tackling a social conflict with arguments, and without even giving notice, it has resolved with the police what it has not wanted to resolve through dialogue. When the reasons end, you only have brute force left, but you will neither win nor convince. Thousands of us filled a common space with life, and now they are knocking down the door to empty this social center of all the life with which we filled it.

Almeida, Villacís: but why do you hate us so much? First, because you can’t stand the truth that we are carrying: that the Prado 30 conflict was not opened by La Ingobernable, but by those who stole a public building from us. [Read More]

London: Fascist Attack At Pie ‘n’ Mash Squat in Deptford

Last night, Saturday the 9th of November, two bonehead hooligans kicked in the front windows of the Pie ‘n’ Mash squatted community cafe in Deptford, London.
After stomping around the streets of Deptford in the last weeks, and even entering the squat twice previously, the two hooligans demanded to be let in, in order to beat up the squatters, and then proceeded to put their steel-toes through the front door before scarpering as support arrived from upstairs.
The boneheads had been seen the night before in the off-licence (liquor store) abusing the owners, calling them taliban and making homophobic jibes, and seem to think they have a free reign of an area that has for many years been a stronghold of multiculturalism and antifascist community. We have since spoken to the shop owners who are excited to be part of organising against these wannabe-nazis, and we will be coordinating with anarchists, antifascists, and neighbourhood groups to keep these scum off our streets. [Read More]

Marseille (France): Demo against the deadly housing crisis

Call for a demo on November 9th, 15AM, Notre Dame du Mont, Collective El Manba and Saint-Just. Everybody in the street against the bad accomodation !

On Saturday, November 9, we will march in memory of the 8 people killed in the collapses of Aubagne Street and Zineb Redouane, murdered by the police. These deaths are not accidents but the result of an urban policy of speculation and profit, which drives out the most vulnerable populations of the city centre.

In Marseille, as elsewhere, the State and its subcontractors in the asylum system (OFII, PADA, 115…) are evading their legal obligations and denying the migrants the housing they are entitled to. Within institutional accommodation, the major funders (ADOMA, Sara Logisol, Forum Réfugiés, Groupe SOS, 3F) zealously apply the State’s directives and support all policies of control, surveillance and deprivation of liberty. [Read More]

Old Tidemill Wildlife Garden one year after eviction

One year ago yesterday, the two-month occupation of the Old Tidemill Wildlife Garden, a community garden in Deptford, in south east London, came to a violent end when bailiffs hired by Lewisham Council evicted the occupiers in a dawn raid.

It was a disturbing end to a long-running effort on the part of the local community to save the garden — and Reginald House, a block of structurally sound council flats next door — from destruction as part of a plan to re-develop the site of the old Tidemill primary school. The garden — a magical design of concentric circles — had been created by pupils, teachers and parents 20 years before, and the community had been given use of it after the school moved to a new site in 2012, while efforts to finalise the plans proceeded, with the housing association Family Mosaic (which later merged with Peabody) and the private developer Sherrygreen Homes.
[Read More]

Reading (UK): closed down pub re-opens as Kobanî House social space

The closed Red Lion pub in Reading was reopened and renamed ‘Kobanî House’ in solidarity with Rojava. The pub, located at Southampton Street, is currently occupied by a group of people and will be run as a social and political space.

One of the occupiers said: “In solidarity with the Kurdish Freedom Movement we decided to open this building to temporarily create an educational and social space for people to learn about the revolution. We have been tidying up and hope to make Kobane House a welcoming place for anyone to visit.”

The Turkish invasion of North-East Syria, a region known as Rojava, began on 9th October 2019 and is a violation of international laws. There are serious concerns that Turkey intends to ehnically cleanse the area. Earlier in October, there were reports that white phosphorous, an internationally banned chemical weapon, had been used against civilians in the region, after images and videos of badly burned, screaming in agony, children have emerged. [Read More]

Zürich (Switzerland): Juchhof squatted

Dear humans,

We occupied an empty area today to open up a free space.
Why are we doing this?
On the one hand, superfluous money always creates new spaces that are only accessible to a few.
On the other hand, even those parts of society that think they have something to offer investors play directly into their hands. Building cooperatives are nothing more than huge heaps of capital, and are not a suitable means against the fight against real estate speculation. Intermediate use companies such as Projekt Interim are instrumentalized to prevent occupations and at the same time financially exploit already percarious people. They are nothing more than a new way of regulating the space they monitor and control.

The situation looks bleak, but time and again people fight for and win real freedom. This is what we are doing today. We are not leaving Zurich to the rich without a fight. Together we want to create a place where every person feels welcome, a place where it is easy to join in. As of today, this space stands for freedom and equality. It is a zone for encounters and a foundation for another direction. This place stands for the fight for freedom. [Read More]

Groningen: Statement by Akerkstraat squatters to the council

Dear Councillors,

As the people who live in Akerkstraat 16a we are pleased to be able to speak at this needed debate about the housing shortage among students, mostly internationals, in Groningen. It is clear to us that this is a matter of urgency. Every year thousands of international students are lured to the city to come and study here. What should have been a wonderful time in a beautiful city turns out to be a tragedy for many of them, just as this year. There are not enough houses, especially ones that are affordable, in the city to accommodate all those students. At this moment hundreds of students are in the emergency shelter they are expected to leave at the end of this month. Most of them have not yet found alternative housing. [Read More]

Utrecht: Derelict buildings squatted out of housing shortage and protest against vacancy

Since last weekend, a group of young people have been living in the long since vacant houses at the Burgemeester Reigerstraat 48-53 in Utrecht.

The occupation is both a direct approach to a need for life – the young people are looking for housing – and a protest against the current housing policy. The action, part of a national wave, criticized Squatting and Vacancy Act from 2010 and the intention to tackle squatting even harder. “The residents are of the opinion that not squatting, but vacancy and housing shortage must be tackled”, according to a spokesman. The buildings on Burgemeester Reigerstraat have been vacant for more than five years. Owner Marcel Paping plans to demolish the four buildings and build four new buildings and retail space in their place. A parking garage is to be built under the buildings. He has the permits for his plan, except for the entrance to the basement. Many neighbours are of the opinion that a large underground car park will seriously disturb the peace and quiet in the street. Paping plans to nail up the empty buildings if the Municipality does not grant him all the permits. Half a year ago, the buildings were also squatted. Then the police went on a wrongful eviction. “Hopefully this time the police will be wise enough not to go for the owner’s trolley and go the right way”, says one of the squatters. [Read More]