In April 2015 the municipality of Calais in collaboration with the socialist state government intends to open the Day Centre Jules Ferry for all migrants living in and around the city. This centre is sold by the government and its media as a humanitarian gesture. This is bullshit! This is a poor attempt to alleviate the catastrophic situation of the migrants here. A situation that is created by the very policies the government have put in place. The opening of the day centre will go along with the mass eviction of 2000 people and the destruction of their homes: the squats and jungles of Calais. [Read More]
Amsterdam: Prins Hendrikkade 138-139 squatted
The building has been empty for several years. The owner wants to turn the building into yet another hotel. However, according to the city council, there is a hotel stop in this neighborhood since 2004. The neighbors are also actively resisting the hotel plans.
While in Amsterdam thousands of people are in need of housing, speculants and investors with the support of the city council keep on turning the city into a place only suitable for tourists and commercial activities, while sweeping off everything that does not suit their profit. [Read More]
London: Southwark Council smashing up homes
This is a video someone made on Thursday evening (5 February) when the police and Southwark Council came and smashed up 8 homes and welded them up to prevent the occupation spreading.
You can hear loud banging and breaking of glass inside the flats that are blocked off by police. This is them smashing the toilets and sinks, and the windows, to make the homes uninhabitable. Here is a picture of a bathroom after being smashed by the council.
There are around 18,000 people on the Southwark council housing waiting list. [Read More]
Utrecht (NL): New Squat
Translated from the Dutch article at indymedia.
As of today (6/2/15) there is a new place added to the squat register of the city of Utrecht.
Our research showed that the building on the Ravellaan number 7 was over a year no longer used according to the original permissions. This year someone applied for an environmental permit for the realization of a temporary event location. There would be three events held this year but at the behest of the residents association and Welgelegen, there was an objection after the first event. The neighborhood has indicated there was too much disturbance from the week long event.
We want to make clear that we will not be a nuisance. In fact, we want to provide for the area a social and cultural meeting place . We will involve both the residents, as the association Welgelegen .
We are a small group which is willing to sit down to make any agreements with the owner regarding the use of the property.
The police officeris coming tomorrow on Feb 7 to drink coffee.
The squatting peace is so respected, but for how long we don’t know….
Oh yeah and everyone is always welcome, so come round!
Lelystad (NL): Freespace De Waaghaals unjustly and illegally evicted
Quick translation from indymedia…
The police came to tell the people that they had to pack their belongings and the property had to be empty before 14:00 in the afternoon.
Two days previously we were suddenly cut off from our electricity without notice while we busy putting our name on a bill. The same afternoon we actually had the appointment for a reconnection.
[Read More]
Turin: ExMoi occupation – the story so far
The story of ExMoi begins with two open wounds: the countless empty buildings in Turin, and the countless refugees living on Italian streets and in Italian train stations.
Back in 2006, the Turin municipality and the national government spent over 140 million euros in building a new neighbourhood to host athletes for the Winter Olympic Games. This was in an area that once held the city’s biggest wholesale market (MOI – Mercato Ortofrutticolo all’Ingrosso). Designed by international architects and built according to the latest ecological and sustainable design criteria, the Olympic Village was finished in 20 months. It was used for around 16 days and left mostly empty after the Games ended.
[Read More]
Marseille: Food & film in solidarity with those implicated in Operation Pandora
Thursday 12th February, at 18:30:
Film screening of the documentary “Caso Bombas” on anarchists in Chile
(the film is in Spanish but the subtitles are in English)
Vegan food, liberated price
For the address: blancarde2015 [at] riseup [dot] net
International solidarity with those implicated in Operation Pandora [Read More]
London: Aylesbury Estate Occupation – Statement of support for our occupation from local tenants and leaseholder groups
Southwark Council, a bunch of Labour party career crooks who disregard their tenants’ clear wishes and smash up empty homes on a cold winter’s night, claims that our occupation has no support from residents. The reality is there is real strong solidarity between occupiers and long-time residents, as we saw last night when dozens of people turned out to help defend the buildings under attack.
Today a number of local residents’ groups have emphasised the point with the statement below.
Message for Southwark Council: your cowardly attack last night helped bring us together and make us even stronger!
Tenants, leaseholders, squatters, homeless people … wherever we stand on the sick “housing ladder”, we are coming together and fighting. Stop social cleansing of our city. Homes for all. Solidarity.
Statement on the occupation and housing action on Aylesbury Estate ( Friday 6th February):
Numerous Southwark housing campaigns and other local activists warmly welcome the ongoing occupation of a number of empty homes on the Aylesbury Estate. The current occupation of Chartridge block on the Aylesbury Estate has brought a much-needed spark of inspiration to local residents and housing campaigners. [Read More]
Koper (Slovenia): Creative Platform INDE U.P.I. manifesto
NOT THE POWER TO RULE, BUT EMPOWERMENT.
THE FUTURE IS HERE AND NOW: COMMUNIQUÉ FROM THE CREATIVE PLATFORM INDE – UPI
From the ruins, we have built new foundations.
From the abandoned spaces, we exorcise old ghosts and return them to life.
From garbage, we will create instruments with which we will drown the sound of monotonous dark and hopeless situation of our time and space.
On the 5h of October 2014, we, a diverse group of people decided that we no longer want to just be part of the problem, but want to become part of a solution. So we spontaneously self-organized and occupied a couple of rooms at the long-abandoned and dilapidated factory INDE Koper. Decades ago this factory walls gave room to different companies employing handicapped people under the guise of social inclusion and integration, but in reality mostly only for the profit of the owners. [Read More]
London: Aylesbury Estate empty flats revitalised
Aylesbury Estate Occupation: 77 – 105 Chartridge, Westmoreland Road, SE17. Map here.
You probably heard but people have opened up a few of the decanted and empty flats in Chartridge House on Aylesbury Estate in Walworth. The occupation came at the end of the March for Homes on Saturday 31st January which ended at City Hall at Tower Bridge. About 150 people marched back to the Aylesbury and helped support the flats that had been opened up earlier on. Right now (Monday night), the occupiers have released a statement of why they are doing this and have set up a website to keep people informed.