From Earth First!
A lockdown at the Albany Bulb ensured defense of the land for one more day yesterday.
Activist with the IWW Environmental Caucus and EF!er, Elliot Hughes, explained, “Today, I locked down to a backhoe and negotiated with Albany police that the Amber’s house and the two barricaded roads leading to it would not be demolished for the day after hearing cops threaten to demolish her house early in the morning. We need support to stop the eviction of the Albany Bulb ASAP!.”
Today more than 300 police descended on Calais to evict three tent camps in the city centre which have existed since last October: the «Syrian camp», which was set up following the occupation of the port, the «Eritrean camp» under the bridge, which was established after the eviction of their squat, also in October, and a smaller camp close to the food distribution. Together these places were home to around 650 people in Calais. The state has tried to disguise this police operation as a humanitarian intervention, citing scabies and poor sanitation to justify destroying people’s homes without providing them with any alternative solution. They neglect to mention that these problems exist only because they have forced people to live in very crowded conditions without regular access to toilets, showers, or places to wash their clothes and bedding. They legitimize the paternal intervention of the state by painting a picture of migrants as diseased and unable to care for themselves, rather than accepting responsibility for creating the circumstances which have caused these problems. [Read More]
[Days two and three below]
On Monday, May 26, police from the Mossos d’Escuadra evicted the 17-year-old squatted social center Can Vies, starting at the atypically late hour of noon, perhaps due to heavy morning rains. Can Vies had an open eviction date, but the choice of day was to be expected as Sunday was elections for the European Parliament (which, incidentally, saw a sharp increase in the presence of far right and far left parties). The party in power never wants to start unpredictable conflicts in the weeks before an election, and the day after an election, the media is full of related news.
Wednesday 21st saw another successful defense against an eviction in Dublin. This time in the Stoneybatter area. We put out an alert after we were told that a gang of 3 men with crowbars “came this afternoon and broke in to one of the houses. About 40-50 people showed up outside to show support, then 5 Garda showed up. People inside resisted and argued until the alleged owners and Garda left the house and left the street to a large round of applause.
Everything is cool now. The street was closed off and there was lots of music, food, fun, and we managed to get the support of many parents and school children on the way home from school. [Read More]
*Everyone come to Calais May 27th or in the night of the 26th!!!!*
The authorities have decided to destroy the three main camps, which shelter around 700 people. The only prospect for the inhabitants: a pill against scabies and life in the street! There can be no question of repeating the events of 2009, when the eviction of the Afghan jungle resulted in the arrest of hundreds of migrants, their detainment all over France and attempts to deport them to Afghanistan. There can be no question, after five years of persecution, of starting all over again from zero, while the machine of repression gears up once more. Never again! [Read More]
From local news: The eviction was carried out this morning at the old Highbury Barn pub in Great Cornard, with owners Punch Taverns having obtained an eviction notice from the High Court.
The squatter – who has been living at the site for weeks – reportedly resisted police action, and was arrested on suspicion of affray after he had been tasered.
[Read More]
Ancient Roman law gives illegal squatter £400,000 home. Or so you would think from the coverage of builder Keith Best’s Land Registry claim to have 35 Church Road, Newbury Park, Ilford, registered in his name.
The importance of the case is (or will be when it goes through appeals) that it should clarify how far the criminalisation of squatting (LASPO S.144) impacts on the law of adverse possession.
8 weeks letter to Ten Katestraat 61-63
A few days after the civil court case initiated by the owner of Ten Katestraat 49, also the squatted buildings on Ten Katestraat 61 and 63, owned by Rochdale, are under threat. The officer of justice Otto van der Bijl has sent the 8 weeks notice, which means that not the owner, but the state itself is taking initiative against the refugees. It is the first time that a ‘We Are Here‘ squat is treated with the criminal law. According to local politicians, Rochdale still seems to have no plans and no permits to renovate the properties, while the people occupying them have spend many weeks re-building the spaces (including toilets, showers, electricity, floors and ceilings) and made them safe and liveable. The group has 1 week to start a proceeding to defend the squats in court. If the case will be lost, also women and babies will be again on the street. [Read More]
Brakkebygrenda: is an autonomous wagonplace (were trucks, buses and caravans serve as living units) on squatted land, in Gamlebyen, Oslo. We have been here since 1999, Focusing on city-ecology; recycling, less consum, and a more social housing-politics. It is important for us to be an active participator in this city, to claim our rights to have a voice in the development of it, and to prove in action that there are sustainable, functional and positive alternatives to consumerism and apathy. ”
On May 27th, the three main camps of Calais will be destroyed by the police. More than 600 people live in these camps, which were won through constant migrant struggle after a long series of evictions. No solution has been proposed for the evicted migrants. Moreover, a social center and two further squats are up for eviction starting on May 30th. All told, more than 800 people will be put on to the street.
In this stopping point on the way to England, squatting is the only housing solution that exists. It is also a tool of resistance for migrants to protect themselves from violence and police harassment in the camps and in the city. Today, the mayor of Calais’s fight against squatting has reached a new low. This time she has proposed a law which would change the 48 hour period in which squats must be evicted (which is not officially set down in French law). We know very little about the content of this law, only that it will attack the right to housing for all. The entire future of squatting in France is endangered by this law. [Read More]
‘We Are Here’ protest in court
Today, May 21st, the owner of Ten Katestraat 49 brought the ‘We are here‘ group to court. The company, Batavia B.V, intends to rent the property to another company, W.M. Honselaar Onroerend Goed B.V.. Their plan is to build yet another hotel, that will ‘contribute’ to the massive gentrification project that is taking place in the Kinkerbuurt. The hotel will be a ‘special concept’, so called ‘City Hub’, where tourists can drop their luggage and their dead bodies after one night party.
The space is currently used by undocumented migrants both for housing and as a social, cultural and political centre, where different groups of people can encounter and mobilise for further political action. Undocumented migrants are criminalised everywhere, in each space of European society. Thus opening a social and political centre was a step further in our struggle, as what is needed is not only a roof for surviving, not only basic human rights, but also the possibility of living a decent life, wich includes the possiblity of socialisation, communication, and recreation. [Read More]
