Lyon: call for a rally to support the inhabitants of the Duracuire squat threatened with eviction

Le Vinatier, owner of the Duracuire squat, building occupied by migrants, is threatening to evict them. Let’s come and support them. Call for a rally on March 3 at 2pm in front of Le Vinatier to support the inhabitants of the Duracuire threatened with eviction.

Do you know the Duracuire? Who are we?

Le Duracuire is the new name of the former Medico-Psychological Center of Caluire, attached to Le Vinatier, renamed by its new occupants. Since December 2019 more than 60 exiled people, most of them asylum seekers, young adults or families with children have settled in the building, which has been unoccupied for several years.
They found shelter here after having endured a daily wandering for several months following the eviction of the Amphi Z squat in Villeurbanne in September 2019, which put more than 200 people back on the street. After such events, the squat of Caluire decided to call itself the Duracuire, not without some humor,
On December 18, 2019, the place was inaugurated with the neighbors. As the building was not intended for accommodation, a lot of energy was needed to make it habitable. [Read More]

Barcelona: communique for the 8 arrested anarchist comrades of the Nabat squat in Mataró

Yesterday night (27th of february), around 9pm, 8 of our comrades were arrested, in Barcelona, after the last police charge in the demonstrations against the detention of Pablo Hasel, the curtailment of basic freedoms which all of us are suffering under, the repression and privation of our human rights.
We’re facing a strong authoritarian drift by the european governments which are taking the coronavirus as an excuse to repress and open the doors for a probable dictatorship.
The rage contained in this period of heavy restrictions explodes like so with 12 consecutive days of mobilizations and revolts. These are happenings which continually repeat throughout history, in this precise moment revolts are not only exploding in Europe but they are sprouting up in all the countries of the world, from Chile to China, with a lot of force.
In light of this repressive blow you’re going to have problems in all of squatted Maresme!
This communique is a call to participation, on part of the anarchist comrades of Nabat, in solidarity with everyone. [Read More]

Brussels: the municipality chooses repression and lies rather than solidarity

Press release – Solidarity Requisitioning Campaign

On Friday 26th February we wanted to squat the old Pacheco Hospice in the city centre. Our action clearly did not please the municipal politicians – Khalid Zian, president of the CPAS (Centres Publics d’Action Sociale) and Philippe Close, mayor of the City of Brussels – who opted for violent repression rather than negotiation. In the evening, we were bluntly kicked out by the police. 38 people were detained for several hours and will be fined. People were kicked in the head and verbally abused. We wonder where such a strong reaction against a solidarity action that has been rather well received in other municipalities and by the region in recent weeks comes from. Why does the city of Brussels not want to allow the use of a CPAS building that has been empty for 4 years to house people in difficulty?

The CPAS justifies the eviction by the fact that a temporary occupation is currently being considered and that a public call for tenders will soon be launched. Khalid Zian, the president of the CPAS, goes so far as to falsely assert that an occupation for accommodation would have been possible “on condition that it was properly supervised and agreed upon beforehand”. However, the municipal authorities have been approached several times about this building (by the Voice of the Undocumented – la Voix des Sans Papiers – already 2 years ago, by the Region this winter for emergency accommodation) and have each time refused to make the building available. [Read More]

London: Last tunneller is out!

After 31 days underground, Bradley was the last person to leave the tunnels under Euston Square Gardens, set up to resist the construction of HS2.

Their statement today [1 march]:

So in the morning I have my police interview at 10:00 as when I was arrested after exiting the Euston Square Gardens tunnels on Friday 26th I couldn’t be processed or kept in the cells. After not sleeping for the last 10 days I was underground, being severely malnourished and dehydrated on top of having an invisible disability I was subsequently unable to walk or hold up my upper body and head so deemed not in a fit state to be left alone in a cell.

I was discharged to my friends who have been caring for me since. They are the most amazing friends anyone could ever be blessed with and slowly I am building back my strength. I can now walk aided although body is shaking 24/7 and I’ve slept a bit even if broken sleep still very exhausted but am doing much better. Thank you for all the love and support and I will keep you all updated with what happens with police and court.

Montreuil: Le Marbré evicted and resquatted the next day

On Saturday, February 27th, le Marbré was surrounded and invaded by a hundred cops around 2pm. Le Marbré is a space for housing and political organization, located at 39 rue des Deux Communes, in Montreuil, squatted since September 2020. On that day, a canteen was organized there by the public assembly against the Administrative Detention Centers (CRA) of Ile-de-France, in order to support the people incarcerated in Meaux following the fire at the CRA of Mesnil-Amelot on January 20th.

Everything was going well until, around 2pm, a first cop car stopped in front of the entrance. Several people then entered the place and the doors were closed; very quickly, the cops called for reinforcements and more than a hundred cops from 93 and 94 departments surrounded the place. A few dozen people quickly arrived in support, but were pushed back quite easily under the threat of gas, batons and flashballs. At that point, one person was arrested in rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau and taken on board for “insult and rebellion”. [Read More]

Brussels: political appropriation with the agreement of occupation of the squat rue de Koninck

The group, which had been squatting since March 2020 in a former printing shop at 44 rue Honoré Longtin in Jette, was threatened following last October’s eviction order. Launched in December, an occupation campaign led to the opening of several squats (L’Hospitalière in Saint-Gilles, the Citydev building, the Sleeping Beauty and the Opel Garage in Molenbeek) and the relocation of the inhabitants of the Jette squat to these new squats.

Communiqué of the Solidarity Requisition Campaign, February 25, 2021:

A media, political and associative requisition of our action ! Unbelievable false press release of the commune of Jette (and taken again in several media) !

While for many months, the public authorities were unable to find an answer to the situation and did nothing, they are today congratulating themselves for having found a “definitive” solution (false: the agreement is signed for one year) and are reappropriating the solidarity and self-organized response of our Campaign: the requisition of an empty public building. [Read More]

Lucerne: Demo, Eichwäldli restoration now!

Dear supporters of the Eichwäldli, dear friends of a lively city of Lucerne, dear critics of the approach of the city council

Events at the Eichwäldli have been unfolding over the past few days. While the residents are still resisting the imminent demolition and are campaigning for a restoration of the barrack, the city council filed a criminal complaint last Thursday. This despite the fact that many people from the population, including over 200 cultural workers, demanded the preservation of the “Eichwäldli”.

Even the majority of the city council voted for a restoration of the building, yet the merciless councillor ignored the accepted postulate from the city council. Why is it fighting tooth and nail against a restoration that is free of charge for it? [Read More]

Brazil: New Houses for Solano Trindade I Novas

Support to build houses for families affected by COVID-19 pandemic!

In 2019, inhabitants of the Solano Trindade squat – located in Duque de Caxias, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and organized by the National Movement for Housing Struggle (MNLM) – with technical assistance from research groups of Federal University of Rio de Janeiro began the renovation works on one of the existing buildings (abandoned for over 20 years). These renovation aimed at building 12 new houses for families living in precarious conditions in the region.

The project foresaw sustainable construction techniques, such as the ecological bricks (BTC) and a sanitation system based on Evapotranspiration Basins, which promote not only other ways of thinking about the relationship between social housing and the environment, but also provide a training and education process for dwellers, students and technicians involved.

This construction was possible from the budget of a Parliamentary Amendment (by federal deputy Chico Alencar, approved in 2017 for the project: “Education and the City: The collective construction of a popular neighborhood” to be implemented by UFRJ through the José Bonifácio University Foundation) and the objective was that they could be completed in 2020.
[Read More]

London: Euston We Have A Problem – Where Are The Political Voices?

As we face the climate emergency, one of the most disappointing aspects of the last 3 weeks at Euston Square Gardens has been the wall of silence from MPs and Peers, save the very few (thank you Caroline Lucas, Zarah Sultana and Baroness Jenny Jones) who have spoken up in support of the protesters and their aims. We know many more are opposed to HS2, for environmental, finance and governance reasons, but where have they been?

On the converse, we haven’t been short of those speaking out against the protesters.

Public school educated investment banker and now MP for Sutton Coldfield, Andrew Mitchell commented to the Sun Newspaper[1] that Dan / Swampy was being ‘reckless & irresponsible’ to take his 16-year-old son into the tunnels. This seems highly hypocritical, coming from an MP who’s voting record shows he has consistently voted to send British teenagers to fight in wars overseas, and for profits over measures to save the planet,
[Read More]

London: Latest update from tunnels at Euston Square Gardens

Yesterday, Monday 22 Feb, Larch voluntarily left the tunnels under Euston Square Gardens after 27 days underground!! [Previously on S!N] The tunnels resisting the construction of HS2 have been occupied for almost a month now but strangely (and coincidentally) HS2 only got a possession order yesterday. There are still four people underground and they need our total support! Coverage has been a bit shit and mainly fbook based, perhaps because of mixed feelings about XR, perhaps because UK altmedia sucks nowadays (RiP indymedia).

Like the previous tunnellers who left voluntarily, Larch was arrested and taken to hospital for a checkup. He had court today at Highbury Corner Magistrates and was charged with criminal damage and two counts of obstructing / disrupting a person engaged in lawful activity. He also had other Hs2-related charges added but seemingly nothing related to the injunction on Euston Square. He was bailed and curfewed to an address in London. The trial is set for the same court, 14 July, see you there!

Villeurbanne: trial of the Ile égalité squat, call for support

Friday 26 february 2021, gathering and breakfast at 8:30 in front of the court house in Villeurbanne.

The île égalité squat, a place for housing and solidarity of the Collectif Solidarités Cusset, is in danger. After 3 months of existence, renovation, activities and meetings, the survival of the place is threatened by a court decision. Call for support!

After a first postponement, our trial will take place on Friday, February 26th following the lawsuit filed by the Richard Foundation, owner of the building, which demands the immediate eviction of the inhabitants. In a period of extreme cold and in the midst of a health crisis, the Richard Foundation is going so far as to ask that they be deprived of the protection guaranteed by the winter truce!

Since the first confinement, a neighborhood group of residents of Cusset decided to organize themselves collectively to deal with the health and social situation in order to offer concrete solidarity with the most vulnerable: students, the unemployed, undocumented workers, workers, large families, retirees, etc. For four months, they made their contribution in the face of the food and health emergency. They set up distributions of food and hygiene products in the form of a free market, with the support of several city organizations. [Read More]

Philadelphia (USA): Squatting, Rebellion, Movement… An Interview with Philadelphia Housing Action

Podcast to download here (mp3).

On this episode of the It’s Going Down podcast, we speak with two members of Philadelphia Housing Action, about the ups and downs of 2020 that has been outlined in the recent piece, Occupy, Takeover: How Philadelphia Housing Action Turned Vacant Buildings Into Homes. It details how throughout 2020, members of the group moved unsheltered individuals and families into livable, unused homes owned by the Philadelphia Housing Authority. [Read More]