Barcelona: Massana school occupation

The abandoned Massana School, has been occupied for a soup kitchen and emergency accommodation. The action has been vindicated by the Housing Union and the Raval Mutual Support Network. The occupation which was made public at the end of a protest procession that started at 8 pm on June 23rd in Plaza Salvador Seguí, was attended by about 250 people.

This occupation is not the only one that has existed in the old Massana School. In the spring of 2018, a group of immigrants had occupied to denounce the job insecurity experienced by the group and to demand solutions from the administrations.

The groups denounce the state of a building “abandoned for years by the institutions” and declared that it will become the “base of operations of the popular movement of the Raval”.

“We warn the institutions that we intend to stay, and that for every step they take against us, we will take three,” they said in a statement read minutes after the occupation was made public. The intention of the occupation is to provide a place in the Mutual Support Network, the Housing Union and the Popular Food Network.

Excerpted from Iberia: Hundreds of Mutual Aid networks as Covid Collapses Capitalism

UK: S144 arrest figures

Another 25 people were prosecuted under S144 last year.
Prosecuted for being homeless and housing themselves.
It would be good to hear from more of the people involved so we can advise, and learn more.

Other Trespass figures also interesting.

Via A.S.S.

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Barcelona: Despegando Squatting Manual

Here you have a brief manual about squatting in Barcelona, constructed from personal experiences, legal resources and texts from the Squatting Office. The purpose of L’Oficina per l’Okupació (OfiOK) is tackling legal and technical problems regarding squatting abandoned places, keeping in mind the political significance of the action as well as the social aspects. we have chosen to make a practical manual as a quick reference and for mass distribution.

If you have any question visit the OfiOK or send an email to oficinaokupacio [at] sindominio [dot] net, look out for other manuals or consult other squatters. Good luck and happy squatting!

Version1 pdf
L’Oficina per l’Okupació

Wrocław (Poland): Pandemia resists

The last Monday (September 7), the developers tried to evict the last Squat opened in Wrocław “Pandemia” but after a blockade by local activists the police desisted.

Polish Anarchy

Leipzig: Violence is part of the problem – and the problem is the system

Last Thursday there were clashes with the police in Connewitz, initially around Eisenbahnstraße and the following days. Thursday’s events are directly related to the Day X+1 demonstration following the Luwi71 eviction. We also understand the subsequent fighting in Connewitz as a solidarity reaction to this and other occupations. Therefore we would like to contribute a few lines to the debate about so-called politically motivated violence in Leipzig.
As a direct action, we peacefully occupied the house at Ludwigstraße 71 for one and a half weeks. Within a few days, the Luwi71 became a meeting place in the neighborhood. Discussions about housing and self-managed open spaces became a topic of conversation again across different political spectrum.
Right from the start, we showed the city and the owner that we were ready to negotiate, we worked out possible uses and offered talks. We were pleased that representatives of public authorities and political parties were prepared to talk to us, to express solidarity with our concerns or to voice serious criticism. [Read More]

Berlin: International Call for Action and Discussion Days

International Call for Action and Discussion Days in Berlin 30.10.-01.11.2020
International Demo in Berlin 31.10.2020

UNITED WE FIGHT!
Connect Urban Struggles – Defend Autonomous Spaces

Over the last years we experience a global resurgence of reactionary politics. State and capital, in a constant process of intensifying exploitation and expanding repression, used the global capitalist crisis, which started a decade ago, as a chance to further restructure relations of power in their advantage. Their political answer is materialized in a shift to the right, with a political alliance of neoliberal economic policies coupled with strong nationalistic narratives and repressive policies against resistance and progressive movements. The new face of authoritarianism has unleashed an all out attack against individuals it considers unnecessary or those that choose to resist and collectivize against the ruin of their lives. In our current period, states the world over used measures against Covid-19 to extend repression, policing and surveillance against societies. At the same time, the failings of neoliberal healthcare systems have led to masses of deaths and increasing inequality due to access to healthcare. [Read More]

Leipzig: Who sows wind, will reap storm

We look back on a long weekend full of determined action against the increasing evictions, against the gentrification and the unbearable cop siege of our neighbourhoods. After two occupied houses had been evicted within a very short time, the anger about social grievances in Leipzig came to a climax once again.

After the squatted house Luwi71 was evicted on Wednesday, a Day X+1 demonstration was called on Thursday. Several hundred people joined the demonstration and expressed their anger at the eviction of the future social center near Eisenbahnstraße. Cops were attacked, barricades were erected and set on fire. Clashes lasted for several hours, during which even a resquat attempt of the Luwi71 was started. The cops tried again and again to disperse the masses, but instead many smaller demonstrations were formed, which drove the clashes forward. Many spectators joined the masses that were repeatedly scattered and yet found each other again. The anger at the police siege and criminalization of Eisenbahnstrasse, including the no weapons zone, was clearly palpable. In the course of the clashes and after several failed attempts by the cops, they began to shoot at random tear gas into the crowd. The fact that here as well as in the following evening ammunition forbidden according the War Weapon Act was used, which was fired also at journalists, probably surprises nobody knowing the Saxonian police. [Read More]

Lyon: Break-ins and ID checks… the disgusting methods of Grand Lyon Habitat

One morning at 7am, Grand Lyon Habitat broke down doors in a squat to register its inhabitants. Unacceptable practices of intimidation. Since a few months, Collomb is no longer mayor of Lyon. He has been thrown out by the green party allied with the “left”, represented by Grégory Doucet at the city hall and Bruno Bernard at the Metropolis. The latter had said that he would soon assert his positions on the subject of housing, when he was questioned on the night of his election by the “Trêve Générale” (general truce) movement.

On Monday, August 17, at 7 a.m., bailiffs came to break down the front door of the squat Le Maria, waking up the inhabitants by forcing their way into each room of the building, breaking the locks of the absent persons and searching through their belongings to find their identities. When we asked them what right they had to do this, the officials answered that they had a warrant, but they never wanted to show it to us, even later when we asked the bailiff for it by e-mail. The bailiffs were not willing to do anything other than put holes in the locks despite our proposals to give them names, either immediately or later by e-mail. Inhabitants and friends therefore had to react by protesting collectively, which eventually pushed them to leave. [Read More]

Skopje (Macedonia): Social centre Dunja

A new society is possible! A society of people who not only have awareness and take responsibility for themselves, but also, have awareness about and act responsibly toward one another, nature, animals and the well-being of everyone. A society where people will surmount the constraints of imposed differences, regarding class, nationality, religion, gender, race, sexuality, etc. – a society where people will work for the common good, united and in solidarity. This society may be at some distant point in the future; nonetheless it is the only thing worthy of our commitment and struggle today. We, the members of the Left Movement “Solidarnost” and the Youth organisation “Mugra”, joined hands so as to create a solidarity space open for all formal and informal groups, self-organised initiatives, movements, individuals etc.

It is a space open for meeting, organising, networking, as well as activities that contribute towards the creation of a better society by means of creative expression, socialising and fostering comradeship, community and solidarity. Social centre “Dunja” is a space where we nurture a new culture of resistance to the dominant neoliberal policies which, by means of economic inequality, dominate interpersonal relations, translated into an authoritarian capitalist system. This is a space where we develop the political values of economic, ecological and social sustainability among one another, to be attained through the commitment to solidarity, equality, comradeship, social justice, gender emancipation, empathy and collective awareness. The activities organised in Dunja are non-profit and non-commercial. A vast array of events and initiatives is organised regularly, including exhibitions, movie screenings, debates, workshops, concerts, lectures, promotions, plays, meetings etc. Everyone who shares our values is welcome to organise an activity and partake in the care for our collective space.

SCDunja on Fakebook

Minneapolis: Open Growth Space evicted

Open Growth Space, an occupied garden project in Minneapolis, is in the process of being destroyed by the landlord right now (September 7)!


[Read More]

Berlin: Demo KØPI & Wagenplatz bleibt

Whoever buys Køpi, buys troubles!

Køpi and Wagenplatz have been under threat on numerous occasions and recently the Wagenplatz received some news that has reminded us just how at risk we are. We are also aware that we are not the only place currently endangered.

The list of evicted projects will continue to grow if we don’t continue to fight back. With the very recent eviction of Syndikat, a space not only vital for our community but a beloved neighborhood fixture for 35 years, the threat looms larger. None of us are safe from the ugly profiteering of landlords backed up by cops and officials as vicious enforcers of their well-oiled machine. These bullies have and will use any means necessary to silence us. We have been witnesses to and victims of robocops beating down and pepper-spraying unarmed protesters with increasing violence.

In the last year alone, these are the projects that have either already been evicted or are still fighting against it:
[Read More]

Leipzig: Statement on the demonstration “Uniting Struggles – For a Solidary Neighbourhood!”

In the evening of 5 september, we organized the demonstration “Connecting Fights – For a Solidary Neighbourhood” with the starting point Hildebrandpark in Connewitz.

In our speeches we discussed the processes of evictions in Connewitz and Leipzig. We criticized the new building projects, as they are no longer affordable for many people here and living space is becoming increasingly scarce and expensive. As a result, many people who have lived here for years have to leave the neighborhood. Social networks, structures that have grown over the years and circles of friends are destroyed.

We declared our solidarity with the squatters of the last weeks in Leipzig in the Ludwigstrasse 71 and the Bornaische Strasse 34 and read a greeting of the evicted LuWi squatters inside. A speech expressed our solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement in the so-called United States. We expressly join the Free Them All campaign, which demands the release of all prisoners of the George Floyd Rebellion. [Read More]