Basel: actions days, new squat on Florastrasse 23 evicted

By: fawda - April 21st, 2021  Filed under: Communique, News

TOGETHER AGAINST EMPTINESS – WHO OWNS THE SPACE?“
APRIL 17-23, EVERYWHERE

With the rapid deepening of structural inequalities, lack of solutions, and the economic crisis amplified by Corona, a void has entered many of our minds, bodies, future plans, social interactions, relationships, and wallets.
Stay at home and do nothing? We have a different idea of solidarity! Let’s denounce grievances together! Point out where the problems of the crisis are buried! Question the principles of our society! Share experiences! Time for unconventional solutions! Civil disobedience is more than appropriate! Solidarity with hand and foot can be lived! Together against emptiness!

This morning, april 21 2021, Florastrasse 23 was occupied. The house has been empty for a year and should have been used again. The owner, however, was not happy about this news and called in the police without further notice. A constructive conversation or other negotiation between the squatters and the owner was unfortunately not possible. The house was thus evicted by the police after a few hours. There were no arrests. [Read More]

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Zürich: new wagenplatz taken

By: fawda - July 31st, 2020  Filed under: Communique, News

Today 31 july, we have taken the space between Bernerstrasse, Aargauerstrasse and Depotweg to create a wagenplatz here. A home is now being created here, a non-commercial place where we want to live in a self-determined way. We also want to give a strong signal against the expulsion of the middle and low-income earners from the quarters and the city centre, which is actively driven by the city.

Zurich West now resembles a Lego landscape consisting of overpriced apartments, hotel complexes and office buildings. Living in the city is becoming increasingly expensive, affordable housing is scarce. The city of Zurich is actively driving this development, as was made clear with the example of the Juch eviction to make space for trucks to turn around.

We are not fundamentally against parking lots and trucks, but we do revive them! [Read More]

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Zürich: Juch resists! New occupations

By: fawda - June 20th, 2020  Filed under: Communique, News

This evening June 20th, Grimselstrasse 18 and 20, Saumackerstrasse 67 and 69 have been squatted. The squatters* took these spaces in response to the Juch eviction on 23rd May.

If you evict one space, we* will open a new one!

Exactly one month ago today, the Social Department of the City of Zurich filed a criminal complaint and subsequently had the Juch area evicted by a large contingent of the Zurich City Police. This is only because the neighboring stadium construction site of HRS Real Estate seems to need more space to turn its trucks around and thus expand its empire as quickly and profitably as possible on behalf of the city. Marco Cortesi (spokesperson for the Zurich city police) also stressed in an interview in front of the freshly evicted area that the main thing now was to immediately make the area uninhabitable and then guard it with private security forces. Even the left-wing parties of the city of Zurich complain that it is extremely questionable and inappropriate to destroy residential and cultural spaces for a building site installation, and wrote in a jointly published media release: “For us it is clear: the demolition of buildings for the use of an area as parking space is unacceptable. Although no meaningful use was promised and a shady deal between the city of Zurich and HRS was settled without any transparency, the squatters* had to leave the Juch area. It cannot be said often enough: This is outrageous from the city of Zurich! We are furious! [Read More]

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Zürich: Juch area evicted

By: fawda - May 23rd, 2020  Filed under: News

Statement on the planned eviction of the Juch area.
Thursday May 21st.

The city of Zurich maintains its ultimatum regarding the Juch area. Tomorrow, on Friday, May 22, 2020, at midnight, the squatters must leave the Juch area; otherwise the police will threaten the violent eviction announced by the city.

But there are still no reasons for the eviction. Although the city, under pressure from politicians and the people of Zurich, gave a “reason” for the eviction of the Juch area during the last eviction threat of one month – the space would be needed for building installations by HRS Real Estate – there is still no evidence that this justification is tenable. Neither the public nor politicians have any construction plans from HRS Real Estate which indicate that it actually needs the site right now for the construction of the adjacent stadium. Only a few months ago, there was talk of a long-term interim use of the site, mediated by the city. [Read More]

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Zürich: Hands off Juch! It won’t be evicted for the time being!

By: fawda - April 26th, 2020  Filed under: Communique, News

Thanks to political pressure and solidarity from various sides, we have succeeded in preventing the plans of the property management to evict the Juch area, which are hardly to be surpassed in their lack of transparency and arbitrariness, for the time being. We are pleased about this and thank you for all your support. However, this is only a one-month postponement until May 22, 2020. The reasons for the initial secrecy on the part of the city regarding the plans for the area may have become obvious now.

In a press release issued by the Social Department of the City of Zurich on 24.4.2020, it is stated: “Due to the cramped conditions on the building site, the general contractor (HRS Real Estate) commissioned by ZSC is interested in renting the neighbouring site (Juch site) from the city for around 2.5 years until the end of construction for building site installations.

Two and a half years of building site installations instead of living and cultural space is the worst joke we have heard in a long time. [Read More]

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Zürich: Another vacant house occupied

By: fawda - April 22nd, 2020  Filed under: Communique, News

On Wednesday April 22nd, another vacant house was occupied in Zurich in order to provide people in precarious situations with a safe home and protection against the corona virus.

Already last week, friends from us with the same goal, squatted some houses. Not much has changed since then, so our concerns are still the same. The lockdown still hits hardest those for whom the circumstances were already difficult before. Many people are currently looking forward to the easing of the measures, have locked themselves in or isolated themselves. Others speaking out social-darwinist phrases or conspiracy theories. The last clapping for the hospital staff has silenced and the gift fence is empty. The word “solidarity” remains as the empty phrase to which it has deteriorated. But there are still people among us for whom the lockdown has led to constant stress and who could not deal with the virus in their own way, like we did. Our solidarity belongs to the people who have so far escaped the coercive measures but who have it harder than ever. We want to live solidarity and stand with them. [Read More]

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Zürich: mobilisation and call for solidarity

By: fawda - April 22nd, 2020  Filed under: Communique, News, video

While the city is being bombarded with the slogan “Stay at home. Please. Everyone.” calls for people to hide in their own homes, the squatters from the Juch are given an ultimatum of 4 days until they are kicked out on the streets.

So, in the shadow of the Corona crisis, people are driven from their homes and cultural freedom is destroyed. This happens without giving reasons, announcing plans nor showing a building permit. The last weeks have probably caused some wet dreams among authoritarian forces and so it is not really surprising that a hard wind is blowing against us right now. Nevertheless, we are speechless about the impudence of the city government, which on the one hand rambles about solidarity and at the same time imposes completely counterproductive, repressive measures against a left-wing project. Last Saturday, the Corona argument was used to try to nip the pandemic-proof demo “Safety for all refugees” in the bud. Although all the precautionary measures recommended by the Confederation are being implemented, it is not possible in this city to take to the streets during a protest. However, it seems justified for the Social Department to put residents of a squat on the streets without giving any reason? [Read More]

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Zürich: Juch eviction threat

By: fawda - April 22nd, 2020  Filed under: News

On April 20, we received mail from the city of Zürich regarding the possible uses of the Juch site. The letter from the Department of Social Affairs informed us that Juch is to be prepared for potential future use from Monday, April 27. Reconstruction and demolition work is also scheduled to begin on April 27. Thus we, the squatters and users of Juch are requested to clear the area by midnight on Friday April 24. So we are supposed to clear an area within four days which we have built up over half a year.

The city of Zürich is calling for the evacuation of the area with the slogan “Stay at home. Please. Everyone” the population to stay at home. The people who live here have no second home. Their home is the Juch-area. If Juch is evacuated, there will be several dozen people who have no place to go to protect themselves and others. [Read More]

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Zürich: Update from new squats in Altstetten

By: fawda - April 11th, 2020  Filed under: Communique, News

On Thursday we occupied four houses in Zurich Altstetten. This action is a sign of an inclusive solidarity. Soon the first house will be handed over to people who are constantly excluded from society and forgotten. The current situation varies from house to house. We experienced solidarity reactions from the owners, as well as incomprehension and rejection.

We are often asked why we occupy and do not choose the “legal” way:

1. we stand up for the fact that all people can live self-determined. That they themselves can decide where, how and with whom they live. We have occupied these houses in order to occupy our privilege to share with people who cannot do so themselves due to repression. [Read More]

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Zürich: We squatted four houses in Altstetten today

By: sisulscz - April 9th, 2020  Filed under: Communique

Zürich. Switzerland. April 9, 2020. We (Für alle ein Zuhause – English: A home for all) have squatted four empty houses in Altstetten today to create a home and refuge for people from the virus. Like any emergency, this one hits hardest those for whom the circumstances were already difficult before.

To protect the population, the Federal Council appeals to everyone to stay at home in solidarity. While the majority in Switzerland has the privilege of being able to retreat into a house, those who cannot are left out in the cold. Some people have no papers, their rights are denied. They are illegalized, isolated and ignored. Many of these people are locked up in so-called asylum centres, prisons and camps. Their freedom and self-determination are denied to them. Again other people have “fallen through the cracks” – they do not fit into the meritocracy. Our society accepts the premature death of all these people, because protective measures do not seem to apply to them. This situation was intolerable even before Corona. Now it becomes even clearer that it cannot go on like this for one more day.
[Read More]

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Zürich (Switzerland): Voices from the occupied Juch

By: fawda - November 14th, 2019  Filed under: Communique, News

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]

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Zürich (Switzerland): Juchhof squatted

By: fawda - October 31st, 2019  Filed under: Communique, News

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]

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