Call for Solidarity with the Imprisoned of Operazione Scintilla, Italy

Summary of the recent repressive operation in Italy in connection with the resistance against the Italian migration regime.

On Thursday 7 February 2019, at 4:40 a.m., the eviction of the squat Asilo Occupato in Via Alessandria 12 in Turin, occupied since 1995, began. The eviction was carried out as part of the Operazione Scintilla (Operation Spark). Several hundred Carabinieri in riot gear, police officers and Guardia di finanza with machine guns and plain clothes police not only evicted the house, but also arrested six anarchists. A seventh person is still being searched for.

The charges are serious: formation of a subversive association, incitement to crime and the possession, manufacture and transportation of explosives in a public place. The charges are related to the resistance against the Italian migration regime, namely against the deportation camps/prisons CPR and CIE (Centro per l’Immigrazione e il Rimpatrio, Immigration and Repatriation Centre: Centro di identificazione ed espulsione, Identification and Deportation Centre).

The Asilo was evicted as part of this operation because the state regards it as the logistical and operational base of this subversive, insurrectional association. The eviction of the Asilo was delayed by the squatters for 36 hours because some of them had retreated to the roofs. In the meantime, sympathizers organized wild demos in the city, where there were clashes with the police. The Asilo was made uninhabitable in the last few days (destruction inside, bricked up windows, etc.). [Read More]

Dijon (France): Large refugee squat evicted

Yesterday (10/7/18) early morning French police, with assistance from border police evicted the XXL Squat in Dijon, where about hundred asylum seekers lived. During the eviction, twenty-four people were detained by the border police. The eviction was enforced despite of the ongoing negotiations with the property owner.

The building have been occupied since August 2016. Apart for providing home to many people, it also hosted a number of projects, including French language classes and legal assistance group, medical and social spaces.
[Read More]

Amsterdam: We Are Here at the Entrada 600 in Duivendrecht

7 july 2018, Amsterdam – Refugee collective We Are Here, who previously stayed in a squat in Amstelveen, took the unoccupied building on the Entrada 600 in Amsterdam-Duivendrecht.

The offices space was empty and unused. Unfortunately, we are forced to get shelter in this way, because otherwise we have to roam the streets. the BBB is overcrowded and has a waiting list and in the Havenstraat only people with a Dublin claim are welcome.
In addition, the Havenstraat is a former prison and that can be felt in the daily controls we must endure. Recently one of our members was arrested because he asked for food because of this diabetes and this was refused. We do not feel safe in such an environment and ask for 24/7 shelter.
There are municipal plans to realize this 24/7 for undocumented people, but that will certainly take until end of the year before it is realized. We would love work and rent a house ourselves.
We intend to live here quietly and build a good relationship with the neighborhood and offices around us. We would like to meet fellow residents who are always welcome to come and have a cup of coffee with us. [Read More]

Amstelveen (NL): We Are Here lose courtcase

The We Are Here group lost in court and can be evicted from their new place in Amstelveen from midday today onwards.

Translation from indymedia

Amsterdam: Antifa activists forced Generation Identity fascists to leave “squat”

Generation Identity fascists claimed to have squatted an apartment next to the “We Are Here” refugee squats in Amsterdam. Squatted or not, the fascists had to leave after antifa activists attacked the fascists in their “squat”.

The Generation Identity claimed that they had squatted a house in the Rudolf Dieselstraat in Amsterdam, Netherlands. But the city council of Ymere in Amsterdam’s Watergraafsmeer district, denied that the house was squatted. The fascists were invited by somebody who has a temporary rent contract to avoid a squatting action.
[Read More]

Amsterdam: Communique from We Are Here Rudolf Dieselstraat

Today, an extreme right-wing organization called Identitair Verzet has taken possession of a house in Rudolf Dieselstraat, simply to provoke. They have announced their intent to do so a few days ago on their website. We are very startled by this and find it completely unacceptable. After all, we are looking for housing and a way to survive, while this group is clearly looking for conflict.

Two weeks ago our banner on the church at the James Wattstraat was set on fire by Peter van Vliet, a member of Identitair Verzet. The next morning Van Vliet came to the Rudolf Dieselstraat to try to burn a banner here again. We called the police to deal with the situation, but they chose not to arrest Van Vliet. Despite evidence that he set the banner on fire, and also while the police caught him on the roof of our office, they wanted to “not let the situation escalate,” and let the arsonist walk away.

Subsequently, a week later, Identitair Verzet returned to the James Wattstraat with a group of people. They climbed on the roof of the church and shouted racist and hateful slogans. Here too the police came down, and here too they did not take any action. They were escorted from the roof and then sent away. [Read More]

Amsterdam: April 28th, Demonstration Solidarity with Refugees, We Are Here!

Saturday April 28th 2018, Demonstration Solidarity with Refugees, We Are Here!
Meeting point 14:00 at Krugerplein (not at James Wattstraat 58)
16:00 arrival at Jonas Daniël Meijerplein.

We Are Here, the refugee collective based in Amsterdam, has been campaigning for years against the inhuman Dutch asylum policy. The refugee asylum policy is not conclusive, which leads to the denial of basic rights of refugees in the Netherlands. Many of them are unable to return to their home country, leaving them in limbo and without a proper roof over their heads or the care they need.

We Are Here is squatting to show the inhumane situation in which they live and to ask for attention for the situation of refugees whose asylum requests have been denied but who can’t be deported. Time and time again We Are Here is being evicted, putting them out on the streets and back into uncertainty again, without any prospect of permanent shelter.

These refugees are not the only people in Amsterdam looking for shelter: there is a crucial situation where many Amsterdam based or born people are unable to find a place to live. Social housing, which is the only affordable option for low to middle income people, is being torn apart as real estate is sold to parties eager to capitalize on gentrification. Meanwhile, the waiting list for houses continues to grow for those who have been in need of housing for a long time. [Read More]

Amsterdam: We Are Here village in the Rudolf Dieselstraat

Hello everyone! We would like to inform you that we have today successfully squatted 6 houses in the Rudolf Dieselstraat. We also have good news: after five years and for the first time, we have opened an office at Rudolf Dieselstraat 6. You are welcome at the We Are Here Village, next to Frankendael, under the Ringdijk.
We are also looking for volunteers and home items such as blankets, furniture, mattresses and more.
Ymere, the owner from the whole Rudolf Dieselstraat, has neglected the street for many years and wants now to hand it over to Camelot, a property guardian company. Together with the renters still living there, we are going to make a nice village of the street.
According people living in the neighborhood, the houses would remain in this state until August. This is the perfect moment to make our own village. How are we going to achieve that? Let’s talk about it this afternoon at the squatted church, on the James Wattstraat 58. Come along! [Read More]

The Hague: IND raids squat in Schilderswijk

This morning at 07:10 the police and the IND raided a squat in the Schilderswijk to arrest our friend Ali.

In the early morning the dogs of the police and IND raided the house of our friend Ali because he supposedly does not possess the correct paperwork to remain in the country. About ten cops were ready with battering rams to break open the door, this was not necessary because Ali opened the door himself. He has been brought to the main police station.
According to his lawyer people are being deported back to Iraq since a short time. At this moment it is not clear if the deportation services (Dienst Terugkeer en Vertrek) have planned his deportation. His lawyer is checking on this. An update will be placed when more information is available. It is important to warn people you know from Iraq who do not have a permit to stay in the country about the situation.
We are angry that our friend Ali has been arrested. We are angry at the migrant hunters of the IND and the police. No attack will be left unanswered! [Read More]

Amsterdam: We Are Here squats a house for a woman and two children

Refugee collective We Are Here has squatted a house at Rudolf Dieselstraat 72 for a woman and two children, together with people who now live under harsh circumstances in the church in the James Wattstraat.
After more than 5 years of fighting for a normal life, we know what it means to live on the street or to continuously move from one place to another. It means that you loose all the time, your life looses sense, you are affected. Six of us have already lost their life. The pressure is rising. A solution has to come now.
The women’s building on the Burgemeester Roëllstraat 70, where 25 women of We Are Here are living since a year and a half, can be evicted by the housing corporation from the 10th of April.
Most political parties have agreed that no building of We Are Here will be evicted as long as they negotiate about the new board. We invite them to work together on a stable place and a real Amsterdam-style solution.
We are here and we need a place to live. [Read More]

Nantes: New occupation by refugees and their supporters

Following the evictions from the Censive building and from the Château du Tertre, that saw more than 150 people thrown out, a new occupation followed the day after at the 9 rue Maurice Sibille. Help us to move in, call for solidarity.

On Thursday march 8th in the morning, the former EPHAD, an empty retirement home, a six story building on rue Maurice Sibille, has been occupied by refugees and their supporters. Around 12:00, riot cops came and pushed away the people gathered in the street, aiming at people with their rubber bullet guns. They tried to break into the building but failed. They used gas through an opening. One person would have been arrested. Some local politicians and unions members were around to show support to the refugees. After several hours of tension, riot cops left, followed by an explosion of joy. People in state of euphoria went in and visited this huge empty building. The space is in good state with water and electricity, perfect to host people in shared rooms, with individual kitchens and toilets, big common spaces, a professional kitchen, etc… [Read More]

Nantes: University occupied buildings evicted

On march 7th, at 7am, a few hundred riot cops evicted refugees occupying the Censive building and the Château du Tertre, at the Nantes university. Around 50 people from Censive and 60 others from the Château were violently kicked out under the smiles from the heads of the university and authorities in charge of the police operation.
The eviction was fast. One person went on the roof to protest. Around 10am, this person was still there. As soon as the eviction alarm was called, people gathered on the parking next to the Château du Tertre.
All belongings were moved out by Demeco, a removing company, who did not want to communicate what they were going to do with the mattresses. The police started to barricade the Château du Tertre from inside to prevent any new occupation.
The Censive occupation took place on November 22nd 2017, after the violent eviction of the former Art School, directly bricked up and still heated on! The Château du Tertre was occupied by students and refugees soon after, on November 26th. [Read More]