On 26th December we visited the Orfanotrofio Squat in Thessaloniki’s Toumba district. A place that was squatted and is now administrated by refugees and the “Anti-authoritarian Space” [1] as well as other active people from Thessaloniki.
About the history
The plan to collectively organize a project like this emerged in September 2015. Connections and contacts between refugees and activists from Thessaloniki were established through the “No border kitchen” in Eidomeni. Together opportunities for meeting and living spaces were sought. Because the border closed three weeks ago (see also part 2 of our report) the creation of a self-organized space got necessary. For many people it became obvious that immediate action was inevitable. Consequently refugees that were rejected at the Macedonian border squatted together with people of the „Anti-authoritarian Space“, the so called ‘Orfanotrofio’. The church owned property was already squatted once in 2013.Three weeks ago, priests together with the cops, threatened to evict the place which did not happen yet. An anarchist comrade estimates the situation right now to be relatively relaxed. According to her, the cops have no reason to evict the place, because there seems to be no apparent political perspective nor will to create spaces for refugees and other socially marginalized groups. Nevertheless, it remains a squatted place and therefore is never absolutely safe. [Read More]
