On the 26th of February, employees of Vestia came to the door of a squat on Tweebosstraat 120. They knocked at the door, introducing themselves as the police. Obviously the squatters didn’t believe them, and refused to open the door anyway. Vestia threatened them to call the police, so they gave them the following documents proving they were living here for more than a week. Those documents were stamped by the OM on the 19th of February to prove the authenticity of the date.
According to Dutch law, those documents mean that Vestia is supposed to do a court case against the squatters in order to get an eviction order. After 48 hours of occupancy it’s illegal to evict a squat without an order from a judge. [Read More]
Rotterdam: Illegal eviction of Tweebosstraat 120
London: Paddington Green police station squat evicted
The Paddington Green police station squat was evicted. The operation saw more than 60 bailiffs, private security and, of course, the cops themselves, storming the building just after 7am. The residents have managed to resist for long enough to secure the time needed to gather their belongings.
The notorious high-security cop shop, best known as a place where people suspected of terrorism were held and questioned, had been squatted since the night of 7th February. That’s when the Green Anticapitalist Front, alongside squatters and other activists, took the decomissioned and abondoned in 2018 building, intending to turn it to a community centre.
The next day, the cops, whose egos must have clearly been bruised, unsuccessfully attempted to evict the space. They claimed it is a residential building (and therefore illegal to squat) and, reportedly, that not allowing them to come in and use a toilet is a breach of their human rights. [Read More]
Rotterdam: Tweebosbuurt callout for solidarity
For the freedom to occupy abandoned places, an eviction, 10 occupations!
In a few days from now, next Wednesday March 4th, 6 squats (3 of which officially and the rest very likely) are facing eviction, 6 homes people have been transforming and living in for months, whilst also fighting against the demolition and gentrification of the neighborhood. 6 houses whose residents will be thrown out onto the street with all their possessions by the police. The date of 4 March is decisive, both for the future of these homes and for the continuation of the battle here in Tweebosbuurt. We are therefore launching a call out to come and support us and to be present in solidarity during the evictions. [Read More]
Dublin: New social centre
Ashes to Ashes, Crust to Crust – A revival in the Dublin squatter scene
So here we are, in our very own, “Her Lady Margaret Thatcher Memorial Library,” drinking a can and celebrating that the cunt’s still dead.
We’re writing this article as we are happy to finally announce ‘Sandwitch Gaff’ to the world! (squat.net). After resisting an illegal eviction attempt when a digger came crashing through our walls in the early hours of the morning we have decided to come out from underground and tell others that Sandwitch Gaff is here to stay.
If your familiar with the Dublin squatting scene and you liked Grangegorman or the Barricade Inn then you’ll hate us! We’ve got a warehouse full of trampolines, tall bikes, zip lines, a whole bunch of dogs, our own bar and a bunch of other mad shit. We’ve had a few events; cabaret, ceilí, scum dine with me, comedy nights, and were ready and open to host more. If you’re a cool band or traveling weirdo looking for a venue for whatever you do, send us an email and keep your eyes out for upcoming events posted on radar.squat.net. (hippies and oogles need not apply.)
Brexit got you down? Don’t move to Berlin! We’re calling for all talented immigrant squatters to come here and help internationalise this scene. Give us a shout if you’re travelers passing through or locals that wanna get involved.
Our kru email is antifaffhooligans [at] riseup [dot] net
Sandwitch https://squ.at/r/7rz7
Rotterdam: Squatted house evicted within a day. Nocturnal dialogue with Vestia
Police and Vestia think they can do anything with impunity again!
The police evicted a squat in the Tweebosstraat in Rotterdam-Zuid on Wednesday evening. Squatters had entrenched themselves on the balcony and the roof. Four arrests were made. A group of squatters entered the empty building earlier in the day. The police were present with many officers to remove the group. The houses in the Tweebosstraat are on the nomination to be demolished. Earlier, there were also houses squatted for a short period of time in the neighbourhood to protest against the current vacancy.
The Hague: A nocturnal dialogue with Vestia.
In the night of February 25th a nightly visit was made to the Vestia office at the Loevesteinlaan in The Hague. Several windows were smashed and paint bombs were thrown on the building. Vestia is a mafia embraced by the state. The housing corporation is well known for its malpractices and its total disregard for tenants. After the 2008 crisis, the company continued to cheerfully raise rents, sell out social housing and postpone crucial maintenance of social housing. People were struggling with leakage, moisture and mold problems, and Vestia didn’t seem to care.
Now Vestia is once again demolishing more than 500 social housing units in the Tweebosbuurt in Rotterdam. The corporation will only rebuild 130 social housing units, the rest will be business premises and owner-occupied houses. Vestia’s project in the Tweebosbuurt is one of brutal gentrification. [Read More]
London: Living in the cracks. How housing has fallen into crisis
The causes of the housing crisis are, in a nutshell, the unchecked power of landlords, the 40-year attack on social housing and stagnant wages. The consequences are people sleeping in tents and doorways and under bridges, children in A&E with constant chest infections, poverty, debt, mental distress, and endless moving.
One of the major causes of the housing crisis is the undermining and running down of social housing. Since the introduction of Right to Buy in 1980, 1.5 million council houses have been sold, 40% of which are now rented out by private landlords. Alongside Right to Buy there has been a campaign of slurs by media and politicians against people in social housing, with other people encouraged to despise or resent them for the high rent other tenants pay.
As well as Right to Buy, many councils are knocking down large estates and redeveloping the land as high-density private housing, often purchased as an investment not a home. Tenants are usually rehoused locally but there is a loss of social housing in the area which increases the length of the waiting list. On many council bidding pages now the number of flats on offer is in the single figures, while 1.1 million households are on waiting lists. [Read More]
London: New week of action venue. Welcome to GRASS!
While Green London is still holding strong in the former Paddington Green Police Station, we felt it was unfair to bring members of the public into a situation where they could be exposed to the aggressive and threatening behaviour of the police and bailiffs. We have therefore, while continuing our occupation of Green London, decided to open a new social space for our week of action: the Green Revolutionary Anticapitalist Social Space. GRASS!
GRASS is located in the former George Pub near Holloway Road tube station. It is a warm and welcoming building which we are very happy to be using, and look forward to welcoming you in.
Our new address is 9 Eden Grove, Islington N7 8EE. Just a stone’s throw from Holloway Station!
We will be opening this Tuesday. Our openings hours will be 12.00-10.00 each day for the week of action. We have a full programme planned so check it out. [Read More]
Groningen: Solidarity with 10 squatters
Call for solidarity with the 10 people who were arrested during the eviction of the Heykens-building in the Akerkstraat in Groningen in October 2019. They all are convicted for article 138a.
The judge agreed with the demand of the prosecutor and all have to pay a fine of 300 euro. With legal costs of 150 euro per person op top of that, this amounts to high costs and they could use some support.
Please donate if you can
Solidariteitsfonds Het Zwarte Gat, NL41 TRIO 0391 0365 64, and mention “heykenspand”
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Berlin: Reflection of the occupation of the Greek consulate in December 2019
We entered the building at 11 a.m. with 17 people and calmly asked the staff to stop working for the day. The aim was to disturb the smooth running of the procedure, but without causing further damage. The consulate is located on the 4th floor of an apartment building in Möhrenstraße 17 in Berlin-Mitte. As soon as we entered the rooms, we covered the cameras, explained our reason of the occupation to the staff, hung a banner with the words “Solidarity with the Squats” out of the window and threw out flyers. We made no demands whatsoever, but took the room to spread our ideas and show our solidarity.
The supporters down the street distributed flyers and our statement to the pedestrians. As soon as the rooms were occupied, we sent our text to all ministries in Greece via fax and e-mail and also to some of the mass-media, because we discussed beforehand if we want to use the media to propagate our action and decided to send the text to some of them. [Read More]
Rotterdam: The Squatting Info Hour Rotterdam is back
A search for “Kraakspreekuur Rotterdam” brings back some old memories from 2010 and 2005, which is quite a long time ago.
Back to the now: Here in Rotterdam quite some things are happening in the squatting scene. De Tweebosbuurt, Wielewaal and de Burgemeester Roosstraat for example. But in a city like Rotterdam, where there are so many empty buildings and people looking for a place to live, you would expect more squatters: Come and join us.
Do you need a house and have found an empty place? Are you still green and can use some help? Don’t have a crowbar?
We can help. To prepare for moving into your new place, you could for example read the Rotterdamse Kraakhandleiding (squatting manual) and research who owns the building which you are planning to move into, using the Kadaster. You can make an appointment for the Squatting Info Hour by mailing us. [Read More]
Brighton: DIY Kodak Update
Apologies for the delayed update – the past couple of days have been busy! For everyone wondering how the eviction went, we just wanted to let you know that we have managed to find some temporary storage solutions and no one has ended up back out in the streets.
As ever, we fully intend intend to keep this project going and will keep you updated about our next steps.
Watch this space…
With love and solidarity,
The DIY Kodak Collective
Rotterdam: About police actions in Tweebosbuurt
We’ve been silently listening to lots of different people talking about squatters in Tweebosbuurt in the last few days. From the leftist parties supporting squatters and newspapers calling them “heroes of Tweebosbuurt” to far right activists calling them criminals and claiming that they should be jailed or kicked out of the country. We thought that most of what could be said about squatters in Tweebosbuurt has been said. But then Wim Hoonhout, head of communication of Rotterdam’s police, decided to give his opinion on twitter as well, and it says a lot about how this city works: “Anti-capitalists, anarchists and extremists from Europe choose Tweebosbuurt for their actions. Thereby threaten the safety of residents. This requires a strict approach. Police [is] committed to ensuring that safety. Violence must be proportional and subsidiary. These people seek to undermine the rule of law. Leon [a journalist supporting squatters] trivializes their behavior and condemns our action”.
This is important and needs to be analyzed carefully.
Let’s start with squatting: as you might know, squatting is illegal in the Netherlands and was considered a criminal offense. But you should also know that since the 2 December 2010, the state court has ruled that the law forbidding squatting was illegal. Since then, squatting is legally considered as a civil issue, a disagreement of interest between two private parties. It’s not a criminal offense anymore. [Read More]
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