Squat.

 

          As the farce of choosing a new leader to be our lord and master engulfs the UK parliamentary system once more, we all know that as far as hardship and misery goes, it will not make one iota of difference to us, the ordinary people. We will still be faced with extortionate energy bills, galloping inflation, increasing interest rates, which will clobber thousands of ordinary people, and spending cuts to social services. I envisage a vast increase in homelessness, with people forced to seek shelter in our alleyways. The obvious outcome to this apart from deteriorating health is to demand your human right to shelter, in other words, squatting. The country is awash with empty properties, any rational with humanity, would open these to homeless individuals and families. That wont happen in this capitalist gambling casino, so direct action is the only answer, squat, and the communities must get behind those unfortunate enough to have to resort to this for health and safety and shelter.
        Of course the state apparatus will do everything in its power to protect the landlords and will deal with it through their loaded legal system or brutally by the forces of the state, as is happening across the world, with Athens being among the most brutal of eviction. We must all stand together and support all those in need, until we can bring this festering cancerous system down. We are in for a very tough time, unless we show solidarity we will all suffer unnecessarily. 

The following article from Enough is Enough.

 

 Originally published by Squat Net.

        The eviction happened after only a few days of occupation. According to the court the building was unsafe to reside in. This decision was made in our absence, we were not given the ability to present evidence in our defense and no inspection had taken place.
        Even though the biggest part of the building is safe to live in and the stripped part had been closed off, the court decided to evict without a hearing. We wonder if it has something to do with the extremely expensive lawyers of the owner?
       The police came by on the 14th of October to announce that we would have to leave, our lawyer confirmed they made this decision and going into high appeal would not call off the eviction. They gave us 3 hours to pack our stuff.
        Autonomous Student Struggle (A.S.S.) called for a demonstration in front of the building, to protest against this ridiculous verdict to protect the landlords of the city from homeless students.The police decided not to show themselves until the next morning when they evicted us with their special forces. Resistance ensued in the form of barricades, the occupants could escape before being captured. The owner hired private security to stand in front of the door for the rest of the day.
        As of now we still have not seen a written verdict. The court is giving landlords and speculators a free road while we face repression for using the abandoned to attain a basic necessity; housing. We believe its necessary to use every means to fight these state-actions; on the streets, through legal and illegal means.
       Their desperate means to legitimize their evictions is a confirmation of the threat we are, as we all know we would only need a spark to ignite the fuel of our outrage. Much respect for the people who showed up for the spontaneous demonstration, we are all in this together!

 Visit ann arky's home at https://spiritofrevolt.info 

Squat.

          Squatting is not a pastime, it is not a event perpetrated by casual criminals, it is a process forced on ordinary people in a society that has no regard for the right of people to have a place to stay. Squatting is a product of an inhuman system that allows rich speculators to leave property empty some times for years on end, in search of greater profit, while  people desperately seek a place to live. The fact that the state will always come down hard on the squatter rather than the property speculator, who in all probability lives in luxury, is proof, if you need it, where the state's priorities lie. The housing shortage will never be solved as long as we perpetuate this system of state/corporate profit before people. A housing shortage keeps prices high allowing property speculators, banks and mortgage brokers to pile their ill gotten gains high in some off shore tax haven bank account.  You would be a fool and extremely naive if you expect the present system to solve the housing shortage Decent housing for all will only arrive after we demolish the present system of state/corporate capitalism. 

The following from Enough is Enough:

 Image: Demonstration against housing crisis in Amsterdam on September 12, 2021. Image by Indymedia NL.

     Originally published by Woonprotest Twitter account. Translated by Riot Turtle.
         Yesterday (September 12, 2021, Enough 14) we had a great protest and a powerful march. But we have to dwell on something else: after the march, people tried to squat a building near Dam Square which has been empty for a long time. The riot police prevented that from happening and in the process the police used excessive force. Among other things, a person who was already fully enclosed was hit on the head with a steel baton. We are deeply shocked and condemn this police violence. Our support goes out to the people who were injured, suffered trauma or ended up in jail.
        Let it be clear: we are pro squatting, we said that on stage, we said that in the media and so we are still saying that now. Squatting should be decriminalized because it is part of the fundamental housing right. Indeed, squatting plays an important role in the fight against parasitic investors who leave many good residential properties empty. The real problem is the prioritization of the interests of speculators who do not care about our housing and our right to have a place to live. Squatting is the result of inhuman mismanagement.
       We are also working behind the scenes to take concrete action on this and to do something about it because this is unacceptable.
       Again, our deep thanks to all the people who were there, who couldn’t be there but support us and are part of the movement and everyone who supported us. This has to be a tipping point. This is the beginning of a new movement. 

Woonprotest, September 13, 2021.
 

Further reading: Attempted squatting action on Graven Street and police brutality [Amsterdam, Netherlands]

       Addition by Enough 14: All arrestees from Sunday were released again.

Visit ann arky's home at https://radicalglasgow.me.uk  

Cloned Cities For The Wealthy.

       This piece originally published in Squat-Net, but could equally apply to any modern city, as capitalism clones city after city in the interest of profit. Cities are now places for speculators to gamble their ill-gotten gains in the hope of ever increasing profits, and a place for the wealthy to flaunt their expensive toys and mingle in expensive restaurants. The ordinary, the poor, are pushed to the perimeter to make do as best they can, most of them now superfluous to the systems requirements. However, some are doing as we should all do, fighting back.

From Squat Net:

      Amsterdam: Today, October 17, the Mobiele Eenheid, a collective of involved Amsterdammers, occupied the old Gedempt Hamerkanaal 86. The building has been empty for over a year without any concrete plans for use in the near future. We plan to transform this badly maintained building into a non-commercial social center; a space by and for people to come together, exchange ideas and skills, work collectively and actively influence the developments in the city.
     We oppose the current developments in the city. Over the last 5 years the average price of a house in Amsterdam has gone up by more than 80%. Due to high rent many inhabitants have been pushed out (of their homes) and the city. Many are forced to give up their tenancy rights and live in anti-squats, currently a conventional alternative to renting, even though it enables real estate speculation. In addition, gentrification and tourism are changing Amsterdam. Space for people with a small wallet or non-profit initiatives have basically disappeared. The last free-spaces are currently under threat. Amsterdam is increasingly becoming an expensive, predictable, individualistic and exclusive city, whereas we want to live in a city that is diverse and inclusive.
       This is why we are opening up this space for the benefit of the local community and the residents of Amsterdam. Together we can create a stronger sense of community and a voice against current developments. Through a program with political debate, music, art and communal projects, we want to connect and involve anyone that wants to be a part of the city’s community and potentially participate in its development. Squatting unused property for public benefit has a long tradition in our city and we will continue.
      We run this place collectively and voluntarily. You are very welcome to pass by during one of our events, or to join and help out!

Mobiele Eenheid
Gedempt Hamerkanaal 86
1021 KR Amsterdam
info [at] mobiele-eenheid [dot] org
https://mobiele-eenheid.org/

Join Us page https://mobiele-eenheid.org/join-us/

      We see that the commercialisation, gentrification and growing tourism are making of Amsterdam an expensive and exclusive city. Amsterdam is becoming more individualistic, more monotonous and boring. Also, the city is now a playground for tourists and a board game for the rich, who speculate with the spaces of the city, entirely not giving a damn about us, the people who use those spaces, whether to live or to meet.
     We firmly believe that it is not the right of the rich to play with the buildings of the city or to decide what to do with them. Since we also enjoy a lot of having fun with and in the city, we decided to start playing, but we are doing it in our own way: we are starting a non-commercial, self-organised, autonomous, and free space.
     We see that the commercialisation, gentrification and growing tourism are making of Amsterdam an expensive and exclusive city. Amsterdam is becoming more individualistic, more monotonous and boring. Also, the city is now a playground for tourists and a board game for the rich, who speculate with the spaces of the city, entirely not giving a damn about us, the people who use those spaces, whether to live or to meet.

Visit ann arky's home at radicalglasgow.me.uk

Who Are They?

          There is an ever increasing number of people who knowingly and deliberately break the rules, ignore the dictates of political party leaders, occupy buildings, turn up at protests, and who at times, according to the establishment, create "mayhem". They go under different banners, but have one aim in mind. The babbling brook of bullshit, our mainstream media, condemns them, and writes a false history regarding them. It paints them as hooligans, bomb throwing thugs, assassins, and worse. Who are they?

The Rebel

Rebel rebel break the rule,

What does it matter that a “wise” man sees a fool.

Not for you the herd’s dull beat

Making tomorrow, yesterday’s repeat,

Living out the life of a clone

Marching with the crowd but always alone.

Shaping your life from some dusty tome

Playing it safe, staying at home.

Rebel rebel break the rule

Swim in the sea, never the pool.

Live your emotions, feel the surge

Follow your dreams, chase the urge.

Make life though short, an exciting game

Not a mad march for fortune or fame.

Capture the moment, live it now

Being alive your only vow.

Rebel rebel break the rule

In the end, you’re humanity’s jewel.

Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk

A Home, A Money Making Commodity, Or A Right??

        Homelessness is part and parcel of this system of exploitation that we live under, a home is not seen as a basic right, but as a source of wealth creation for a handful of greedy individuals. Nor will the powers that be ever resolve the “housing crisis”, as that would interfere with the profitability of house building companies and developers. As long as there is a “scarcity” of houses, the price of buying and renting, will continue their upward surge, more profit for that brand of business. The so called housing problem is not a problem, it is a policy. Are our learned politicians sitting in the Westminster Houses of Hypocrisy and Corruption, telling us that there is not enough raw materials in the country to build enough houses, or are they saying we don't have the skills? We can build expensive abodes for those with deep pockets, we certainly can create opulence for the few, but are deemed incapable of creating decent houses for the many? Without the building of more homes for the ordinary people, people will obviously look to solve the “problem" by themselves. Our cities and towns are awash with empty premises, people are without homes, put the two together and we have a temporary solution, until we can take control of our own society, and create that basic right of all, a decent place to lay your head. 

      Squatters of London Action Paper (SLAP!) is a new London freesheet for squat news, actions, history and events. Paper copies soon available at Freedom Bookshop in Whitechapel and 56a Infoshop in Elephant and Castle. (Read Slap! First issue pdf)

     At worst, homelessness can mean sleeping rough on the streets.
Government statistics show 2,744 people slept rough in England on any one night during 2014 - a 55 per cent rise on 2010
Local agencies report 7,581 people slept rough in London alone throughout 2014/15 - A 16 per cent rise on the previous year, and more than double the figure of 3,673 in 2009/10 However, the problem of homelessness is much bigger than that of rough sleeping.
More on rough sleeping
In England:
     112,330 households applied to their local authority for homelessness assistance in 2014/15, a 26 per cent rise since 2009/10.
        The vast majority of single homeless people who are not entitled to housing, as well as those who, for a variety of reasons do not even apply for homelessness assistance, end up surviving out of sight.
       Many stay in hostels and there are just over 38,500 be spaces in hostels for single homeless people in England but there are other ways to get by. This might mean staying in squats or B&Bs, in overcrowded accommodation or ‘concealed' housing, such as the floors or sofas of friends and family.
        If you do not qualify for local authority housing assistance, if you are sleeping rough, staying in a hostel, a squat or some other form of unsatisfactory or insecure accommodation, then you are one of the countless thousands of hidden homeless people.
More on hidden homelessness More on hostel accommodation More on squatting

 

 

Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk

Home Sweet Home!!!

    The recent E15 London squat brought squatting back into mainstream media. It was put forward as an anomaly, something that doesn't happen very much, a one of event by some odd people. However one startling fact that the babbling brook of bullshit, the mainstream media, didn't highlight, was the fact that more than 10% of the world's population are squatters. Another one of the many, damning facts, that show this system of capitalism doesn't work. As far as the vast majority are concerned, it fails miserably to supply the basic needs for a decent life. 

Population 1 million outside Mexico City.

      We have cities with empty property, and people sleeping rough, we have families desperately seeking shelter in abandoned buildings, all a reality just beneath the surface of the glitzy shopping malls with their "must have" designer labels and cappuccinos.

 The glaring inequalities of capitalism, Brazil.

     In the developed world squatting is usually small groups or individuals dotted around our cities and towns, but in the developing world, in many cases, they are they towns.

Dhaka, a familiar face of capitalism.

     Across the globe, capitalism has driven millions into deep deprivation while showering the few with unimaginable wealth and power. A sure recipe for the destruction of our planet.

Mumbai, a normal life for millions.

   No matter where we go in this profit drive nightmare, there are people desperate for somewhere to live and and under this system, desperation makes for untold misery.

 

A familiar sight in South Africa.

Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk

HOMELESSNESS + EMPTY HOUSES = HIGH RENTS.

      Following on from an earlier post on homelessness and highlighting the contraditions in this type of society, thousands homeless, thousands of empty houses and the government doing its damnedest to keep them empty. Protecting empty property helps to keep rents high and in this society, that is more important than the needs and dignity of the ordinary people.

 

ann arky's home.

SOUP KITCHENS NOT ALLOWED.

         While the Greek political class prostrate themselves in front of the financial Mafia, trying to get a deal that will not cost the financial moguls too much, what is happening to the Greek people? In freezing conditions, yes it is very cold in Athens at the moment, the homeless of the city, approximately 20,000 in Athens alone, were being helped out by various political groups setting up soup kitchens. However the caring compassionate government has issued a decree, which, claiming public health issues, closes these soup kitchens. Secretary of Public Health, Dimopoulos, obviously thinks that getting free food is more dangerous than going hungry in a freezing city. His decree states that only formal agencies can publicly offer free food, churches, municipalities and NGOs. Others wishing to offer help to the hungry have to get official approval from the authorities.

        It was not just the homeless that were turning up at these soup kitchens, even those who still have a roof over their head can't afford to eat. Spontaneous self help and mutual aid, are terms that are an anathema to the authority worshipping political class. In another recent show of compassionate government, in Athens, while it was snowing and the temperature plummeting 24 or so of the 20,000 homeless in Athens squatted an empty municipal coffee house. The Mayor of Athens, Kaminis, order action to be taken against them and the riot police arrived and arrested 15 of the squatters. The Mayor, for whatever reason withdrew his complaint but the General Attorney of Athens charged the 15 with criminal damage and theft (of electricity). The arrestees were detained at Exarcheia Police Station where 100 or so people gathered outside in protest. The detainees were then transferred to Police HQ, where as far as is known, they are still there.

        What we can take from these type of political actions is that the state apparatus is more concerned with the protection of property and maintenance of authority, than it is in the well being of the people. To them it is acceptable to have empty property and people sleeping on the streets in freezing temperatures, rather than free up that property. It is acceptable to have people go hungry in cold winter conditions rather than have unauthorised concerned groups offer them warm food. These are the standard procedures of this profit drive system of corporate financial fascism that we the ordinary people suffer under. This system cannot be modified to take care of all our people, there is no such beast as caring, compassionate capitalism and the call for “moral markets” is a call for the fox to walk with the chicken.

The information in this post was taken from OCCUPIED LONDON.

ann arky's home.

A HOME OR A HOUSE??

          It is claimed that there are over 1 million empty houses in the UK and it is estimated that 2 million families in the UK need a home. We are a rich capitalist country!! In this society that is seen as an insurmountable problem, where as any rational approach would be to give those without homes access to empty houses. Of course in this society a house is not seen as a place to live, it is seen as property and therefore a valuable asset, money. So if you are well off, you can have several houses, of course only living in one. While others can't have a house and have to share or live in a hostel, or worse live on the streets, leaving all those other house empty. This injustice is glossed over by referring to it as “the market”, some divine oracle that controls our lives. This system of capitalism, whereby a house is not a home but a valuable asset, creates all the usual contradictions. While you are looking for a house you hope that prices will fall, but once you have your house, you hope and pray that the price will go up. Once you have your house and the price falls, because it is on a mortgage you end up owing more than your pile of bricks is worth, not a very satisfactory situation, but then again, that's capitalism for you. If we take the government out of the equation and classify a house as a place to live and not a commodity to be sold for gain, then I'm sure the people would sort out the housing problem tomorrow. But that wouldn't be capitalism.

ann arky's home.

THE TEAPOT COLLECTIVE INTRODUCTION TO ANARCHY, CONCLUSION.

       This is the back and final page of The Teapot Collective Introduction to Anarchy. You can read page 14 HERE.

The Anarchist teapot.

      The Anarchist Teapot has to date (December98) moved through eight buildings in Brighton and two in Worthing, born out of the idea “to have free minds, we must have free tea”. The squatting of disused buildings created autonomous spaces, where we could give tea and food freely without giving ourselves wages or making profits, and encourage communication and organisation. We've also taken the “kitchen” to actions and events around the country, and bookstalls to car boot sales and gigs.

      These are, as we feel, a few of the small things we can do to create anarchy.

Suggested for further reading  (there's lots of interesting stuff in our reading room too!)

Spectacular Times, series of cheap booklets A Distribution, 84b Whitechapel High street, London E1.

Anarchy a graphic Guide, by Clifford Harper, 9the pics and some of the text in this leaflet are stolen from this), Camden Press £4:95.

The Revolution of Everyday Life, by Raoul Vanigen, Rebel Press, £7:95.

Check out the Public House Bookshop, 31 Little Preston Street in Brighton, to the extensive catalogue from AK Distribution, PO Box 12766, Edinburgh EH8 9YE

Or see our bookstall, somewhere near you (maybe)!

      “We are not in the least afraid of ruins. We are going to inherit the Earth. There is not the slightest doubt about that. The ruling class might blast and run its own world before it leaves the stage of history. We carry a new world here in our hearts. That world is growing this minute.”
Buenaventura Durruti, Spain 1936.
 
      I hope you have found the Teapot Collective's little booklet both enjoyable and informative, though a lot of the above information may be out of date as it has just been copied straight from the wee booklet printed in 1998.

ann arky's home.