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Squatters in "Normal Interaction" Shock

Ear Witness | 21.09.2004 09:45 | Culture | Free Spaces | Social Struggles | Oxford

Squatters in Rose Hill were recently overheard having polite conversation with neighbours and agreeing to live amicably alongside one another.

An empty house in Rose Hill was squatted by homeless people on Saturday night. The next door neighbour informed the police of the presence of unknown people in the house and calmly advised the squatters that they should get out as the police were coming. The squatters thanked him for his notice but stayed and informed the police that the house was squatted. Seeing that the house was occupied, the doors and windows were all firmly closed and a Section 6 notice was displayed, the police correctly left the issue in the hands of the owners, Oxford City Council.

The next scene was one of spectacular banality. The calm and forthright neighbour informed the squatters in no uncertain terms but without the use of threats or harsh language that this was a neightbourhood of families with children and they did not want to be kept up at night. The squatters replied cheerfully that they were easily able to agree to being pleasant neighbours. The 25-year resident of the neighbourhood then left them to their work, only coming over one more time to offer hot water, an offer which was gladly taken up by the squatters as they removed six months' worth of filth from the kitchen. The previous tenant was described by various neghbours as "not the cleanest person in the world".

Ear Witness

Comments

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Outrageous

21.09.2004 11:44

This is exactly the kind of irresponsible behaviour which has provoked so many evictions in the Oxford area in recent times. Think of the OCSET squats, where the squatters even went so far as to set up community cafes and free art events for the local population. Neighbours persistently fail to recognise the rights of property owners to leave any building empty for as long as they please. You can hardly blame the authorities for coming down hard.

Appalled of Cowley


waste of space

01.10.2004 12:47

I am much sadder to see that the three building squatted by OCSET are all still unoccupied. If only the owners could have believed the squatters that they would be willing to move whenever the owners really wanted these spaces then some creative social centre activities could have continued for monthes.

sarah