Amsterdam - 100 refugees squat place
squat!net | 15.12.2013 02:18 | Free Spaces | Migration | Social Struggles | World
After a camp and several previous squats (church / office / flat), the 'We Are Here' group has now squatted the office part of a derelict parking garage, deep in the south of Amsterdam...
On Saturday, the ‘We Are Here’ group of refugees found a new home at Kralenbeek 100 in Amsterdam.
Almost two weeks ago they were evicted from their previous squat, the Vluchtkantoor on Weteringsschans, and some of the group found temporary shelter at the Havenstraat. Since then a group of 90 have spent two weeks wandering through the city, finding shelter each night with friends and social centres. Now there is a new building squatted, in the south of Amsterdam.
In September 2012 ‘We Are Here’ started a tent camp on the Notweg. They stated ‘We are here, we can not go back to our home country, we can not go to another country, and we can not stay here’. They asked for no more than a ‘normal life’. After Notweg, there were squat actions with the Vluchtkerk, the Vluchtflat and the Vluchtkantoor. Now there is a new location, the Vluchtgarage (Vluchtelingen = refugees in Dutch and the group itself chooses this term).
The new location is the office part of an old parking garage and is owned by the city council. The building has stood empty for years, and is slowly decaying. There is a creative plan for the building, which ‘We Are Here’ do not want to prevent from happening. In the meantime, however, they would like to live there.
Foto and short film at
http://en.squat.net/2013/12/15/amsterdam-we-are-here-squat-vluchtgarage/
Almost two weeks ago they were evicted from their previous squat, the Vluchtkantoor on Weteringsschans, and some of the group found temporary shelter at the Havenstraat. Since then a group of 90 have spent two weeks wandering through the city, finding shelter each night with friends and social centres. Now there is a new building squatted, in the south of Amsterdam.
In September 2012 ‘We Are Here’ started a tent camp on the Notweg. They stated ‘We are here, we can not go back to our home country, we can not go to another country, and we can not stay here’. They asked for no more than a ‘normal life’. After Notweg, there were squat actions with the Vluchtkerk, the Vluchtflat and the Vluchtkantoor. Now there is a new location, the Vluchtgarage (Vluchtelingen = refugees in Dutch and the group itself chooses this term).
The new location is the office part of an old parking garage and is owned by the city council. The building has stood empty for years, and is slowly decaying. There is a creative plan for the building, which ‘We Are Here’ do not want to prevent from happening. In the meantime, however, they would like to live there.
Foto and short film at
http://en.squat.net/2013/12/15/amsterdam-we-are-here-squat-vluchtgarage/
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Forbidden things are nevertheless still possible!
16.12.2013 20:15
The dutch squatters movement has however successfully resisted the ban by applying a quite diverse set of methods:
- juridical:
The squatters and their highly motivated legal team has succesfully asserted that a squatted home is still protected (amongst others) by human rights legislation. Any eviction of a home can only take place by order of an judge, albeit because a court has to be asked by the squatters to have it prohibited by means of an injunction pending judicial review (kort geding in afwachting bdemprocedure).
Most importantly: this does not mean that prosecution would be halted. But , as it turns out, the squatting ban was not introduced to costly prosecute and lock up the dissidents of the housing crisis, but , as expected, to factually employ the police as an eviction force at the taxpayers expense for the benefit of private owners. Once this last aspect was effectively twarted, nobody seems to be quite so enthousiastic about prosecuting at all!
- narratively:
The squatters movement refrained from protraying themselves as a marginal bunch of homeless occasionally sleeping in abbandonned buildings, but claimed a position as political pressure group protesting the inequalities and inadequacies of the capitalist housing market.
This narrative is as compelling to the oustside of the scene as to the inside: organized squatters would effrectively demand legalizations and even transfer of property (from private to comunal) rather than hope for a long and covert rent free existance while aknowledging the primacy of property rights in principle. This means effectively challenging the idea ofa property owning society towards state and capitalism, as well as demanding political participations from the beneficiaries of the movements solidarity network.
- collective overt direct action:
Squatting in NL has traditionally been something done in big groups in broad daylight, rather than secretly. The terms, time and space of the (inevitable) confrontation with owners and police are set by the squatters by directly informing all concerned parties immediatly, confronting them directly on site while involving neighbours, press and even sympathizing politicians.
Note that the direct action aspect includes not letting go of particular places with strong symbic values. If an eviction is perceived as illegitimate (even if perfectly legal), the spaces in question are resquatted (sometimes quite violently), albeit only to make a point (and broadcasting it of course).
'wat niet mag kan nog steeds' is th the post ban slogan of the squatting assistance collective of east amsterdam:
M. Herzberg