National Squatters Meeting 9-10 February 2008 Leeds

Be nice to widen stuff/the debate up to land, housing, street living, PFI/ property developers/ speculation, traveller communities ( many around London area being moved on all the time ) , shitty councils, Camelot's pseudo squatting, and squatting in general particularly with regard to mobilisation for the international day of squat action in April. Cardboard city action anyone?

If we are going to be concerned about drugs then ( state-imposed ) poverty should be also on the menu. There has been for a long time a tension between so-called 'lifestyle' squatters and 'poor people' who genuinely need to squat; this feeding into the mainstream perception of squatting/party/drugs/lifestylism.. Whilst drugs may be a problem it is not one exclusive to squatting - tho the effects may be more noticable. There are plenty of arrogant rich people ( some of whom sell drugs to squatters who then go around tatting to pay for them and in the process destroying their buildings and potential future homes ) partying out places and pissing off neighbours and other squatters. They have a safety net that others don't. Is the class issue, though ,not to be spoken about by activists but is often noted in books and newspapers ( not to mention the hippy thing ) ? Surely it is no suprise that some of the business squat social centres have been in rather bourgious areas ( leaving all those empty pubs in Tottenham? ).

Here's a flyer to print and distribute in your local town, if you can't print them then e-mail us your adress and we'll send em to you, but as we don't have much money if you can do it yourself then please do!

"The idea for this meeting is inspired by the recent international meeting in Dijon"

well despite the presence of three people fromn north america i think i was more european than international - but thats a minor quibble!!

hope the meeting goes well, would be really cool to hear what went on...

solidarity from fortress europe!

I can't come to this for other reasons. If I was free, I'd probably be there, but feeling a bit chawsed about it.

It's billed as a "National Squatters Meeting", but the blurb seems to reflect only a very small and rather ghettoised fringe of squatting. I'm not knocking that fringe as I'm part of it myself, but it is very easy to have a blinkered view and think that the world of idealogically-motivated anarcho squatting is all there is, and that's just not the case. Most squatters have never heard of terms like "social centre" or "autonomous space". If introduced to such a place, some would be excited by what's happening whilst others would head for the door, finding it far too scuzzy for them.

There must be at least 10, and probably more like 20, of the jobs n' babies squatters for every one of the anarcho lifestyle types who're interested in autonomous spaces (which I repeat, I'm not knocking). They're mostly in London and many (though not exclusively) are from Poland, Latvia or Lithuania.

Squatting in England & Wales is predominantly about HOUSING, HOUSING, HOUSING. Autonomous spaces, gigs, social centres, arty-farty enterprises in squats are all very well, but very much not representative of squatting as a whole.

Jim

Sadly the indymedia network have decided to hold their long overdue network meeting on the same weekend in a different city so I'll not be going to the squat meet either although I did go to Dijon and am interested in doing something for the April 11/12 mobilisation.

I was also somewhat dubious to see the meeting presented as a national squat meeting although I find it hard to articulate exactly why.

The Dijon meeting was interesting in that many of the people representing spaces that identified with the description 'squats and autonomous spaces', related in fact to spaces that used to be squats but where now rented. Others pointed out that in Italy, for example, there are many fascist squatters and even fascist squatted social centres. Meanwhile in the UK, most of the social centres we have are rented or purchased and most squatters are not politically motivated.

make of this what you will

...that although your invitation is addressed to those "involved in all squatted autonomous spaces", those (such as myself) who are not squatting *right now* are nonetheless welcome, no?

yeah of course people not squatting at the moment are welcome.

i'd like to come, but it's difficult when no-one answers your email. maybe it's too late now.

hey call this number to get directions
07526261061