Rome: 70.000 on the streets!

Saturday October 19th, several tens of thousands people (estimated around 70.000) partecipated a huge national demonstration in Rome, promoted by movements for housing rights and for the commons, social centers, independent trade unions and precarious workers, against austerity policies and Troika governance, for a new Welfare and a basic income. During the march, despite small fascist provocations and a massive deployment of police, the Ministry for Economy and Finance and the German embassy were attacked by protesters. The event ended with a great “acampada”, still in progress, in front of the Ministry for Infrastructure and Trasportation, responsible for the socalled “big works” and housing.

 Link to news and videos

 

Athens: open assembly

a first step towards the coordination of collective action for housing rights

                   

On the European day of action for housing rights, more than 120 people gathered at Eleftherias square in Athens, in order to participate at the first open assembly on the right to housing and the right to the city. Participants represented a range of groups and organisations and voiced their  concerns about the housing situation and the forthcoming measures and reflected on future actions.

The main issues that were discussed focused on the forthcoming liberalization of auctions of foreclosed houses and the general attack (via increased taxation) on homeowners and small property owners.

Other points that were made include the issue of increased homelessness and of people living on the streets and/or in highly inadequate housing;  the problems faced by the former beneficiaries of the Workers Housing organisation; the problems faced by a number of social groups (such as young people and students, older people or vulnerable social groups) that see the existing social infrastructure closing down and the (already limited) welfare provisions further curtailed.

The general feeling was that there is a need of a broader coordination among groups, individuals and organisations in order to collectively resist against the expanding housing crisis and to develop alternative practices and policies with the participation of movements and grassroots organisations.

Ideas for next steps fall under three broad directions:

• the need to inform, network and mobilise affected people, but also to create a broad alliance for housing rights,
• the need to develop alternative social housing and welfare policies based on existing resources and know-how and,
• the need to develop alternative and radical practices that can directly answer immediate housing problems and needs in a collective way.

Collectives that participated:

Coordination of assemblies of Attika against auctions, Embros Theater Occupation, Encounter Athens, Members of local assemblies (DIKAEX, Perama, Chalkida, Ambelokhpoi, Akadimia Platonos), Members of the municipal council (Municipal left parties Anoihth Polh and Adarsya stis Geitonies), Members of the youth of Syriza, Members of the Architects’ Association of Attika, Network for the right to housing and habitat, Open assembly of Engineers, Solidarity for all, Workers of the Workers Housing Organisation, Workers, students and professors of the school of Architecture, NTUA

Berlin: Vacancy tagged

In Prenzlauer Berg a group of activists tagged vacant buildings with the invitation to occupy.

(me, as a house, would recommend occupation) (please occupy me before the assholes are comming)

The building in Torstraße is empty since years. The Icelandic real estate company is trying to get rid of the last tenants to make profit by reselling it.  The same system is played out in Kastanienallee, where activists put up a 6 meter long transparent “luxury-modernization? Occupying helps”

In Winsstraße, also in Prenzlauer Berg, the well known real estate company Ziegert is trying to get rid of the tenants to convert the flats into condominiums.

Berlin: Occupation of old police station for homeless people

In Berlin there has been an occupation of an old empty police station in the district of Lichtenberg. Being owned by the city’s so called ‘Liegenschaftsfonds’ it has been empty for several years.

In the meanwhile, homelessness is a growing problem in the city. Therefore it was planned and announced to occupy a house together with homeless families to convert it into a living space.

About 150-200 people met in a park nearby, following a silent mobilization, and started to stream through a hole in the fence to enter the building from behind.

The Berlin police was attentive in the whole city where the occupation action would happen. Several weeks before a flyer with unknown authorship had been circulating through the city with the slogan ‘Tenants of all countries – Call to occupy’.

PARIS: Violent repression during #19o

ENGLISH

Yesterday October 19th, in Paris, during the European Day of Action for the Right to Housing and the City, police surrounded the protesters during 6 hours, forbidding them to move freely.

The police made ​​several injured, the spokesman DAL, JB Eyraud.

Watch the videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZl7l3ULVBY&feature=youtu.be
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5vHYBQjrwY&feature=youtu.be
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLObBBAGew0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEXT5pEAUGs&feature=youtu.be

 

FRENCH

Hier samedi 19 octobre, place de la République à Paris, lors de la Journée européenne pour le droit au logement et à la ville, la police a encerclé les manifestant-e-s pendant plus de 6 heures en leur interdisant de circuler librement.
La police a fait plusieurs blessés dont le porte-parole du DAL, JB Eyraud.

Voir toutes les vidéos :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZl7l3ULVBY&feature=youtu.be
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5vHYBQjrwY&feature=youtu.be
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLObBBAGew0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEXT5pEAUGs&feature=youtu.be

Et l’article du Figaro: http://www.lefigaro.fr/flash-actu/2013/10/19/97001-20131019FILWWW00416-paris-heurts-entre-mal-loges-et-policiers.php

Budapest: the 3rd March of Empty Houses

Today in Budapest we are organizing a demonstrative march for the third time in order to draw attention to the fact that at least 100 000 flats are left empty in the city. These places could be the homes of people – of the 10 000 homeless people who live in Budapest, and of all those, who live in overcrowded or undignified housing. These buildings are empty because of irresponsible politics that open space for housing speculation, do not think that they should intervene on the housing market, and waste their own housing stock by leaving it empty.

We have lots of ideas about how to use the empty housing in a more appropriate way…. Our claims for the utilization of empty housing:   http://avarosmindenkie.blog.hu/2012/06/19/avm_s_recommendations_for_the_utilization_of_empty_buildings_and_apartments

A video about an occupation we did last year:  http://avarosmindenkie.blog.hu/2013/02/11/we_are_not_asking_for_free_housing_social_housing_occupation_in_budapest

A video about two couples who could move into empty social housing after pressure exercised by The City is for All: http://avarosmindenkie.blog.hu/2013/08/03/from_the_forest_to_housing_the_story_of_the_residents_of_terebes_forest

A video about the second March of Empty Buildings:  http://avarosmindenkie.blog.hu/2012/09/26/second_vacant_buildings_march_in_budapest_video

If you are in Budapest come join as at 2 pm on Deák Ferenc tér!!

(or somewhere along the following itinerary: Deák Ferenc tér – Szervita tér – Városház u. – Semmelweis u. – Astoria – Károly körút – Dob u. – Klauzál tér – Klauzál u. – Blaha Lujra tér)

Paris + Lisbon: Livestreams today

Follow the actions in Paris and Lisbon live!

PARIS:
http://twitcam.com/fj047

LISBON:
http://new.livestream.com/accounts/5721273/events/2473559

Paris: Camp on Place de la Republique – DAL-activist and supporters evicted again

DAL’s activist and supports were camping at the Republic Place and brutally evicted on Monday by police special forces.

Yesterday, we came back again and at 1 am, during the night police evicted again the protest…

Despite of this, the families will be back at the Republic place this evening at 5pm and also for the #19o!

Below more info in french with the press release from the DAL.

Paris le 17 octobre 7h
 
République 0h50 : nouvelle évacuation
La journée mondiale de lutte contre la misère commence en France par la répression mal-logés
Nouveau rassemblement jeudi à partir de 17h
A 0h50, le commissaire de permanence, en tenue de CRS a pris son mégaphone et a lancé la première sommation d’usage : “dispersez vous cette manifestation est interdite. Vous êtes passibles de 3000 euros d’amende et 1 an de prison avec sursis ”

Encerclées par les CRS et leurs cars , les familles chantent “police partout, logement nul part”.

Une centaine de mal logés et de militants sont là. Les mères de familles sont assises ou allongées, très déterminées, des enfants aussi. Les pères de famille et les militantEs sont debout, prêts à affronter une violente charge des CRS. Ces dernier font monter la pression. Cette fois “on va se les faire” … font ils entendre.
Il fait sombre, les coup de bottes et les brutalités peuvent se déchaîner, a l’abri des regards.

La soirée avait bien commencé : avec la venue de Guy Bedos, le soutien de nombreux militants syndicaux, associatifs et politiques que nous remercions une fois de plus.

Une négociation a eu lieu quelques minutes avant, avec un représentant du DAL et un magistrat à la retraite, habitant du quartier qui a demandé à être appelé au cas où la police interviendrait  : Louis Joinet, fondateur du syndicat de la Magistrature , magistrat et expert auprès de l’ONU.

Le directeur de cabinet du Préfet de police s’est déplacé. Il donne son accord pour l’installation en journée, mais pas la nuit. Le DAL promet une lutte qui peut durer des semaines et des mois, et demande un protocole d’accord et un échéancier de relogement des 300 familles en lutte, lesquelles ne craignent pas la répression.
Une discussion s’ensuit avec les familles : On revient demain à 17h, Place de la République, tous ensemble, et on exige le retour des négociations, rompues depuis lundi.

Avant que le Commissaire ne lance la 2e sommation, les familles se lèvent, et commencent à partir. La décision avait été prise, mais les mal logés ont été une nouvelle fois interdits de manifester.

Dublin: demonstrastion visting three stratic sites on 19O

We will start at the ‘Customs House’ which is the location of the state department with responsibility for housing and the environment. at this location there will be short inputs from three different women, two of whom have been actively for the regeneration of their public housing estates for many years while the third woman will speak of housing and accommodation issues for the Traveller community here in Ireland. we will have a group of young men and women start us off with a song and we will also read a specific piece of poetry written about one of the public housing estates in Dublin.

Our second location is the headquarters of a financial organisation in Dublin which is at the heart of the commodification and financialisation of housing and is actively working with global companies to help them to buy up the housing stock cheaply. here we will have inputs from an experienced activist on how the state is changing the terms and conditions for accessing public housing and a young academic/activist on the fine detail of financialisation. We will also have a special rendition of the David Bowie song ‘Five Years’ slightly adapted for the occasion with the austerity policies in mind.

Our third location is the ‘Ha’penny Bridge’ which connects the north and south sides of the city at Temple bar. Here we will hang the banner that we have made for the occasion. see the image attached. After we hang the banner we will move to the adjacent millennium bridge where we will have a general open forum discussion with people contributing their views on what the critical housing issues are for them. The group ‘Theatre Club’ will perform a short excerpt from their play ‘History’ which is about the history of a public housing estate that a number of those present have worked on for many years. the event will be finished with a song from the ‘Jammers’ a group of young singers from inner city Dublin.

Spain: Victory for PAH, eviction stopped by Strasbourg Court

The eviction of a block of flats, which stood empty for two years, occupied by the anti evictions platform (PAH) with several homeless families has been stopped on October 16, 2013 in Salt, near Girona, Spain. Forty three people were meant to be evicted today from the building (bloc Salt) owned by the “bad bank” Sareb but it was stopped for now by Strasbourg Court. The European Court postponed the eviction to the 29th Oct. Until the 24th the Spanish government has time to explain how it will preserve the human rights of the 43 inhabitants (21 children among them) in case of eviction.

For more information: #BlocSalt

A new silverlining for Europes housing precariat?