Rozbrat is located in the western Poland city of Poznan. The property was squatted in 1994 and since then it became an alternative politics and cultural centre. It also serves as a home for over 20 people, and is both temporary and permanent shelter for homeless people.

The principal idea behind the space is grassroots organising and self-governing. It is a home to the local Anarchist Federation branch and Food not Bombs among others. The activists involved in Rozbrat have been very much part of the local and beyond projects, including Anarchist Black Cross, the Free Caucasus Committee and Workers Initiative Trade Union. The squat has also been hosting many grassroots initiatives, such as the anarchist library and publishing house, the printing workshop, self-education initiatives, bicycle workshop, a sports club, and a rehearsal space for musicians. Over the years, thousands of events have been organised at Rozbrat, including concerts, exhibitions, theatre plays, lectures, seminars, meetings and workshops.

Rozbrat has been a home to several generations of activists who have played critical roles during many social mobilisations and debates on social issues. The activists from Rozbrat and the Poznan Anarchist Federation have actively defended the most excluded inhabitants of the city, by supporting and initiating dozens of labour, tenant and environmental protests. It was also them who co-funded the regional tenants’ association and brought the issue of illegal dislacements to public light by organising eviction blockades and making it nearly impossible to render homeless the city’s sick, disabled, seniors and parents with children.

In a statement, Rozbrat says:

“We have provided organisational, legal and moral support to thousands of victims of capitalism and of the state, and we supported other independent groups in Poland. We are building a movement that relies on solidarity and mutual help instead of a rat race. We have organised hundreds of rallies and demonstrations decrying contempt for people with lower material status, different skin colour or different views.”

Rozbrat’t rich history includes a previous eviction attempt in 2009, when the space was due to be auctioned, but no buyers turned up for the auction; and the February 1996 neo- nazi attack, when a large group raided the space, stabbing a woman while she was sleeping in her bed. The victim nearly died of blood loss, and was saved only due to a very prompt medical treatment.

Today, the future of the space is again uncertain. In May, the bailiff office announced that is is preparing the auctioning of the property. That move came despite of the fact that several years ago, Rozbrat filled a case in court to secure rights to its lands based on adverse possession law. This case remains open.

The legal status of the land where Rozbrat is located is complicated. It was nationalised after the WW2, and, after Poland’s transition to capitalism, it was taken over by a private company as part of reprivatisation process. The new owner quickly went bankrupt following a number of loans the company took, and the lender, a bank, sold it to a debt trading company. The company is now demanding that the land is sold for an estimated 1.4 million Euro. This will certainly lead to an eviction attempt of the squat in order to make space for developers and land speculators to do their business.

According to Rozbrat:

“The Mayor of Poznan has declared that no tools are available to him that could force the bank to relinquish its claim to the plot and let the anarchists maintain the possession of the land. But we know that the state and local government have grounds for defending the social ownership of the property. They are simply refusing to make use of this right and stop the land speculation. The bailiff, real estate speculators and their political allies have once again taken legal steps to get rid of us. It is our conviction that after 25 years this area belongs to the Rozbrat community and needs to stay a collective property of the movement. We are not going to give it up without a fight. Rozbrat has countless times proved to serve the public interest, in contrast to the authorities, which represent the private interests of real estate developers.”

It is quite likely that Rozbrat will be forced to enter an expensive and complicated legal battle in order to defend itself. That could be costly, and the squat decided to ask for solidarity donations to cover legal costs. Anyone who is able to do so, can donate to this account: BIGBPLPW 03 1160 2202 0000 0002 3589 7475 with reference “Donation to save Rozbrat”. Otherwise, share widely.

source: freedomnews.org.uk

more info about Rozbrat in English: http://www.rozbrat.org/news-in-english

The post Rozbrat: One of the oldest European squats in Poland calls for solidarity in face of eviction threat appeared first on Void Network.

The newly elected council member for the housing emergency, Virginia Gieri, said that the residents “came out peacefully”, but the residents and witnesses say something different. One man passed out after he was beaten and another person was injured.

Gieri, a loyal follower of Renzi, was appointed to the delicate job of being in charge of the housing emergency in Bologna, after the last incumbent, Amelia Frascaroli, was considered to be too soft. Renzi’s government is holding a line of absolute repression against housing occupations, and PD local authorities all over Italy are toeing this line, even in places – like Bologna – where the party claims to be more “tolerant” and to have a welfare-oriented tradition.

This eviction is the latest in a wave that reached its peak of violence about a year ago, with the eviction of the Ex-Telecom building, where more than 300 people – 100 of them minors – were living. Large numbers of people in the city were shocked by the event at the time, and by the extreme violence of the police. 200 police officers and 40 trucks were used to besiege the building and to keep away the protesters, while the local government claimed to be as upset as the citizens by an action that was, they said, decided by the Prefecture (so that is by the national government) and by the police.

No voice inside the local government has been raised against this latest eviction, though, and even people in the city seem to be indifferent, perhaps related to the fact that no journalist was allowed to get close to the building. The right to report, said a carabiniere to a journalist, was suspended.

The Via Mario De Maria occupation, such as the Ex-Telecom occupation, was organized bySocial Log, a collective in the autonomous movement. Members of the collective and other protesters held a demonstration in solidarity with the residents, and they were also attacked by the police.

After some negotiation, all the residents were placed in hotels, residences or shelters, but as other similar events have proved, this is just a temporary solution. Bologna is facing a severe housing emergency, with a growing mass of people who cannot pay the high rents demanded, too high thanks to the lack of a serious public housing policy and to real estate speculation. The gentrification of many neighborhoods is changing the face of the city, with an economy that was centered around industry now switching to tourism and international exhibitions (expos).

Related articles: 
[en] What is really happening in Bologna
[en] Bologna activists banished from the city

source: https://strugglesinitaly.wordpress.com/2016/10/15/en-last-remaining-housing-occupation-in-bologna-has-been-evicted/

Η τελευταία εναπομείνασα κατάληψη στέγης στην Μπολόνια, εκκενώθηκε

Η εκκένωση της τελευταίας εναπομείνασας κατάληψης κατοικιών στην Μπολόνια – περίπου 100 άτομα, 34 από αυτά τα παιδιά,  ζουσαν σε ένα κτίριο στη Via Mario De Maria, στη γειτονιά της εργατικής τάξης της Bolognina – ξεκίνησε την αυγή στις 11 Οκτωβρίου, η αστυνομία και οι καραμπινιέροι περικύκλωσαν το μπλοκ και εισέβαλαν στο κτίριο, χτυπώντας εκείνους που ήταν μέσα, και κάνοντας χρήση σπρέι πιπεριού , αναφέρουν οι κάτοικοι .

Το νεοεκλεγέν μέλος του Συμβουλίου για την κατάσταση έκτακτης ανάγκης στην στέγαση, Virginia  Gieri, δήλωσε ότι οι κάτοικοι «βγήκαν ειρηνικά”, αλλά οι κάτοικοι και οι μάρτυρες λένε κάτι διαφορετικό. Ένας καταληψίας απομακρίνθηκε  αφού ξυλοκοπήθηκε και ένα άλλο άτομο τραυματίστηκε.
Η Gieri, είναι μία  πιστή οπαδός του Renzi, που διορίστηκε στην λεπτή δουλειά του είναι υπεύθυνη για την επείγουσα στέγαση στην Μπολόνια, μετά την τελευταία νυν, Αμέλια Frascaroli, που θεωρήθηκε ότι είναι πολύ μαλακή. Η κυβέρνηση Renzi  κρατά μια γραμμή  απόλυτης καταπίεσης – καταστολής εναντίον των καταλήψεων στέγασης, και οι τοπικές αρχές του PD  σε όλη την Ιταλία ακολουθούν αυτή τη γραμμή, ακόμη και σε μέρη – όπως η Μπολόνια – όπου το κόμμα ισχυρίζεται ότι είναι πιο «ανεκτικοί» και να έχουν μία  παράδοση προσανατολισμού καλής διαβίωσης

.Αυτή η έξωση είναι η τελευταία ενός κύματος που έφτασε στο αποκορύφωμά της βίας  του πριν από περίπου ένα χρόνο, με την εκκένωση του κτιρίου Ex-Telecom, όπου περισσότεροι από 300 άνθρωποι – 100 από αυτούς ανήλικοι – ζούσαν. Μεγάλος αριθμός ανθρώπων στην πόλη σοκαρίστηκαν από την πράξη αυτή εκείνη την εποχή, και από την ακραία βία της αστυνομίας. 200 αστυνομικοί και 40 φορτηγά χρησιμοποιήθηκαν για να πολιορκήσουν το κτίριο και να κρατήσουν μακριά τους διαδηλωτές, ενώ η τοπική κυβέρνηση φέρεται να είναι τόσο αναστατωμένη καθώς , όπως είπαν, η ενέργεια αποφασίστηκε από τη Νομαρχία (κατα συνέπεια απο την  εθνική κυβέρνηση) και από την αστυνομία.
Καμμία φωνή μέσα στην τοπική κυβέρνηση έχει σηκώθηκε κατά την τελευταία αυτή εκκένωση, όμως,  το οτι ακόμη και οι άνθρωποι στην πόλη φαίνεται να παρέμειναν αδιάφοροι, ίσως σχετίζεται με το γεγονός ότι σε κανένα δημοσιογράφο δεν επετράπη να πάρει κοντά στο κτίριο. Το δικαίωμα στην ενημέρωση, είπε ένας carabiniere σε έναν δημοσιογράφο, ανεστάλη.

Η κατάληψη Via Mario De Maria, όπως η κατάληψη Ex-Telecom, οργανώθηκε από την Κοινωνική Σύνδεση, μια συλλογικότητα του  αυτόνομου κινήματος. Μέλη της συλλογικότητας και άλλοι διαδηλωτές πραγματοποίησαν διαδήλωση σε ένδειξη αλληλεγγύης προς τους καταληψίες, και  επίσης δέχθηκαν επίθεση από την αστυνομία.

Μετά από κάποια διαπραγμάτευση, όλοι οι κάτοικοι της κατάληψης τοποθετήθηκαν σε ξενοδοχεία, κατοικίες ή καταφύγια, αλλά και άλλα παρόμοια γεγονότα έχουν αποδείξει, οτι  αυτό είναι μόνο μια προσωρινή λύση. Η Μπολόνια αντιμετωπίζει μια σοβαρή κατάσταση έκτακτης ανάγκης στην στέγαση, με μια αυξανόμενη μάζα  ανθρώπων που δεν μπορούν να πληρώσουν τα υψηλά ενοίκια που απαιτούνται απο τους ιδιοκτήτες, πολύ υψηλά αντίτιμα  χάρη στην έλλειψη μιας σοβαρής πολιτικής για τη δημόσια στέγαση και την κτηματομεσιτική κερδοσκοπία. Ο εξευγενισμός πολλών γειτονιών αλλάζει το πρόσωπο της πόλης, και μια οικονομία που ήταν επικεντρωμένη γύρω από τη βιομηχανία τώρα να στρέφετε στον τουρισμό και τις διεθνείς εκθέσεις.

πηγή: https://athens.indymedia.org/post/1563977/

The post Last remaining housing occupation in Bologna has been evicted // Η τελευταία εναπομείνασα κατάληψη στέγης στην Μπολόνια, εκκενώθηκε appeared first on Void Network.

Void Network 
and 
Free Art Zone 
presents


OKUPA
a short film 
dedicated to the legacy of
Squatting Movement


for more info about the 
Global Squatting Movement:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squatting

The post OKUPA ( a Void Art short film dedicated to the Global Squatting Movement) appeared first on Void Network.