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We are the 99 percent

In Zurich, and Across Europe, Squatter Communities are Strengthening

Posted 11 years ago on March 16, 2013, 6:25 p.m. EST by OccupyWallSt
Tags: squatting, homeless

(via Occupy.com) We can all stop wringing our hands about "the next Occupy." Whatever our reasons for doing so—worrying that it might sweep the globe with irresistible force, or worrying that it won’t—we can rest assured that it is coming, just in a form we haven’t imagined yet.

We must remind ourselves that the global phenomenon we called "Occupy" was the (far from spontaneous) coalescence of various currents and codes based in self-organization that had already been around for decades—and are still around. This anarchistic ethos burst into the broader public consciousness in a new way, and though it was beaten back underground by astonishing state repression on a global scale, it will emerge again.

And if this coalescence called "Occupy" was in part a product of advances in communications, a brief moment when people were a step ahead of authorities—organizing using technologies not yet fully understood, monitored, or otherwise compromised by state power—the next global coalescence will be too. The democratization of communication technology continues to barge forward, and movements continue to develop in parallel.

Where are these movements, then, these communities and networks of self-organized resistance in opposition to the stronger-than-ever forces of militarized global neo-liberalism and corporate fascism?

Right before our eyes, frankly. I can only speak to what I know: for example, in my hometown of Minneapolis, which I have been following with interest from afar, Occupy Homes has been active and successful in the ongoing struggle against evictions, sometimes using the tactic which their name describes and which has been practiced in Europe for decades: squatting.

Living in Switzerland, my activities with Occupy Zurich brought me in contact with the local squatter scene here. Note: the affinity between these movements is well expressed by the fact that the same German word is used for "occupy" and "squat:" besetzen. And it is worth briefly exploring these so-called "self-organized spaces," since my impression is that squatting is a phenomenon taken largely for granted in Europe, but relatively unknown in the United States.

Seen as a threat, and threatened with extinction

Autonomous communities and the buildings they occupy are a particularly pressing topic in Europe at the moment. As austerity sweeps the continent, squats—among the last remaining scraps of common space (Freiraum) and therefore burrs in the saddle of neo-liberalism’s charging horse, privatization—are being systematically cleared out.

In Greece, the wave of squat evictions has been largely driven by the need to eliminate real centers of active opposition that threaten the status quo (see my January portrait of Athens’ antagonist movements, http://www.occupy.com/article/dispatch-greece-meeting-antagonist-movements and http://www.occupy.com/article/thank-god-fascists-dispatch-weimar-greece).

In Switzerland, however, the threat to the status quo by the existence and activities of autonomous communities is not as deeply felt; anarchists are seen as an amusing if sometimes annoying minority worth scant attention in the political sphere. But the moves to eliminate these communities here are equally hysterical and harsh.

Even self-organized spaces that have a widely recognized and appreciated function in city life—like the Autonomous School of Zurich (ASZ), which provides language courses and legal advocacy help for severely under-served migrant communities—are being threatened by encroaching "development" and often face disproportionate police violence when they resist eviction or attempt to squat new spaces.

Where there was a mysterious fire last month at Villa Rosenau, a squat beloved enough in Basel that supportive editorials even appeared in the right-leaning Basler Zeitung, the building was simply demolished by police with no warning or explanation.

And last weekend, residents and supporters of Binz, Zurich’s longest-established squat (and the one more or less carrying the torch of the Freiraum movements from the late ‘60s and early ‘80s through today), were met with tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannons when a party turned into a march towards the city center to protest their imminent eviction.

This all reminds me very much of what I saw in Greece this past winter. Perhaps as a result of examples in Athens, there is a growing awareness and fear among Swiss authorities about what autonomous communities can become, should conditions be allowed to change. There seems to be a compulsion to "nip it in the bud," to crack down early while these groups are still small, disorganized and vulnerable.

Strength in numbers: Building networks, changing the narrative

But these groups are in fact not small, disorganized, or vulnerable. That is, as long as they continue to explore new technologies and methods of communication, to network within countries and across borders in ways that were impossible only a short time ago. There has been a recent proliferation of facebook pages, blogs and hacktivist communities promoting solidarity and active cooperation among squats and autonomous zones all across Europe.

When the Villa Amalias squat in Athens was raided in late December of 2012, and completely shut down a month later, there were solidarity actions from Barcelona to London to Copenhagen, with squats throughout Germany and the former Yugoslavia showing particularly broad-based support. The ripples even reached Chicago.

And among the nearly 4,000 Binz supporters whom the police attacked last Saturday—turning Zurich’s city center into a soggy, stinking swamp of tear gas and trash fires—were not only former residents of Villa Rosenau in Basel, but a noticeably large number of German Autonomen. Solidarity was declared online, with astonishing speed, from Athens to Berlin.

This latter seems perhaps insignificant—a blog post or a lively discussion on facebook isn’t the same as a united continental front organized in credible opposition to the neo-liberal power structure. But it isn’t terribly unrealistic to say it is a step in that direction, and one that was unimaginable in the "old media" context.

Speaking of "old media," the few major newspapers that carried stories about last weekend’s three-hour, city-disabling street battle in the heart of Zurich (which one would think deserves a bit of in-depth reporting) focused solely on the extent of damage caused by vandals and avoided any reference to the political underpinnings of the event—underpinnings which would have shown the interconnectedness of similar actions and reactions occurring all over Europe.

This is the same media narrative that has been changing the subject and discrediting anti-capitalist movements for nearly two decades. Reporting on the 1999 Battle in Seattle comes to mind; it goes nearly without saying that similar propagandist tactics were also employed in coverage of Occupy. And even the best attempts by proponents of these movements to reframe the conversation—Rebecca Solnit’s writing is a great example—have until recently been largely ineffective.

“10,000 Squats Against Their World of Depression!”

The point is, this is changing. The newspapers and networks will keep telling the same story. But with the explosion of online social networking and New Media, television and newspaper versions of events are becoming less and less relevant to the discourse actually occurring among people.

The communication, coordination and solidarity becoming evident among previously insular squatter communities is a very promising sign. The next step will be to begin directing this communication from the movement outward—that it might become perceived as a movement, and therefore a movement that people can join.

Stories are surfacing about pensioners in Germany squatting a senior center under threat of closure due to lack of funds; of Spanish indignados breaking into sealed, vacant apartment buildings not to squat themselves but to provide living space for recent evictees of all stripes; of Minnesotans fighting the banks and refusing to leave their homes; even of anarchist movements being forged in the current tumults of the Middle East.

The time appears ripe to begin introducing squatter philosophies such as self-organization and the struggle for Freiraum and community preservation into the broader public discourse.

So I will start now with an appeal, from Europe to the United States, to radicalize. It is often remarked how many houses stand vacant in America—enough to outnumber homeless families. What to do with all these homes? Move into them.

Move in, and use every New Media channel available—from social networking sites to blogs to podcasting to the still-emerging Commotion software—first to organize and to learn about the practicalities of squatting, then to make sure everybody knows why you're occupying the homes.

You can expect solidarity and support from Europe.


This article was written by Ed Sutton and is republished with permission from Occupy.com.

15 Comments

15 Comments


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[-] 3 points by inclusionman (7064) 11 years ago

California is organizing, but needs more support to save the homes of the 99%.

http://calorganize.org/

Who will help.

[-] 3 points by inclusionman (7064) 11 years ago

We're in this together

NY is way involved, in housing and more.

http://www.nycommunities.org/

Support the 99%. Join a group. Give your time,energy, and money.

[-] 3 points by inclusionman (7064) 11 years ago

Occupy NC is making an effort!!

http://mortgagefraudnc.yolasite.com/

Visit them. Get involved.

[-] 3 points by inclusionman (7064) 11 years ago

Support the occupied wall st journal.

http://occupiedmedia.us/

[-] 3 points by inclusionman (7064) 11 years ago

Housing is a Human right!!!.

http://housingisahumanright.org/

Join us in making this concept a reality.

[-] 3 points by inclusionman (7064) 11 years ago

Occupy ally in support of our anti eviction efforts.

http://chicagoantieviction.org/

Go to the site, support the group, find one in your area, or form your own.

Be inspired.

It takes everyone of the 99% if we are to overwhelm the obscene money/power of the 1%

[-] 3 points by inclusionman (7064) 11 years ago

Take the pledge!! Support fellow decent hard working American 99%'rs.

http://act.engagementlab.org/sign/occupyhomes_pledge/

Occupiers must unite against banksters and complicit govt entities.

[-] 3 points by inclusionman (7064) 11 years ago

We can learn a lesson from our fellow European occupiers, since we have massive numbers of abandoned/foreclosed homes and as many homeless people.

http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2013-03-15/news/fl-florida-squatter-law-dv-20130315_1_loki-boy-adverse-possession-squatters

A little older by Occupy has theright idea

http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2016889853_occupy30m.html

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/23/us-protests-oakland-squatters-idUSTRE7AM07020111123

More recent and related.

http://occupyourhomes.org/

[-] 2 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 11 years ago

In Compliment: ( tweet - it's easy )

5 Exciting Verdicts: Occupy Keeps Winning in Court While Occupy might not be grabbing as many headlines as of late, many of the cases from previous years’ incidents are finally reaching their conclusions... read more

[-] 2 points by inclusionman (7064) 11 years ago

Excellent addition!

Another great group allied with occupy & fighting forthe 99%.

http://www.homedefendersleague.org/

[-] 2 points by DKAtoday (33802) from Coon Rapids, MN 11 years ago
[-] 2 points by frovikleka (2563) from Island Heights, NJ 11 years ago

Like I just said on another thread, OCCUPY is EVERYWHERE now

SOLIDARITY from Occupy Wall Street...to you radicals in Europe

~Odin~

[-] 4 points by inclusionman (7064) 11 years ago

Good thoughts.

[-] 1 points by Adam (116) 10 years ago

Most of the homes in my neighborhood are vacant. There is a criminal gang squatting on as many of them as possible to attempt to take over this neighborhood to use as a dirt bike park. These are not progressive revolutionary squatters looking for solidarity but rather criminal wealthy scumbags who are terrorizing people in the middle of the night and assaulting people, with help from state police, to get anyone not in their gang out of the neighborhood. They want a vacant neighborhood to ride dirt bikes around all day on. They are not happy with the use of the dirt roads, they want to be all over every property at all hours of the day and night. So people who still can afford to pay their bills are being terrorized out of their homes already by these thugs. I have been assaulted twice for asking them to leave my property alone and at least keep to the roads or at least not on my land. The police are on the side of the terrorists. We could use some regular squatters here taking over empty homes and farming organic food. This place is in Northeastern PA and if I were not disabled, I could be building a nice organic farm. Instead of squatting in cities, people should come out to the country, build up fences, and start organic farms. There is plenty of room and rain. Come on out here and occupy a property and stand up to these terrorists. Each lot is around 2 or 3 acres or forest. Don't let these wealthy terrorists destroy the forest for dirt bike trails. Come do something positive with it. It is just sitting here waiting for you. Many people buy land up here and try to start farming but they are being terrorized off their land. We need good people up here to stand up to these gangs. It makes more sense to come out here than to try and occupy a crowded city. Call me if you want directions or to talk about it. 570-595-0216

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[-] -1 points by FawkesNews (1290) 11 years ago

“My heart is a Latin American food stall and your love is a health inspector from Zurich.”
Tom Robbins

"My heart is a squatter from Zurich and and your love is an IAEA Inspector from Beijing"
Anonymous

Oh how the world changes so.....