No More President’s: Trump Arrestees Benefit

natalie_keyssar_washington_dc_trump_inauguration_limoThursday 16 March 2017, No More President’s: Trump Arrestees Benefit. Volkseten Vegazulu at 7pm. Screening from 8:00pm till 10pm.

On 16 March 2017, there will be a benefit for people in the United States facing serious charges from the 20 January Trump inauguration protests. Over 200 people where arrested and many are facing felonies that carry a sentence of up to 10 years in jail. Global Uprisings (www.globaluprisings.org) will screen their short film “No More Presidents: Protesting the Trump Inauguration” along with video clips of other actions including airport blockades against the Muslim ban, the Berkeley anti-fascist action against Milo Yiannopoulos, the Day Without Immigrants protests, people preventing Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from detaining undocumented migrants, and clips from the March 8 Women’s Strike. Following the presentation, there will be a Q and A about the situation in the US and how it relates to fighting the growing influence of the far-right in Europe. […Lees verder]

Viva Inde Platforma! Info talk about autonomous spaces under attack in Slovenia

20170206_VivaInde_infotalkMonday February 6th 2017, Viva Inde Platforma! Info talk about autonomous spaces under attack in Slovenia. Volkseten Vegazulu, 7pm followed by the info talk.

End of January, a call came out in support of Inde Platforma, one of the remaining squats in Slovenia. They were told to leave the building by the end of January. Autonomous Zone Argo in Izola, Sokolski Dom in Novo Mesto, Autonomous Factory ROG and Metelkova in Ljubljana, all the remaining autonomous spaces in Slovenia were under attacks in 2016, some by the police, security companies or neo-nazis, sometime by all of them. We’ll be talking about what’s happening there.

Autonomous spaces in Slovenia under attack, support the struggle!
Call for solidarity actions for INDE squat in Koper, Slovenia

In the last few years we have seen new autonomous spaces emerging in Slovenia, joining the struggles of older squats all over the country. Along the Slovenian coast, two enormous buildings were occupied until recently. The occupations brought radical politics and different social relations to their environment. Both squats were always open to a variety of projects and initiatives, but had strong anarchist presence and activities as well. The spaces used to be factories, which were destroyed by the brutal privatization.

Right after New Years, ARGO squat in Izola was forcefully evicted. Eviction was preceded by a series of harassments from police and security company, that in some cases resulted in serious bodily injuries and fines for comrades there. The second coastal squat, called INDE, got an eviction notice just a few days ago. We are supposed to leave the premises on January 30.

Both squats are currently owned by so-called Bad Bank. This is a state institution under the management of the Ministry of Finance, created to resolve debt by big failed speculative financial investment that crashed during the economic crisis. In other words: they are there to sell buildings cheap and open them to further financial speculations, by which the rich will once again profit, while all of us will lose. The eviction of INDE is going to happen under a pretense of cleaning up dangerous material at the site. ARGO was also declared a dangerous zone by authorities, but the only thing they are trying to clean out of it are comrades who are bringing life into these spaces.

This is another blow in a hard year for the squatting movement in Slovenia, since all of the spaces are facing attacks, either by Nazis or/and police, private security, and state institutions. We understand this kind of pressure as a part of increased repression that the so-called migrant crisis has justified. More is at stake than just our building. We are a hope of a different world, where solidarity, mutual aid, anti-authoritarianism, and non-hierarchical relations are still possible. Just few months ago we prevented the eviction of Rog squat in Ljubljana. We know we can do that again.

We call for comrades all around the world to show us solidarity. We will welcome you here, but will be happy if you fight where you stand. Send us a letter of support, or raise a banner! Or squat something yourself! They can never hold us back if we stand together strong. Everything you do will keep our spirits up.

If we go down, we are going down in style. Join our struggle!

Local Group Alternativa Obstaja, Koper (part of FAO-IFA) 24 january 2017

More about groups and spaces in Slovenia:
Komunal http://www.komunal.org/
Inde Platforma http://www.indeplatforma.org/
[A] Infoshop http://a-infoshop.blogspot.com/
Tovarna Rog http://tovarna.org/
Gromka http://www.klubgromka.org/
Zadruga Urbana https://zadrugaurbana.wordpress.com/
Alternativa Obstaja https://alternativa-obstaja.blogspot.com/
AKC Sokolc http://sokolc.sqwiz.si/
AKC Metelkova http://www.metelkovamesto.org/

Volkseten Vegazulu is a people’s kitchen, every monday and thursday, all year long. Door opens at 7pm. Vegan food for 4€ or donation. All benefits go for social & political struggles. No reservation. In July and August, the people’s kitchen is closed on thursday.

We’re always looking for cooks. Any help is welcome in the kitchen. Experience not required. Enjoying it is a must. If you want to know which days are still available in the schedule, send an email to joe [at] squat [dot] net and book yourself the night. You can, of course, also participate by rolling up your sleeves and doing the dishes.

PazAlaCalle Benefit, Colombia Peacebuilding Conversation

20161222_PazAlaCalle_peace_building_conversationThursday 22nd of December 2016, PazAlaCalle Benefit. Open dialogue: Peacebuilding in Colombia post conflict: A review from different perspectives. Volkseten Vegazulu, 7pm.

Colombian peace deal and its endorsement

In the last 52 years Colombia has suffered from an armed conflict between their government and several groups of rebels. Among these groups is FARC-EP (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People’s Army). In the last 30 years FARC and the Colombian government have tried twice to solve the conflict through dialogue, unfortunately without the desired result. On the 5th of August 2014 the Colombian government, led by President Juan Manuel Santos, and the guerillas officially announced that new peace talks would be undertaken in Havana, Cuba. After four years of intense negotiations the world witnessed the signing of a historical peace agreement on the 26th of September 2016.
The peace agreement was rejected by more than the half of people in Colombia through referendum. The referendum showed the country heavily divided as inhabitants of areas where FARC had more impact supported the agreement while areas less impacted by the conflict did not. Finally, last 30th of November Colombian Congress endorsed a modified agreement worked by the negotiation team, it took into account in a big portion the disagreements of the “no” defenders.

Peace to the Street Movement

Realizing the possible disastrous consequences of the rejection, a popular movement evolved that demanded the FARC and the government to continue the negotiations, while taking into account the arguments of the people who voted “No” and effectively achieve an end of the conflict. Part of this popular movement was Peace to the Street that organized discussions on the streets, trying to overcome differences between both sides by focusing on the common desire for peace. In the current scenario where the Peace Agreement has been endorsed, the movement looks forward to actively monitoring its implementation.

Open Dialogue

In this context the members of Peace to the Street – The Netherlands want to organize an open dialogue which will allow the movement to maintain the political discussions in the conjuncture of process of peace in Colombia, it also will represent an opportunity to formulate other initiatives in order contribute to the social mobilization.
The conversation are going to discuss about the following points:
* Peacebuilding perspectives addressed by three topics: FARC political participation; issues related with post-conflict
*Communication approaches and mass media contribution to peacebuilding

Volkseten Vegazulu is a people’s kitchen, every monday and thursday, all year long. Door opens at 7pm. Vegan food for 4€ or donation. All benefits go for social & political struggles. No reservation. In July and August, the people’s kitchen is closed on thursday.

We’re always looking for cooks. Any help is welcome in the kitchen. Experience not required. Enjoying it is a must. If you want to know which days are still available in the schedule, send an email to joe [at] squat [dot] net and book yourself the night. You can, of course, also participate by rolling up your sleeves and doing the dishes.

Infonight and Food – Housing for all//Cologne + KoZe//Hamburg

20161029_Infonight_Housing_for_all_KoZeSaturday 29th of October 2016 – 7pm @ Joe’s Garage
Infonight and Food – Housing for all//Cologne + KoZe//Hamburg

At the end of October, two collectives from Cologne and Hamburg will be in Amsterdam in order to exchange ideas and experiences about the local struggles for housing and the establishment of solidary structures in our cities and beyond its limits.

Housing for All is a recent movement in Cologne that suggests practical ways of re-appropriating real estate properties in word and action. We are happy to visit our friends at Joe’s and meeting people from KoZe as well! Looking forward to it 🙂

https://karti14.noblogs.org/

Koze is the ‘Collective Center/Kollektives Zentrum’ in Hamburg, that was founded through a squatting action in 2014 and is currently under thread of eviction.

http://koze.in/ […Lees verder]

PazALaCalle en Amsterdam: Es la paz posible en Colombia?

Thursday October 27th 2916, PazALaCalle en Amsterdam: Es la paz posible en Colombia? Volkseten Vegazulu, 7pm

Invitación a todo el público interesado en apoyar la Paz en Colombia a conversar.
Ven a charlar!
Menú Colombiano!

Context: In October 9th of 2016 the Colombian community in the Netherlands gathered in the first Assambly of PazAlaCallein this country, an initiative to mobilize citizens (Colombians and non-Colombians) who seek the end of the armed conflict between the FARC guerrilla and the Colombian government, defending the Peace Agreements formulated in La Habana, Cuba. The people who participated want to create an agenda for the defense of the Peace Agreements through social mobilization and participation.

In this context was born the idea of doing an event (Conversatorio/Open dialogue) to discuss the current scenario through the participation of the attendants and make interventions in the public sphere to create consciousness about the situation. […Lees verder]

Movie night: Amsterdamned

AmsterdamnedSunday October 2nd 2016, Movie night: Amsterdamned by Dick Maas, 1988, 105 minutes, in Dutch with English subtitles. Door opens at 8pm, film begins at 9pm. Free admission.

Dick Maas is mainly known for his films and series about the Flodder family; known to all who were raised here. This film features many of the original Flodder cast and shares with it Maas’s typical fast paced action scenes, too-easy sense of humor and terrible puns. Amsterdamned shows the chase of a killer who strikes the unexpecting from the depths of the Amsterdam canals, only to retreat into his lair in the no-go areas of late 80’s Amsterdam.
A womanizing and rebellious police investigator -played by Huub Stapel- is asked to take care of the murder wave that is starting to hurt Amsterdam’s reputation and has become a major headache for the city’s bureaucracy.
Amsterdamned provides lots of footage of 1980’s Amsterdam and, for a ‘horror film’, the best laugh you’ll find.

Film night at Joe’s Garage, cozy cinema! Doors open at 8pm, film begins at 9pm, free entrance. You want to play a movie, let us know: joe [at] squat [dot] net

Benefit & Infonight: Germany and its Nazis: the NSU murders

Thursday June 2nd 2016, Benefit & Infonight: Germany and its Nazis: the NSU murders. Volkseten Vegazulu, 7pm.

“The National Socialist Underground which was uncovered in 2011 killed 8 migrants, a son of a migrant family and a policewoman. Public discourse has remained focused on the “mistakes” made by German authorities during their investigations, especially the Federal Office and the State Offices for the Protection of the Constitution, while debates about racism in the German society, very alive indeed, remain absent. It was precisely this racism which was the basis of the 90’s militant Nazi scene, from which the NSU derived, and which allowed them to kill unhindered.”

Daniel Schmidt who will be giving a talk about the NSU murders and racist every day life in Germany is part of “das schweigen durchbrechen”, an antifascist-group, which was formed as an answer to these events and is located in Nuremberg – the city where the NSU started its murder series and which stands like no other for an unbroken continuity of racism in Germany.

Antifaschistische Initiative Das Schweigen Durchbrechen: http://schweigendurchbrechen.blogsport.de/

[…Lees verder]

Benefit for struggle against Gentrification in Jeruzalem neighbourhood in Amsterdam East

20160526_Benefit_for_struggle_against_Gentrification_in_Jeruzalem_neighbourhood_in_Amsterdam_EastThursday May 26th 2016, Benefit for struggle against Gentrification in Jeruzalem neighbourhood in Amsterdam East, Volkseten Vegazulu, 7pm.

Bewoners van de wijk Jeruzalem in Amsterdam-Oost verzetten zich al jaren tegen het voornemen van woningcorporatie Rochdale om hun sociale huurwoningen te slopen. Meerdere woonblokken bleven behouden, maar het voortbestaan van blok G&H staat momenteel op het spel. Wat ooit een parel was van de naoorlogse woningbouw wordt tot symbool van de hedendaagse gentrificatie.

De bewoners van Jeruzalem hebben zich altijd ingezet voor behoud van hun wijk en de betaalbaarheid van hun woningen. In 2009, na een felle strijd van de bewonerscommissie, zijn het stadsdeel, Rochdale en de monumenten organisaties overeen gekomen de wijk te vernieuwen. Een deel van de blokken kreeg de monumentenstatus toegewezen, de rest moest wijken voor nieuwbouw. Deze omstreden oplossing ging in 2010 in rook op toen Rochdale aankondigde last van de crisis en haar eigen wanbeheer te hebben. Bewoners en het stadsdeel waren ontsteld. De woningen waren namelijk dringend aan een opknapbeurt toe en er was veel tijd en energie in de in 2009 overeengekomen plannen gestoken. De daaropvolgende jaren was Rochdale voor een substantieel deel van de bewoners onzichtbaar in de wijk en werd achterstallig onderhoud steeds voelbarder en zichtbaarder.

Deze situatie waren een aantal bewoners van de Pasteurstraat en de Hugo de Vrieslaan in 2014 beu. Ze kwamen bijeen om zelf plannen te ontwikkelen en om de leefkwaliteit van de wijk te verbeteren. De bewoners werden enthousiast, namen het heft in eigen handen en brachten de net uitgeroepen participatiemaatschappij in de praktijk. Rochdale was allerminst gecharmeerd en kondigde begin 2015 alsnog de sloopplannen aan tijdens een emotionele bijeenkomst. Sindsdien wordt het mantra van de sloop herhaald en hebben vooral oudere mensen tegen hun zin in hun woning verlaten.

De bewoners uit blokken G&H hebben het er niet bij laten zitten. Inmiddels is er samen met LB-Architect een toekomstvisie geschreven. Daarin worden missie en doelen uiteengezet. De bewoners hebben zich verenigd in de Wooncoöperatie Jeruzalem. Een coöperatieve vereniging die aan momentum wint. Ondanks de verhuizing van verschillende bewoners met een stadsvernieuwingsurgentie is er steeds meer interesse van de huidige huurders die niet willen vertrekken uit Jeruzalem. Er bestaat veel onduidelijkheid over het aanbod en de plannen van Rochdale. Daarnaast worden de opties op de Amsterdamse woningmarkt steeds beperkter door de massale verkoop van sociale huurwoningen, terwijl Rochdale zich wederom als projectontwikkelaar voor het hoge segment opstelt. Hoog tijd om de corporatie aan haar verplichtingen te herinneren zich op haar kerntaken te concentreren en zich voor haar huurders in te zetten.

Het doel is uiteindelijk om de blokken G&H te behouden en een geheel te blijven vormen met de rest van de wijk. De wooncoöperatie hoopt daarbij ook op steun vanuit de rest van de wijk en andere bewoners van deze stad die zich niet met veel poen een plekje in het pretpark Amsterdam kunnen kopen.

Tijdens de benefiet zullen we het verhaal verder uitleggen, donatie gaan aan de wooncoöperatie aan de kosten voor campagnemateriaal bij te dragen. https://jeruzalem.amsterdam/ […Lees verder]