Benefit for an Iraqi organisation

Thursday November 5th 2015, Benefit for an Iraqi organisation. Volkseten Vegazulu, 7pm.

We are a team from Dutch students and Iraqi women. We organize a nice good meal with vegan Iraqi food. The money that you spend on your meal will go to the Iraqi community in Amsterdam. This is a place where migrants from Iraq, living in Amsterdam, can come to meet each other. Our aim is to give support and to avoid loneliness among these specific group of migrants. With the money we make we’ll organize a nice day with special activities that most of the Iraqi people themselves can’t afford since they don’t have a very high income. Most off all we hope you have a pleasant night and that you’ll enjoy the food!

Volkseten Vegazulu is a people’s kitchen, every monday, 7pm, vegan food for 4€ or donation. All benefits go for social & political struggles. No reservation. From September, the people’s kitchen is also open 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.

Open Discussion and benefit dinner: Migrant rights in the Mediterranean

20151029_Open_Discussion_benefit_dinner_Migrant_rights_in_the_MediterraneanThursday October 29th 2015, Open Discussion and benefit dinner: Migrant rights in the Mediterranean. Volkseten Vegazulu, 7pm.

Migrants coming to Europe flee conflict, brutal political regimes, poverty, and fear. Many of them are harmed on the way either by state or non-state actors and thousands die. A number of questions arise: Who is responsible for harms to migrants in the Mediterranean? How do powerful actors evade their responsibility? What is the role of corporations? What is Frontex and what role does it play in the Mediterranean? What can we do?

Let’s try to find the answers together.

Taste Before You Waste will prepare the dinner, which will be served with a kindly donation for Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders), treating newly arrived migrants in Greece.

Speakers:
Theodore Baird,(researcher and migrant rights advocate, VU University Amsterdam
Mariana Gkliati, researcher, Leiden University
Pim Fischer, lawyer and advocate for the Wij Zijn Hier group
Yasmine Soraya, Indonesian Migrant Workers’ Union (IMWU)

Commentator: Abulhassan Al-Jaberi, activist and media critic

Moderator: Patrick van Berlo, researcher, Leiden University

Volkseten Vegazulu is a people’s kitchen, every monday and thursday, 7pm, vegan food for 4€ or donation. All benefits go for social & political struggles. No reservation.

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.

Benefit for We Are Here

Wij_Zijn_HierThursday October 15th 2015, Benefit for We Are Here. Volkseten Vegazulu, 7pm. One woman from We Are Here will take the microphone and sing!

On May 29th 2015, after a long juridical battle, Wijn Zijn Hier was leaving the Vluchtgarage in Zuid Oost. Police used excessive violence against demonstrators protesting in front of the city hall, arresting 7 refugees. Before this incident, on April 15th, another building was liberated on the Sande Bakhuijzenstraat 2, in West. This new home was known as the Vlutchttoren. A verdict had stated that this building could be used until end of August. On June 4th, 80 refugees from Wij Zijn Hier squatted Pieter Calandlaan 1, a former city council office in Slotervaart. On August 23rd, a former art school on the Dapperstraat in Amsterdam Oost was squatted and taken over by Wij Zijn Hier. The group of refugees was asked by the owner, the Amsterdamse Hogeschool voor de Kunsten (AHK), to leave the building before September 1st. So they did and as soon as they were gone, the owner moved in a few anti-squatters. On September 30th, Wij Zijn Hier was leaving the Vluchttoren and are now looking for housing.
On Friday October 16th, the Wij Zijn Hier refugees are calling for a demonstration at 13:00 in front of the Vredespaleis in Den Haag. Between 14:00 and 16:00, there will be an exhibition about the situation in Yemen.
Wij Zijn Hier http://wijzijnhier.org/

Volkseten Vegazulu is a people’s kitchen, every monday and thursday, 7pm, vegan food for 4€ or donation. All benefits go for social & political struggles. No reservation.

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.

Benefit Dinner for Refugees in Lesvos Greece

pikpa_lesvos_greeceMonday October 12th 2015, Benefit Dinner for Refugees in Lesvos Greece, Volkseten Vegazulu, 7pm

Refugees are people fleeing violence, persecution and death. The journey may involve risking these things too. The destination should not.
During the last months the volumes of refugees coming to Lesvos has raised to around 1500 daily. State, European or other NGO initiatives are either desperately poor or non-existing. Local volunteers along with many coming from abroad are trying to provide help concerning basic needs of the refugees like shelter, food, clothing and medical care.
This benefit dinner aims to provide the donations to PIKPA in Lesvos, which is a squatted old camping area run only by volunteers. Currently in this self-organized camp there are around 160 refugees living in tents and wooden dorms. There is a grassroots group called “The village of all together” doing its best to host as many possible in this place. Still, many crucial needs need to be covered.
Here is the online donation campaign for those who can’t make it on Wednesday and details about where the money go: https://www.betterplace.org/en/projects/33854-support-refugeesgr-in-lesvos-greece

Volkseten Vegazulu is a people’s kitchen, every monday and thursday, 7pm, vegan food for 4€ or donation. All benefits go for social & political struggles. No reservation.

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.

West Sahara movie night: Life is Waiting (2015)

Life_is_Waiting_Referendum_and_Resistance_in_Western_SaharaSunday October 4th 2015, West Sahara movie night. “Life is Waiting: Referendum and Resistance in Western Sahara” directed by Iara Lee (2015, 59 minutes, English subtitles). Following the info and movie night about West Sahara that took place on July 26th, we are very pleased to screen the documentary from Iara Lee. In collaboration with Cultures of Resistance. Door opens at 8pm, event starts at 9pm.

Zondagavond 4 oktober, West-Sahara film avond met ‘Life is Waiting’ van de Braziliaans/Koreaanse regisseur Iara Lee. West-Sahara is een onbekend en verdeeld gebied. Het grootste deel van het land wordt bezet door Marokko. De rest is in handen van de bevrijdingsbeweging Polisario. Een klein uithoekje op een schiereiland staat onder Mauritaanse controle, en daar ligt het vergeten dorpje La Güera.
Na de Marokkaanse invasie sloeg een groot deel van de oorspronkelijke bevolking op de vlucht, naar het oosten, diep de woestijn in. In Algerije zijn de tenten opgezet want daar is men veilig en beschermd tegen Marokkaanse bombardementen. Ook de Saharaanse regering heeft daar zijn hoofdkwartier gebouwd. Na het vredesakkoord van 1991 zou een referendum worden gehouden waarna de vluchtelingen zouden kunnen terugkeren. Maar nog steeds wachten de Saharawi’s op dat referendum.

“Life is Waiting: Referendum and Resistance in Western Sahara” directed by Iara Lee (2015, 59 minutes, English subtitles). http://culturesofresistancefilms.com/western-sahara
Forty years after its people were promised freedom by departing Spanish rulers, the Western Sahara remains Africa’s last colony. While a UN-brokered ceasefire put an end to armed hostilities in the territory in 1991, the Sahrawi people have continued to live under the Moroccan armed forces’ oppressive occupation, and what peace exists in the area is fragile at best. Tens of thousands of Sahrawis have fled to neighboring Algeria, where over 125,000 refugees still live in camps that were intended to be temporary. In spite of these difficulties, a new movement, with youth at its center, is rising to challenge human rights abuses and to demand the long-promised referendum on freedom. Today’s generation of young activists is deploying creative nonviolent resistance for the cause of self-determination. In doing so, they have persevered against a torrent of conflicting forces. While risking torture and disappearance at the hands of Moroccan authorities, they are also pushing back against those who have lost patience with the international community and are ready to launch another guerrilla war.
The new film from director Iara Lee will examine these tensions as it chronicles the everyday violence of life under occupation, giving voice to the aspirations of a desert people for whom colonialism has never ended. Trailer: https://player.vimeo.com/video/123847322

Cultures Of Resistance Network http://culturesofresistance.org/, connects and supports activists, agitators, educators, and artists to build a more just and peaceful world through creative resistance and nonviolent action!

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

West Sahara info and movie night: La Güera, my forgotten land

Sunday July 26th 2015, West Sahara info and movie night. ‘La Güera – my forgotten land’ by Gilberto Mastromatteo. Two speakers, film director Gilberto Mastromatteo and co-director Fiorella Bendoni. Door opens at 8pm, event starts at 9pm.

‘La Güera – my forgotten land’ by Gilberto Mastromatteo. Produced by the association “Ban Slout Larbi”.
Mohamed lives in Nouadhibou, in Mauritania. But he can always see the ghost of his former town in front of his eyes. Aalien, the postman, fled to refugee camps in Tindouf, Algeria. But he’s still thinking about the houses and the streets where he used to deliver letters. Zeinabu, in Tenerife, looks at the Ocean from her terrace. She looks in the direction of La Güera, her town that no longer exists. The stories of the inhabitants of a “ghost town”, located on the border between Mauritania and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (Sadr). The destiny of a forgotten land hidden under the sand. […Lees verder]

Benefit for All Included, Concert Qaraba Ensemble

20150713_Benefit_All_Included_Concert_Qaraba_EnsembleMonday July 13th 2015, Benefit for All Included, for freedom of movement and fair development! Volkseten Vegazulu, 7pm. After the voku, concert Qaraba Ensemble, Rebetiko songs, traditional Greek songs.

All Included Amsterdam is a new initiative that fights for freedom of movement and for the right of residence for migrants. In a time when globalization is a fact, migration should be recognized as part of a package deal. It’s All Included. This means: no illegality, no detention for undocumented migrants and no forced evictions.

With the disappearance of national borders, national identity disappears. Everyone becomes global citizen and deserves regardless of origin equal rights and equal opportunities. Therefore also for migrants ‘all included’ rights and obligations.

Allincluded.nl fightsg for an open society through extra-parliamentary action which intervenes in the political climate of assimilation, closeness and fear. Through direct assistance to rejected asylum seekers and other migrants without residence permit, indictments against abuses of current polities are being propagated. We want to contribute to the public debate with alternative visions of migration and globalization based on open borders, solidarity and initiative from the base.

All Included, Plantage Doklaan 12, 1018 CM Amsaterdam
http://www.allincluded.nl

After the food, concert with Qaraba Ensemble. Yannis Karampatzias together with Dine Qaram Baar and Charis Konstantinou, trio guitar, bouzouki and potirokoboloi.

Qaraba was founded in 2012 in Prague by Yannis Karampatzias. He performs on a variety of Greek and Turkish traditional stringed instruments including saz baglama (taburas), lavta (Constantinople lute), tzuras and baglamas. In 2013 together with violinist Milan Jakes (CZ), guitarist Thomas Opata and Geraldine Baar on koboloi they formed the Qaraba Ensemble. The repertoire includes traditional folk music from the Asia Minor to the Black Sea focusing on melodies from Smyrna (Izmir) and Constantinople (Istanbul) of the early 1900’s, Rebetiko songs (undergound musical genre that was born at the end of the 19th century in hash dens and prisons of the Greek urban centers), Byzantine and Ottoman classical compositions emphasizing on the art of taxim (form of improvisation on non-occidental musical scales known as ‘makams/maqamat’).
Qaraba Ensemble http://qaraba.cz/music/ […Lees verder]

Benefit for We Are Here with documentary screening

Wij_Zijn_hierMonday May 25th 2015, Benefit for We Are Here with the screening of Wij Zijn Hier, a documentary by Alexandra Jansse (Xela Films, 2015, 65’, in English with Dutch subtitles). Volkseten Vegazulu, 7pm.

A new documentary narrating the story of one of the most vibrant movements in the Netherlands.
Wij Zijn Hier, a self-organised refugee group in Amsterdam. Screening will take place after the people’s kitchen, with the presence of director Alexandra Jansse and an activist of We Are Here.
Trailer of the film: https://vimeo.com/124522574

De worsteling van 220 vluchtelingen die maar één wens hebben: een menswaardig bestaan opbouwen in een land waar vrede heerst.

Het is September 2013 als het lopen door de binnenstad van Amsterdam begint voor 220 vluchtelingen die zich in het zogenaamde ‘asielgat’ bevinden in Nederland. Zij protesteren tegen het feit dat hun asielverzoeken werden afgewezen. In een aantal gevallen zijn ze naar de rechter gegaan en hebben hun beroep verloren. In andere gevallen loopt er nog een beroepsprocedure. Voor vrijwel allemaal is er een onaantastbaar besluit van de Nederlandse overheid, dat inhoudt dat ze geen asiel krijgen en dus Nederland moeten verlaten.

Omdat het de overheid in de praktijk echter niet lukt om ze uit te zetten worden ze op straat gezet. Al jaren worden deze mensen achtervolgt door een voortdurend knagende onzekerheid over hun recht op bestaan. Het beklemmende gevoel als ratten in de val te zitten is een vorm van zekerheid geworden die zich kenmerkt door een stuitend bestaan. Kans op terugkeer naar hun vaak zo geliefde familie is voor hen geen optie omdat daar marteling, gevangenisstraf of soms zelfs de dood wacht.

Alexandra, gedreven om een inkijk te geven in de schrijnende situatie waarin deze mensen zich bevinden, wil met deze film de denkbeeldige muren slechten en hun persoonlijke situatie in alle openheid belichten. De politiek lijkt onvermurwbaar. In ‘WIJ ZIJN HIER!’ schetst Jansse de worsteling en rauwe werkelijkheid van deze groep asielzoekers die maar een wens heeft namelijk: een menswaardig bestaan op te bouwen in een land waar vrede heerst. […Lees verder]