Tweebosbuurt

The situation in Tweebosbuurt suddenly changed.

Two days ago, one of the squat got illegally evicted and we discovered that Vestia, the company owning the buildings we squat, illegally added new documents to the court case against one of the squats in the last moment so we cannot defend from them. We also heard that somone from the neighborhood got attacked tonight in the streets with a metal pipe because he was parking his bike close to the squat that was evicted a few days ago. Hoppefuly he’s not hurt. The attackers ran aways after a single hit. In the same time, we’re facing an awful harassment campaign by the police. A car is assigned to the neighborhood day and night, and they control everyone of us any time we walk in the neighborhood. Some inhabitants are almost locked up inside because of police harassment. Someone have been even arrested twice in two days. In addition to the 19 arrested during the eviction two days ago, 5 other people living in the neighborhood got arrested during ID controls without legal motives already. Another person is missing, probably also arrested. We don’t know for sure because police refuses to give us any information. Three of them were injured during the arrest or during custody.

One of them is facing deportation in a country where his life is likely in danger, because Dutch state wants to cancel his current visa. He is currently in detention. He was badly hurt during his arrest, and we bielive that he have a broken rib. He seemed unconscious when policed was carrying him to their car during the arrest. We need to prepare and efficient legal and political defense both for our living space and to free this person. He wants to ask asylum in the Netherlands in order to try to stop his own eviction, but the state won’t allow him to fill a request because of Dublin’s procedure.

The suddenty and the violence of the repression wave are completely unexpected. We don’t know how to react. We can’t let somone be sent to so much trouble. He came to live in the neighborhood because he wanted to live a helpful life. He helped the historical inhabitants to organise against Vestia’s demolition plans until their recent victory in the court and he helps fixing neighbors’ bikes on his free time… He is fully a part of this community. He’s only “crime” was to be walking too close to a squat at the wrong moment. The state tries to cancel his visa (which legally alows him to stay in the Netherlands) without any proof of any infraction. We need to find ways to convince the court to release him. If he’s forced to board into this plane, he might never see sunlight again, if not worst. We’re starting by making a public call to join the protest in front of the foreigner detention center near Rotterdam Airport :

There is no illegal humans, only inhumans laws.
Sunday 02/02 at 4pm, at the entrance of the detention center ; Portelabaan, 7.

Our story is an exemple of what borders do to people. Those detentions centers are full of humans like him, some of them have similar stories. They’re denied their right to be there for futile motivations and end up beeing deported in country they’ve sometime never been to, or country where they are in danger, often loosing all contacts with their friends and family litterally from one day to the other.

We joined Tweebosbuurt to protest against gentrification. Gentrification is a capitalist process that forces people to move against their will, depriving them of the liberty to live where they want, where they feel like they belong. That’s what we wanted to fight. But borders are causing even worst offenses to human dignity. We’ll stand for Anton and for every other human beeings who have to endure persecution from this racist and nationalist society.

Any help and support is welcome, we need people to take position and to help us.

Update 3 – Anton is still facing deportation. Another have been arrested in the neighborhood for wlaking with a dog without a leach. She got locked up for 30+ hours and also beaten up by the police despite the fact that successful identification was completed in the first few hours of custody.

She left the police station wounded and has to leave the Netherlands in the next 12 hours by order of the police. Everyone else is safely back home.

Update 2 – One person is missing. We lost contact today. We suspect that person to be curently in detention in ZuidPlein Police Station, but we have to way to know, as police refuse to disclose information about people that have been arrested. About Anton, who is facing deportation, he’s now in a detention center near Rotterdam Airport. He could tell us (prisonners in foreigner detention center can use a phone) that he’s not provided with medical care despite several broken bones. Only painkillers were given to him.

 

Update – Some people were allowed to get the cat back but they had to pay a lot of money for it.

——–

Most of people have been released yesterday night or today morning, but one person is still in detention. They have been transfered to foreigner’s detention and a court-case is planned on the 5th of Febuary. We don’t even know what the charges against them are and if they’re still facing a risk deportaiton.

We heard from visual witness of the arrestation that they’ve been badly hurt during the arrerst. We know that their life is not in danger, but we had no other information about their health condition.

We also realized that the cat was missing. We discovered that the police also “arrested” the cat. We’re currently trying to find a way to free him.

 

This post will be edited as the situation changes.

After the illegal eviction based on ridiculus reasons, the police brutality towards the people that in the end got arrested, maltreated, forced to give out their ID’s and fingerprints and kept way more than needed after the identification, and Vestia’s people making fun of the situation, we are here once again.

19 people were arrested today during the illegal eviction of two squats opened for more than a week. That adds up to 21 arrestations in two days.

Most people were released but police stills keeps two people in the station that might be facing deportation.

We won’t give up! We won’t let them stop us!

Tomorrow there is going to be a solidarity dinner for the people and the neighborhood in Poortgebouw in Rotterdam at 18.00!

The state can evict places, but they cannot evict ideas! 

Yesterday, one apartment was evicted by the police on Tweebosstraat. On their way back, the police stopped in front of one of the squats in the neighborhood and tried to get in. This place is protected by housepeace and an ongoing legal procedure. Continue reading “One eviction and two police arrests in Tweebostraat.”

Let’s introduce you the new 8kv in Rotterdam: DINO’S KITCHEN!

Every Saturday, a Dinosaurs Crew is gonna come together to go on an adventure : The Fantastic Quest of dumpster-diving. They will get as much free food as they can (a lot, probably, ‘cause they are dinosaurs). They will then store it in their secret cave, and they will… COOK ALL
THE FOOD! And when all the food is cooked, they will SHARE IT as dinner to the entire neighborhood… to the entire city of Rotterdam… even to the entire PLANET because Dino’s crew stands against borders.

The dinner will be on every Monday evening at 19:00, and it will be ON DONATION Continue reading “Monday 20th January: DINO’S KITCHEN!”

According to wikipedia, a scorched-earth policy is a military strategy that aims to destroy anything that might be useful to the enemy when retreating from a position. Any assets that could be used by the enemy may be targeted.

Here in Tweebosbuurt, Vestia is not a military group which is burning lands or bombing houses. They are so-called social housing company evicting hundreds of people in order to destroy their houses, and when anyone finally agrees to move out, they systematically destroy their house to make sure that no one can live inside anymore.
Vestia is not only sealing the empty apartments or buildings with metal plates. They also go inside, they break the toilets, the kitchen, the water pipes system, the gas pipes, the all heating system. Very often, even the electric meter is gone, and the electric cables are just hanging loose, which is obviously very dangerous. We’re pretty sure that this is not something that STEDIN (the electricity company) do themselves, because they wouldn’t do it this way, it’s way too dangerous to leave theses electric cables just like this. They claim to do this for “safety reasons”, but that’s obviously a lie; it’s a way to stop inhabitants to occupy those empty spaces. Continue reading “About the “scorched-earth policy” of Vestia in Tweebosbuurt”

Tweebosbuurt is a neighborhood in the Afrikaanderwijk district, which is mostly inhabited by descendants of migrants from North-Africa, and situated in the South of Rotterdam, nearby the city center. There are four blocks of small buildings surrounding public parks and gardens. This disctrict has been gentrified for years already, mostly due to the highly increasing rent in the rest of Rotterdam which is leading students and white yuppies to settle in, and then to reclaim pacification of one of the last alive neighborhood of the city.

The city council has decided to take this issue seriously. The next step for the gentrification of Afrikaanderwijk is the demolition of the totality of Tweebosbuurt. We’re speaking here about 600 houses and shops, almost 25 000m2. 535 of these are ruled by Vestia, a private social renter which is mandated by the city council of Rotterdam to make this giant “social plan” a reality. Vestia is paid 24M euros only for the eviction itself, not including the price of the demolition and reconstruction. Continue reading “Call to join Tweebosbuurt!”