Thessaloniki: Update about the eviction of the squatted house Albatros

Thessaloniki: Update about the eviction of the squatted house Albatros

The court against the people that were arrested after the eviction of the squat Albatros on 5th of April has been postponed from the 11th of April to 4th of May 2017. One person that was arrested is still help in prison for not having "legal" papers and it is not clear if he will be released after the  trial. Aziz, like thousands of others is held as a political prisoner, as the imprisonment of people without legal papers is a tool of the state used to pressure those imprisoned into leaving "voluntarily" and to scare others from overcoming the roles the system of capital and nation-state has assigned them to. We demand his immediate release and an end to the imprisonment of people forced to migrate. 


The residents of Albatros call for solidarity at the court of Thessaloniki on May 4th. The exact time will be announced later.

Today (21st April 2017) there will be a solidarity party in the university of Thessaloniki in order to cover the expenses: https://www.kinimatorama.net/event/81938.
We are still in Thessaloniki and will continue fighting for freedom of movement and the freedom to choose where and how we want to live. 

The following text is a statement by one of the residents of Albatros.

 

On Wednesday April 5th our home in Ano Poli was infltrated by a group of angry humans, united in black Power Ranger costumes. They forced us with violence to pack up our lives in less than 15 minutes. What about my plants, my pots and pans, my bed, my woolen blanket, my coffee maker, my jars with homemade marmalade? The angry humans don't seem to care. They say they will destroy everything that's left in the house.
The lock on our door wasn't meant to keep the good things for our self but to protect our selves from angry humans like this; humans that choose to protect a system of destruction, where money is more important than human lives, health and true happiness. This booklet reveals what really happened behind the
doors of our squat. We are not criminals. What else is the function of a house, than being a home for humans?
An empty house is a waste of space. And opportunities The house on Ariadnis 9 was empty for 10 years according to the neighbours. Six dead cats, layers of dust and dirt: photo albums, chique costumes and many different working tools that represented the life of a very interesting character were found in the house..
With respect for him, his stuff and the history of the house, we cleaned and constructed the house into a beautiful home. We repaired the roof, replaced broken windows and rotten foorboards ,build an oven, a shower, a kitchen, painted the walls, created a garden where now new seeds are growing into vegetables which we will never eat. After hours of cleaning, arranging beds and blankets , people from far away places were welcome. From Morocco, Afghanistan, Syria,
Australia, Pakistan, Germany, Algeria, France, Kurdistan, this house has been a safe home for people from all over the world.
Borders and passports protect the wealth of Western civilization. Wealth that is gained through colonization, exploitation through
capitalism and war. Not the people who run away from this are the criminals but those who cause it.
We live in solidarity with these travellers, refugees, pioneers, our friends and strangers without papers. We defend their rights, we fight those who violate it.
The only way of surviving in our society seems to sacrifce our precious time and skills, our creativity and passions, for the benefts of authority. In return
for labour we receive money to swop in our local supermarket for shitty over-processed food and vegetables with pesticides, for cheese from sad
animals in cages, for H&M clothes made by children on the other side of the planet.


We disagree with this.

 

We aim to live a peaceful life without exploiting other living beings. Therefore we recycle, we revalue materials and food wasted in the
mainstream society and share instead of accumulate. The big amount of daily waste of our local supermarket and thursday's “lakhi” is enough to feed
ourselves and our friends in Ano Poli. In our Free Shop , we exchange clothes and other treasures that we collect from the garbage in the street. We take our
sharing policy into the street, by public jam sessions and the Tsinari Bazaari. With handcuffs, the Angry Humans and their creepy comrades with covered faces lead us to a white bus that looked like a vehicle in an Alpachino movie. No wonder our friend acted when he witnessed us being kidnapped by
a group of criminals. In their headquarters, we witnessed even more their immorality, lack of respect, sexism and racist attitude.
A portion of dry potato fries and cold calamari was our belated breakfast. Nothing compared to the free diners festas we trow with our friends in Thessaloniki or the cups of soup served in Idomeni in solidarity with Syrian families and their children that slept for months in tents in the mud with nightmares about guns.According to the national news we are the cause of problems in this refugee border camp. Like in a bad Apocalyptic movie, with cheezy sound effects, a stressfull female voice, informs the country about us, dangerous internationals. The thruth is, love can only be a danger in a society that
opposes it.Our weapons are spoons, pots, pans, gardening tools, paint, brushes, music instruments, recipes for delicious vegetarian food.

 

May our arrest, the eviction of the Albatros, the attack of solidarity, reveal the lack of love of a dangerous system.