Tag Archives: communique

Statement from Squat50 – new Cardiff squat

The_former_Cardiff_Sixth_Form_College“We are currently occupying the Sixth Form College Building on Newport Road, and transforming it into a space for the community to use. We have been working towards an open day to show people the work we have done and explain what we are about.

We are doing all this on a tiny budget and learning as we are going. Our lives aren’t perfect and our project might not be perfect but we’re building together, putting aside our differences, like we hope everyone can, and creating something beautiful, unique and community based.

We have already cleaned up the building and the surrounding area, risking our own safety in the process to pick up used syringes, which have been around this building since long before we arrived, and disposing of them properly. To continue making this a safe space for the community, we are twice daily checking for and disposing properly of any more that we find.

As far as we know this building has been empty for two years, a situation all too common in Cardiff, when the population of people homeless is growing.
There are plans to build 40 flats here, which would be a massive unneeded disruption in this part of our community. We have already collected over 100 signatures from people living in the local area, in less than two days, opposing these plans and supporting our projects and vision with a passion.

We are planning to continue to keep the land next to us as a community car park, benefitting people in an area which has seen commuters parking outside people’s houses. Parking problems will get worse if the out-of-character development goes ahead. We are staying to stop this happening.

We have been careful to keep noise to a minimum, due to elderly neighbours in our community, and we believe a building site will be a stressful environment for all, but particularly the elderly and those attempting to learn in the nearby school.

cardiffpeoplesuniversityOne of our projects is to use the space to help to restart Cardiff People’s University; providing a range of unaccredited, but good quality, courses “by people, for people” and all free of charge.

The majority of us in this building have been through the housing list and realised how little help there is and how stressful it can be. We aim to offer unbiased and wide-ranging advice, information and support for, without judgement, or patronising, anyone in a similar position. This will include courses run by ourselves and information on where anyone struggling financially, or who finds themselves homeless, can get the best help, e.g food, clothes, shelter. We will also have a ‘free-shop’ of donated goods, open for anyone, where everything will be free.

We invite everyone who is positive minded and open-hearted to help us or take advantage of the advice we are offering and the projects we are aiming to make happen.

Everyone needs a little bit of help, even us, and we are extremely grateful to our local neighbours, many of whom have already been kind enough to donate us goods, furniture, gardening equipment and flowers, which we are in the process of planting for a community garden.”

From
The Squat 50 Collective

contact: squat50[@]riseup[.]net / 07405 788 793

For more info on squatting in Cardiff see: http://cardiff.squat.net

Solidarity With Ubica Arrestees

http://en.squat.net/wp-content/uploads/en/2013/05/ubica_0.jpgAutonomous spaces are rare and (sometimes) beautiful things that are often overlooked by the majority of society. People can walk past the same space a hundred times without batting an eyelid, while continuing on their drone like life. Safe in the knowledge that those “hippies”, “scroungers” and “layabouts” are out of the way, safe in the knowledge that their idea of “normality” is not challenged.

However, on the night of May 24th in Utrecht there was no way of ignoring any longer, no way of hiding the truth of the conflict that rages on a daily basis around the world. What escalated into an onslaught requiring: riot pigs, mounted pigs, and even flying pigs, was resisted using burning barricades, fireworks and an arsenal of paintbombs in defence of the squat Ubica which had stood for 21 years as a home to beautiful people and ideas.

A full report can be found here.

To the detainees,

We at the Red and Black Umbrella wish to express our unconditional solidarity with all 11 detainees who were taken captive after bravely defending the squat Ubica .

Your actions (while not needing any) were more than justified. In the face of ever widening austerity and repression across prison fortress europe, these spaces are valuable parts of the community providing space for creativity to blossom and the individual to realise themselves. When taken we lose a home/meeting place/hideout/workshop or any number of other things that the mind can create of a space.

Your actions were not in vain. We all know that it is only a matter of time once the eviction process begins, that the loss of the building is inevitable. But our strength is not only in keeping the bricks and mortar, it is in the home we make of it in our hearts. It is not only in the ferocity with which we defend it but in the shared pain that we feel when a space is lost. These ideas and emotions transcend language, borders, class and fuel fires in the hearts of comrades the world over.

Fuck the law! Squat the world!

Kraken gaat door! Mae sgwotio’n parhau! Squatting coninues!