First of all, why we are squatting

We are very much against the way the government (both national and local) are dealing with the huge shortage of houses in Holland, especially in the bigger cities. Ever since the second world war, there has been a policy to keep the amount of houses just below what is really needed. In Amsterdam alone, there are lots of people looking for a house. especially for cheaper houses, the shortage is huge. Meanwhile, many houses are being 'redestined' to become offices and speculators are keeping houses empty to be able to sell them among themselves (a well known way to launder money). Above many shops is also a lot of empty space, mainly because the rent for the 2 square meters for the stairs will bring in more rent than the top floor(s). Another example is that many small, cheap houses are being merged to create bigger and more expensive spaces. The list is endless, and the people with a low income are the victims, being forced out of the city-center. What remains are the yuppies... The government is responsible for this policy, since they are the ones that give licenses to make it possible. If the government refuses to use their power in order to deal with a number of structural problems in this and other cities, we will gladly lend them a helping hand.

The squatting of Wagenstraat 12.

On the third of november 1996, the Wagenstraat, near the Rembrandtplein was suddenly filled with about 80 squatters wearing skimasks. These masks were because of the owner, who was well-known for using violence against squatters in the past, and because of the security camera's. The wooden cover of the door offered no problems whatsoever, and neither did the door. As soon as we stepped inside it turned out that all our warm clothes were not needed, since the central heating had been on for 1,5 years. We weren't exactly sure how the building would look on the inside, but it turned out to be 8 rooms. One livingroom, one kitchen, and six rooms for those who were going to live there. The room that we destined to be our kitchen was so dirty that most of us had our doubts, but after a bit of cleaning, it was quite useable.

during the first days after the squatting-action, a lot of people were helping us. Our squatted neighbours from around the corner (Amstel 182) cooked for us, and came around with pans full of delicious food. There were also a group of 'Barnachists', helping us to barricade (thnx again, people). A steel front door and a thick stairhatch were among the projects. At the moment it was squatted, the house belonged (like the rest of the block) to mr. Luske, a well-known speculator. This Luske-guy is a real bastard who used violence against people (he's been sentenced for attempted manslaugher a few mongths ago when he used a shovel to go through the wall of the also squatted ADM-terrain). For more information about Luske, check out the site of our neighbours: Amstel 182 of Amstel 198

In februari '97, Luske tried to evict the house, using an old verdict against the ones who had already been out of the house for 3 years. But thanks to the people that were home at the time, the ones who came very fast after we called them, and our massive front door, they never managed to get into the house.

About one week later the owner tried it again, but this time in court. He claimed he had plans to renovate the house, but had no plans to show, and had no permits. His case was very weak. But before the judge reached a verdict, Luske sold the entire block to housing corporation 'Het Oosten'. This former social organisation at least had the decency not to evict us, but to start making plans to legalize us. This was good for us (and for them, because they could speculate with all the money the government gave them to renovate the block), now we could slowly remove all the bedsprings and other barricades, and start building more civilized constructions.

right now, 'Het Oosten' is still busy making plans (since may '97) and we're waiting for them to offer us a new house. We're still negociating with them, but since their latest plans didn't work, we might have to wait a bit longer.

Mail Janneke

"DOS addresses only 1 Megabyte of RAM because we cannot imagine any applications needing more." - Microsoft, 1980, on the development of DOS