The Villa Amalias squat has been an open political, cultural and social space, as well as
a housing collective, for the past 23 years. In all these years there have been plenty of
active groups in the squat including groups on theatre, concerts, musical studio, stained
glass, kids? space, dancing, foreign languages, computing, printing press, screenings,
lending library, vinyl exchange ? while the squat has also hosted plenty of political and
cultural events by other groups. Apart from these activities inside its building, Villa
Amalias has also contributed to the resolution of neighbourhood issues by participating in
the residents? assembly of Victoria square and by organising open, outward looking
activities in the area ? including open mic interventions, free markets, collective
kitchens and kids? events at the square.
In all these 23 years, the villa amalias squat has formed multiform qualities that
reflected the equally multiform composition of the subjects and groups comprising it ? and
which in turn derive from the wider squat movement, from the anarchist and
anti-authoritarian space and from the movement for class and labour antagonism. These
qualities have materialised through the co-organising and participation in demonstrations,
interventions and mobilisations concerning labour, antifascist and antiracist struggles;
solidarity to persecuted squats, to migrants and persecuted comrades, to university and
high school student struggles as well as the to struggles for the reclaiming of open,
public spaces.
The squat?s building was abandoned since 1973 and it had been in a horrendous state. Since
1990, which is when it was occupied, it has stayed alive and maintained thanks to the
financial contribution and personal work of the squatters themselves as well as all the
comrades in solidarity.
The apparent owners of the building ( the municipality of athens, which has has some
enormous property wealth and the school buildings? organisation) are both renown for cases
of expropriation of private property and illegal declassification [of listed buildings].
The most extravagant case of such was the enormous haragioni building at the junction of
3d september and ioulianou street, which turned overnight from a plot designated for the
construction of a school building into a shopping mall.
In contrast to them, who see buildings and spaces as yet another arena for profit, the
villa amalias squat and its activity is a concrete example of its premise for the creation
of free social spaces that oppose financial exploitation of any kind; that are set upon
anti-hierarchical, self-organised, solidarity and horizontal structures; that respect
humans and support those at the bottom end of the calss pyramid, to which we also belong.
This is why the maintenance of the building, as mentioned above, is undertaken by the
squatters and those in solidarity with them ? in the last 4 years in particular, after the
two murderous arson attacks that the squat received from para-statists, whether waged or
not. These particular attacks caused gross material damage which nevertheless did not form
an obstacle in villa continuing its action. To the contrary, they boosted the morale of
the people that comprise it. With the aid of all comrades, the facade of the building on
the side of cheiden str was renovated while the restoration and further improvement of the
building have commenced with the aid of architects and civil engineers.
The continued attacks are not the only ones that the project has been subject to in all
these years. Due to its location but also due to its ideological values and political
characteristics, villa has oftentimes found itself targeted by the state and parastate
alike. In all these attacks we always responded with our words, publicizing the events and
propagandizing our positions and our beliefs through open social interventions.
On 20/12/12, at 7.00 Am, men of the state security raided our squat under the pretext of
an investigation concerning ?drugs? and ?explosives?, following a supposed anonymous
complaint. They arrested 8 people who were inside the squat at the time, of which three
were guests. They confiscated objects from the squat which the state security then used as
evidence for the fabrication of charges including felonies and misdemeanors ? charges that
we reject. Especially when our felony acts are based on some empty beer bottles and on a
tiny amount of petrol that was discovered next to the heater.
For us, this move is an explicit political choice by the state. At a time of financial and
systemic crisis, the state launches an attack in all directions, degrading the life of
those from below and trying to wipe out any cell of resistance and of creation of
negation: this may translate in the botching of labour rights, in the promotion of racist
ideals that contribute to a fascist turn of society, in the creation of conditions of
insecurity aimed at us accepting the constant surveillance of our lives, or in the
persecution and slandering of political spaces and subjects that rise against all the above.
We deny all charges
Our words are our weapons
We said it before and we?ll say it again:
?We?ve been game all these years and the end is still no-where in sight?
Solidarity to all squats (and to ours)
22/12/12
The arrested of villa amalias
source in greek: villa-amalias.blogspot.gr Translated in english by occupied london
Home »
» (en) Greece, Statement by the Villa Amalias squatters held in the police HQ in Athens (gr)