Squatters: A political Scream!

A squatter is someone that occupies an abandoned or unoccupied space or a house. The squatter does not rent, own or have permission to use. Statistics shows that there may be as many as one billion squatters around the world, approximately one of every seven people.
Many people ask themselves the true nature of squatters. Some just say they are a bunch of lazy people. Other says they are junkies or benefit seekers. Others say they are political activists. What are they then?
After spending a night with squatters in central London we brought very interesting information.
“Silvia”, 28, not the real name but that is how she asked to be named, Portuguese squatter living in London rolls up a cigarette while starts a conversation with me. “It is not a split, don’t worry” she says to me while we both laugh. She starts showing me the whole house that use to be a Pub and where is the home of 27 squatters. “We break into the house and then we changed the lockers”. Silvia tells me.

Squatters are normal people: they work, they have friends but they normally defend left wing measures for society. However the group of squatters I spent with that night do not do their way of living a political cause on a daily basis. Hugo, 29, also a Portuguese squatter living with Silvia says: “I am against capitalism, but if you ask me if I am left wing or right wing I really don’t think about the subject”. Sonia a Spanish squatter living in the house explains her experience: “I start being a squatter because I had a friend who was squatter and when I arrived to London he invited me to live with him without having to pay. Since I was unemployed and without money, I accepted. After a while living with them I noticed the spirit of cooperation and friendly atmosphere between squatters, that’s when I noticed I was a squatter too.”
Squatters reckon everyone has a right to have a house. They believe having a house should not be a privilege but a right. Hugo defends: “If we are homeless living in the streets and we see an empty house why should we stay outside?”
They are not parasites of society; they are completely integrated into the society. Being a squat is a civil matter, not a criminal offence and they are protected by law. To squat in many countries is in itself a crime; in others, it is only seen as a civil conflict between the owner and the occupants. Property law and the state have traditionally favored the property owner. Being a squatter in England is a civil matter but squatters are protected by section 6, criminal law act 1977 and amended by criminal justice and public order act 1994, which says that squatters have the same basic rights as anyone else and can not be evicted without the owners carrying out certain civil legal proceedings first. When they are asked to do so by the court, if they leave the property voluntary nothing can happen to them.
The relation with the neighbours is not always good, Hugo says: “the neighbours pick on us, they complaint about us for the minimal thing. I think it is natural they don’t know who we are, that is why we never last very long periods of time in the same place.”
They are extremely socially people; since the first time I called Silvia’s mobile phone she demonstrated me a great availability to help me with my reportage. I visited her place where she has been for 8 months now. “We are kind of gipsies, we are always on the move, and luckily I’ve been here for 8 months now without any problem”.
Sometimes we blame our generation (people born after 75) of a lack in political opinion. In fact it is really difficult to find someone with my age to discuss political issues. People keep agreeing with my political point of views! But this group of 27 squatters with ages between 25 and 30, that I spent the night with, in my sleep bag, with live music played by them have a very strong political opinion about everything. Sometimes when I asked them what were their political view, right wing or left wing, some of them answered me very quickly without thinking: “we are green and against capitalism”. There was in that building many art students such Hugo and Sonia and they normally have speeches of leftwing. Hugo, however, was the most curious guy that I conversed with, although all what he said was a left wing speech; he kept saying that he does not have a political side.
Their house is full of outdoors with political messages pictures of George W. Bush saying that this president is the terrorist number 1 and so on.
Hugo says: “I just want to have the same right of education that rich people have; if I pay rent I would not have money to pay my university fees, this is my way of saying to people that society is not equal to everyone. I am from an EU country but I have no right for a student loan if I started my course before 3 years of being in England! Why is that?! I thought we were living within a union without physical borders!”
It is easy to recognize squatting buildings: walls painted in yellow, green and red or frames with pamphlets in front of the window accompanied with the squat sign: a circle with an arrow, which says to other squats and everyone that the house is being squatted.

The experience I acquired during the night spent with the squat group, gave me the opportunity to learn and experience that squatters are people from all over the world with different backgrounds that find in that abandoned buildings their shelter and a safe place to live, including students who can not afford to pay the rent.
Hugo says: “in my point of view squatting is a good solution for homeless people, because if they squat at least they will feel that is less one problem for them to sort out, and they will start to sort out other problems like finding a job. Squatting means that you are in control of your life instead of being controlled by the capitalist home owners”.
Although Hugo, Sonia and Silvia do not see themselves as political activists (apart of being anti-capitalists) the squatting is pretty much a political act in itself. It is about reclaiming space and self-empowerment. Sonia defends: “Squatting is legal, necessary and free”. Silvia adds: “squatting is being free of a society that we don’t accept; squatting is life without money and the protest against capitalism. Squatters work together, share food and basic needs; this is our idea of society.”
In fact statistics estimate 864.000 empty houses in the UK, and if we analyze the numbers of homeless or people unable to pay rents we at least become a bit more neutral about this subject. The UK has one of the best laws and logistic in the western countries to squat excepting Switzerland and The Netherlands where there are streets completely occupied by squats. In the UK squatters have rights. This country protects squats from any aggression either by owners or police raids.
To squat a building is easy, Sonia explains: “first we break into the house, and then we have to change the locker immediately. After you change the locker we are in order to claim rights of possession and we have the right to refuse anyone to entry even the police. Police are more likely to pick up on foreigner squatters because they assume we do not know our rights, but it is something stupid because when police does raids without court permission they are the first ones breaking the law!”
Silvia is more political: “being a squat is having a social space outside the capitalism system”.
But squatters are not only a problem in the UK; this happen all over the world. For instance, who never heard about “Rocinha” a favela (slum) in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)? This favela is home for more than 500.000 people. The only difference is that in UK many people choose that option of living but in Brazil squatters are extremely poor people do not have many options; for these people it is not a political protest. It is estimated that favelas are home for 25 million people all over Brazil. In Brazil there is another type of squatters, the rural squatter movement, such as the Landless workers movement that has approximately 1.5 million members.
In Europe is more cultural, an option or a political protest against the capitalism society. It is common all over Europe to see squatted buildings being used as social centres. Cafes bars, libraries and so on used to hold parties and concerts. These social centers are spaces for people to meet in a non-commercial setting. Squatters use these spaces for parties, political workshops, to watch movies and so on. These spaces are only a privilege for squatters where squatting is legal.
Many squatters in England in order to show they know their rights and show to others they are legally in possession of that property, they display in the front door a legal warning known as section 6. This section basically says that they are legally in possession of the property and whoever tries to enter in the building even if is the owner, is committing an offence. If no one claims the property after 12 years of its occupation the squatters may claim ownership of it.
In Spain this practice is not less known, in this country squatters are known as okupas. This movement had started in Spain from 1960s. As the Spanish economy was growing fast by 60s there was a creation of thousands of jobs in the capital Madrid and therefore there was a shortage of accommodation for people coming from more rural places of Spain.
In fact is not difficult to understand that squatting may be something good for the society. Those people I have spent the night with are people with projects, and most of them do not want to be squatters forever. Hugo says: “people should support squatters, because it is better to squat than sleep in sleep bags in the middle of the streets. I know about some people that did not have projects until starting squatting; their lives were based in asking money in the streets. Now that they have a home they have changed, they seem different people; they look to the future as they have the feeling that they belong to a community, and they feel welcomed when they return home by their big family, the squatters”.
Whatever is your position about squatters we have to understand that changing the law against squats may bring some other more serious problems for the society such as social exclusion, violence and worse of all: human misery!