City Plaza was an autonomously run, self-organised squat for refugees in Athens, Greece, based in the former City Plaza Hotel. It was one of a number of Athens refugee squats and self-defined itself as Refugee Accommodation and Solidarity Space City Plaza. It was occupied in 2016 and chose to close in 2019.
The City Plaza Hotel at 78 Acharnon in Athens, shut its doors in 2010, [1] sitting empty until it was reoccupied as a squat for refugees on April 22, 2016. A coalition of migrant solidarity activists called 'The Solidarity Initiative to Economic and Political Refugees' assisted in opening the squat. [2] It was located in the Agios Panteleimonas neighbourhood, where the far-right Golden Dawn party was formed. [3]
Activists and refugees coordinated to organize and maintain the Hotel as an alternative to state-run camps, focused on promoting the autonomy and political agency of the residents. [4] The City Plaza squat also served to familiarize refugee-residents and Athens locals through everyday transactions in the local markets, [5] and as a hub for radical activity, including mobilizations to integrate refugee children into existing education and healthcare institutions. [6] With the counter-example of the squat itself, City Plaza contested the narrative that there is no alternative to refugee camps. It also demanded rights for its residents while also producing these rights in the everyday life of the occupation. [3]
In its first year, City Plaza hosted around 100 families, mainly from Afghanistan and Syria, also Iraqis, Kurds and Pakistanis. [7] By 2017, there were 400 people from ten different countries, living in 110 rooms in the former hotel. Two activist groups involved in the space were Diktio (Network for Political and Social Rights), a group working on the issues of anti-nationalism, political prisoners and migration struggles, and Aren/Onra, a youth collective which was part of Syriza before leaving the coalition after the 2015 referendum. [3] The squat was entirely funded by private donations. [7] It self-defined itself as Refugee Accommodation and Solidarity Space City Plaza. [8]
The squat housed an array of resident-run amenities, including a clinic, communal kitchen and cafeteria, a library, a kindergarten, Greek, English, and German language classes, workshops, computer classes, and basic services such as a dentist, pharmacy, and hairdresser. [2] A working group of residents and activists convened to select occupants for available rooms. [9] Another 15 rooms were provided for those who work in solidarity with the project. [3] Adult residents were required to work one shift cooking or cleaning weekly. [10] The kitchen serves 800 meals every day. [7]
On arrival, refugees filled in a form saying what their legal status was and what help they required. Based on this information, medical and legal teams provided assistance. [7]
In contrast to most refugee squats, City Plaza is privately owned, by former actress Aliki Papahela, who inherited it. She claimed in 2016 that she had been in the middle of selling the building and the occupation prevented her moving forward. She also said she was unable to pay the property taxes. [11]
Refugees and the associated solidarity group closed the squat on 10 July 2019, two days after the electoral win of the right-wing New Democracy party. It was a priority of the newly elected minister, Michalis Chrisochoidis to evict the squat. An announcement from the solidarity group stated that refugees had been provided with shelter elsewhere. [12] [13] Further, the decision to close the squat had been first proposed in May 2018 and since June 2018 the squat had not been taking in new inhabitants. [14]
Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there were one billion slum residents and squatters globally. Squatting occurs worldwide and tends to occur when people find empty buildings or land to occupy for housing. It has a long history, broken down by country below.
The Plaza Hotel is a luxury hotel and condominium apartment building in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is located on the western side of Grand Army Plaza, after which it is named, just west of Fifth Avenue, and is between 58th Street and Central Park South, at the southeastern corner of Central Park. Its primary address is 768 Fifth Avenue, though the residential entrance is One Central Park South. Since 2018, the hotel has been the owned by the Qatari firm Katara Hospitality.
Korydallos Prison Complex is Greece's largest jail and contains the country's main maximum-security prison, housing both maximum-security men and women. It is located in Korydallos, Piraeus. Famous detainees include members of the anarchist urban guerrilla organizations Revolutionary Organization 17 November, Revolutionary Struggle and Conspiracy of Fire Nuclei. Korydallos prison was also used as the place for the Greek junta trials in 1975, and contains a special court in its basement.
Villa Amalia is the name of the building that hosted the former Second High School of Athens in Greece. It is located on the corner of Acharnon and Heiden streets, near Victoria metro station. It was an anarchist squat before its eviction in 2012. It reopened as a school in 2016.
Can Masdeu is a squatted social centre, residence and community garden in the Collserola Park on the outskirts of Barcelona. The building, owned by Sant Pau hospital, was occupied by international activists in 2001 after being abandoned for roughly 53 years.
Anarchism in Greece traces its roots to ancient Greece but was formed as a political movement during the 19th century. It was in the ancient era that the first libertarian thoughts appeared when philosophers based on rationality questioned the fundamentals of tradition. Modern anarchism in Greece emerged in the 19th century, heavily influenced by the contemporary European classical anarchism. Because of the Bolshevik success in the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the rise of the Communist Party, anarchism faded after the first decades of the 20th century. The collapse of the military junta put an end to the monopoly of the political power from the Right, whereas the dissolution of the Soviet Union diminished the allure of the Communist Party of Greece allowing anarchist groups to gain pace in Athens and other cities.
Exarcheia is a community in central Athens, Greece close to the historical building of the National Technical University of Athens. Exarcheia took its name from a 19th-century businessman named Exarchos who opened a large general store there. Exarcheia is bordered on the east by Kolonaki and is framed by Patission Street, Panepistimiou Street and Alexandras Avenue. Exarcheia is notorious for being Athens' historical core of radical political and intellectual activism. Exarcheia is often considered the anarchist quarter of Athens, known for its radical democracy.
C-Squat is a former squat house located at 155 Avenue C in the Alphabet City neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City that has been home to musicians, artists, and activists, among others. After a fire, it was taken into city ownership in 1978 and squatters moved in in 1989. The building was restored in 2002 and since then it has been legally owned by the occupants. Its ground-floor storefront now houses the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space.
Self-managed social centres in Italy exist in many cities. They are part of different left-wing political networks including anarchist, communist, socialist, and autonomist. The centres tend to be squatted and provide self-organised, self-financing spaces for alternative and noncommercial activities such as concerts, exhibitions, farmers' markets, infoshops, and migrant initiatives. Over time, some but not all projects have opted to legalize their status.
The Right to the City is a concept and slogan that emphasizes the need for inclusivity, accessibility, and democracy in urban spaces. The idea was first articulated by French philosopher Henri Lefebvre in his 1968 book Le Droit à la Ville, in which he argued that urban space should not be solely controlled by market forces, such as commodification and capitalism but should be shaped and governed by the citizens who inhabit it.
In England and Wales, squatting—taking possession of land or an empty house the squatter does not own—occurs for a variety of reasons which include needing a home, protest, poverty, and recreation. Many squats are residential; some are also opened as social centres. Land may be occupied by New Age travellers or treesitters.
The Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space (MoRUS) is a not-for profit museum founded by the Times Up! Environmental Organization in 2012. It is dedicated to archiving the history of community gardens, squatting, and grassroots environmental activism of the Lower East Side neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. Located in the storefront of C-Squat at 155 Avenue C, the museum documents how neighborhood residents transformed abandoned spaces and lots in the neighborhood into squats and gardens. By preserving the neighborhood's history, the museum aims to educate communities and individuals to keep this form of sustainable, community-based activism alive.
Austerity measures and the ongoing fiscal crisis have significantly spurred the rise in homelessness in Greece in the 21st century. Instances of homelessness have been dominantly concentrated in the city of Athens. Homelessness remains a relatively under-examined area of social policy in Greece, with the first organised counting for homeless people taking place in May 2018. Governments and non-profit organisations alike have made efforts to counter this phenomenon.
Athens refugee squats exist since the 2015 spike in the European migrant crisis. Greece has been a destination for migrants seeking refuge on the European continent via the "Balkan Route." Coalitions of solidarity groups and migrants have established squats throughout Athens to house refugees, demonstrating an alternative to solutions offered by the European Union and NGOs. The squats are grouped together in the Coordination of Refugee Squats. Notable projects included 5th School and City Plaza. In late 2019, the New Democracy party declared it would evict all the squats.
Klinika was a squatted self-managed social centre in Žižkov, Prague, from 2014 until 2019. It followed in the tradition of anarchist projects such as Ladronka and Milada.
Squatting in the Republic of Ireland is the occupation of unused land or derelict buildings without the permission of the owner. In the 1960s, the Dublin Housing Action Committee highlighted the housing crisis by squatting buildings. From the 1990s onwards there have been occasional political squats in Cork and Dublin such as Grangegorman, the Barricade Inn, the Bolt Hostel, Connolly Barracks, That Social Centre and James Connolly House.
We Are Here is a collective of migrants based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, which campaigns for human rights for its members and all undocumented migrants. The asylum seekers have in many cases had their applications to remain in the Netherlands denied but they either cannot go back or refuse to return to their country of origin. They demand access to social services such as medical care and housing. The group formed in 2012 and by 2015 contained over 200 migrants from around 15 countries.
Centro Sociale Leoncavallo is a self-managed social centre in Milan, Italy, which exists since a former factory on via Leoncavallo was squatted in 1975. It was evicted and partially demolished in 1989, then quickly reoccupied and rebuilt. It was evicted again in 1994 and briefly moved to a warehouse for six months before occupying its still extant location on via Antoine Watteau. Activities include concerts, theatre, debates, exhibitions and a radio station. The centre describes itself as Leoncavallo Self-Managed Public Space.
Metropoliz is a former salami factory on the eastern periphery of Rome, squatted in 2009. It is the first large squat in Rome where Romani people live alongside other ethnic groups. In 2012, a museum opened on the site which has become a recognised contemporary art gallery.
Exarcheia Self-Organized Health Structure is a social solidarity initiative in Exarcheia neighborhood of Athens with the aim of providing medical care to people who need it. It is located in Κ*ΒΟΞ, a squatted building near Exarcheia square.