Scandalous Privatization in Train Station

On July 24, about 150 traders and some workers protested in Warsaw against the scandalous privatization situation they are facing. The traders have small shops in the underground passages around Warsaw's Central Railway station. They had contracts with the city to rent the shops and some have been there for over 20 years. Many of the shopkeepers are small family businesses or run by women.

Before the Euro 2012, the station was renovated and the shops had to close for some time. Now the traders found that their shops are locked and a private firm has taken over. The private firm, MPP, has raised rent by up to 500%.

Action Against Local Government

Members of the Tenants Defense Committee and ZSP took part in an action yesterday against the local government. There is now a campaign to get rid of it and it seems that there is a lot of support.

(It should be mentioned that the board of the local council is not even democratically elected, but was appointed by the President of the city. And it is extremely anti-social in politics.)

The trickier question is what comes next. Both organizations have called for more popular control, public assemblies, etc. Of course, nothing really libertarian can function within the framework set up by the state, only outside of its realm. The grassroots movements have to be built up, which is an enormous task given the realities of society in Poland.

In the meanwhile, people would like to send a message that those who engage in anti-social actions cannot do so with impugnity.

Euro Reality Tours Highlight Problems with Gentrification

During the first days of the EURO, tours were organized around the Praga neighbourhood of Warsaw for tourists and locals who would like to see some historic and interesting places before they are destroyed and the reality of the public housing situation. The intent was to give tourists visiting during the EURO a chance to see the reality of life just beyond the new National Stadium.

The local authorities were angry at these tours and comments by internet readers were not allowed in the main newspaper. Just days before the tours, crews could be seem making quick paint jobs and putting up banners on buildings in the immediate area of the stadium. Even more absurd for visitors as they only painted some entrances on the street but going into courtyards, anybody could see the reality.

Action against the Euro 2012

On June 8, the Euro Cup opened in Warsaw. The city was full of police, military police and football fans. ZSP and the Tenants Defense Committee organized a protest against the politics of the Euro. The protest was at the main roundabout on the way to the stadium, so thousands of people passed by.  People spoke about the money spent on the Euro and the fact that UEFA (which was exempted from tax in Poland) and a few businesses would be big beneficiaries, but that the public has spent already almost 26 billion euros on the spectacle and working people are footing the bill. At the same time that Poland is spending a lot of money on games, children will go hungry as the city privatizes school cafeterias, makes cut in social services and raises the price on everything.

Banner against the Euro 2012

On June 8, the Euro Cup will start in Warsaw. ZSP and the Tenants' Defense Committee have called a demo to protest against the spectacle, which cost Poland 26 billion euros, while the government is forcing austerity measures on the people.

Yesterday, a banner was dropped and leaves cut off a palm tree on the roundabout where the demo will take place. It reads "Bread not Games", which is not only the name of the demo, but also something which became a slogan all over Poland. (Demos will also be held in Poznan, Wroclaw and Gdansk.)

The action was carried out with the knowledge of the artist who put up the artificial palm. (No, Poland does not have a tropical climate.) In a statement sent to the press, the anonymous people who made the action wrote that the government is ignoring the needs of people and instead concentrating on commercial profits. It mentions how the city spent billions on the stadium and other things related to the Euro, but does not bother with public housing, shuts down schools, privatizes cafeterias and gets rid of Social Help Centers. It also mentions that the Euro profits a few, there is very limited access to the matches and something like martial law is in place in parts of Warsaw, with public streets and areas shut. They write that it is clear that the image of the city is more important to the politicians than the living conditions of its residents. They also write that they cut some leaves off the palm to symbolize budget cuts.

Action against Property Speculator

In April, there was a blockade of an eviction. (See video below.) However, one has to remember that blockades do not always solve the problems of the tenants. On June 5, the landlady will try to evict this woman again and, we presume, with more force.

On the 28th, there was a picket at the local council. But we also decided to target the president of the real estate company directly. She owns another building and a few restaurants. (By the way, there have also been complaints about the crap pay there,) We went to picket at CK Oberża restaurant, on a pedestrian street in the center of Warsaw.

Hell no, we won't go!

Residents of a building on Stanislaw Augustow Street in Warsaw are determined to fight to remain in their homes. The building was privatized by people known for dealing in "returned" real estate: infamous lawyer Jan Stachura and Jacek Powsinski. In a process commonly misnamed "reprivatization", these buildings are supposedly returned to heirs of pre-war owners, but in reality, most commonly find up in the paws of a narrow group of specialists with connections, who specialize in getting rid of tenants and making profits for speculators.

The  residents joined the Tenants Defense Committee and have been fighting the process in the courts, but the system is not set in favour of the tenants. Many have lived there for 50-60 or even more years. (One of the oldest tenants, in his 80s, comes from a family who is listed among the Righteous among Nations, for helping Jews during the war.) For many people, this is the only home they have known all their life, and they do not want to move. They are not offered any help by the city in this matter.

The new owner told the residents that they have until May 31 to leave and that after that, The
 rei

The  residents joined the Tenants Defense Committee and have been fighting the process in the courts, but the system is not set in favour of the tenants. Many have lived there for 50-60 or even more years. (One of the oldest tenants, in his 80s, comes from a family who is listed among the Righteous among Nations, for helping Jews during the war.) For many people, this is the only home they have known all their life, and they do not want to move. They are not offered any help by the city in this matter.

The new owner told the residents that they have until May 31 to leave and that after that, they'd be evicted. They were threatened and feared that a gang of thugs could show up to try to illegally evict them. So people gathered to show the privatizers that they would fight back. It was a strong show of solidarity. People vowed to block any eviction attempts. So far, the privatizers have not dared to move on them.

The  residents joined the Tenants Defense Committee and have been fighting the process in the courts, but the system is not set in favour of the tenants. Many have lived there for 50-60 or even more years. (One of the oldest tenants, in his 80s, comes from a family who is listed among the Righteous among Nations, for helping Jews during the war.) For many people, this is the only home they have known all their life, and they do not want to move. They are not offered any help by the city in this matter.

The new owner told the residents that they have until May 31 to leave and that after that, they'd be evicted. They were threatened and feared that a gang of thugs could show up to try to illegally evict them. So people gathered to show the privatizers that they would fight back. It was a strong show of solidarity. People vowed to block any eviction attempts. So far, the privatizers have not dared to move on them.they'd be evicted. They were threatened and feared that a gang of thugs could show up to try to illegally evict them. So people gathered to show the privatizers that they would fight back. It was a strong show of solidarity. People vowed to block any eviction attempts. So far, the privatizers have not dared to move on them.

The tenants were told that they have until May 31 to leave or they'd be evicted.
The residents were threatened and were afraid that the privatizers would send some thugs to the
building to try to illegally evict them.  Tenants from the building and others came to make a show of
solidarity. Everyone has vowed to blocked any eviction attempts. So far the privatizers have not
dared to make any moves on the residents.

Protest at Local Council - Recall the Board!

Neighbourhood residents from Praga north interrupted the session of the local council today, demanding to get rid of the Board. The Board (mayor and vice-mayor) were notoriously appointed by the President of the City, instead of elected and receive fat bonuses for implementing the plan. Tenants are especially furious at the vice mayor, who came from the housing department and whose policies and actions in gentrifying the neighbourhood are infamous.

People brought a wheelbarrow into the council to transport her away. (Of course she probably prefers her car that the taxpayers foot the bill for.) The atmosphere was quite tense, with speeches made over the megaphone, drowning out the chairwoman. Surprisingly, there was support from the floor and a motion was made to put a recall on the agenda. The chairwoman broke the meeting and most politicians ran out to consult with each other and their parties about what to do. Although the majority of those voting supported this motion (and in fact, support a recall), there were a lot of abstentions and an absolute majority was needed, not a voting majority. Not that we expected her to be recalled this way. Not deterred, we continued to make noise, until a group of police came to get rid of us. People were angry and promised to come back with a bigger crowd and tougher action soon.

Below are more photos.

Authorities Hate Euro Reality Tours, Fet to Work on Potemkin Village

The Tenants' Defense Committee plans to take tourists on a walking tour of the slums and the area around the National Stadium which is disappearing due to gentrification and capital's war against the poor. The tours will be held in different languages and will take place during the Euro 2012 tournament.

(More information on the tours can be found in the English section of the Committee's page: www.lokatorzy.info.pl )

Picket in Support of Tenant to be Evicted

In April, people successfully blocked the eviction of Iwona from her home in the center of Warsaw. Her flat was privatized and the company which now owns the building wants the tenants out so they can speculate on the real estate. (A video of the blockade is here: http://lokatorzy.info.pl/udana-blokada-eksmisji-na-ul-hozej)

Iwona has been struggling with the city to get social housing. She was offered a small, one room flat (16 meters) but as he is an invalid and has a teenage son, she is demanding the two rooms that she is legally entitled to, or a room large enough that it can be divided. (She even offered to pay for that herself.)

On May 28, about 50-60 people supported her with a demonstration at the local council. However, on May 31, members of the Tenants' Defense Committee were called by Iwona to go back to the council. The city has decided to reject her request.

Demonstration in Memory of Maxwell Itoya

On May 27, a demonstration was held at the place that Maxwell Itoya was killed two years ago. Itoya, an immigrant citizen of Nigerian descent, was at the former Stadium market place when police arrested a man who was selling socks. He was thrown to the ground and handcuffed, screaming for help. When Max intervened, he was shot by a cop and bled to death. This happened on May 23, 2010.

Then, the ZSP held an emergency demonstration onto the police station. Other immigrants had been arrested during the incident. The widow of Itoya (a Polish woman, left with 3 children) and others demanded an investigation into the incident and punishment for the cop. The Prosecutor for Praga, Renata Mazur, just recently dropped the case, claiming their was a lack of clear evidence.

(See: http://zspwawa.blogspot.com/2010/05/police-murder-riots-and-protest-against.html 
and http://zspwawa.blogspot.com/2010/05/demonstration-against-racism-and-police.html)

Activists in Court, Fighting for Tenants' Rights to Tell their Point of View

Members of the Tenants' Defense Committee were back in court on May 16, fighting a lawsuit filed for "violating the good name" of a landlady who was the subject of a video which was put on its web page. The video, entitled "Bozena B. destroys families in Wawer" includes interviews with tenants, a film of the lady in action and also some recordings of how the police reacted to the situation. We won't print the woman's name again, since it will be used against us in court. The landlady was of course not happy to be outed. According to the extremely restrictive Polish laws limiting free speech, statements like that somebody "destroys families" can be considered slander.