In Praise of Squatters

Changes to the laws on squatting threaten to criminalise young people who make a valuable social contribution. In the early hours of 28th April this year - the day before the royal wedding police officers kicked in the door of a shop in Hackney, arrested a lone girl who had been sleeping in the back shop, searched the premises and confiscated various items. They behaved in a way pretty much indistinguishable from the rioters who would rampage through shops in the same area later in the year. They left the door smashed and the premises in disarray. Before they left they confiscated the group's meetings book a dutiful and dull record of countless meetings covering subjects such as what should be done about disabled access. Dangerous and provocative stuff. Similar events took place at five other squats in London and Brighton. The police, having previously asserted that they would carry out pre-emptive strikes prior to the wedding, denied on the day that the five raids had been in connection with the event, citing the heinous crime of 'electricity abstraction' as a reason for the raid (see Guardian 28April 2011). The Hackney squat was well-known to me, as I was a regular visitor. The shop was regularly open to the public, housing a 'free shop' where items (mainly of clothing) could be had for no money whatsoever. Run by a group of mainly young people, from the UK and elsewhere, it also made workshops available to any who desired to take part. These included welding, bicycle repair, French conversation and discussion space for various groups. I regularly took part in, and sometimes facilitated, a clown workshop and would occasionally donate items to the free shop. On one occasion I volunteered to 'occupy' as, under current law, there must always be at least one person in occupation in order to prevent the authorities from re-occupying without recourse to the courts. As a person in my mid-fifties I consider myself incredibly fortunate to have discovered the squat movement at this time in my life. Around a year and a half ago I was going through a life-crisis which was more than a little threatening. In a time of lonliness and despair, feeling alienated and unwanted by mainstream society I wandered past a large Victorian building on Hackney's Mare Street and noticed a leaflet announcing a clown workshop. At first I was put off, as the notice depicted a traditional clown not a type which interested me and I started to walk away. A few steps further on I changed my mind thinking 'Damn it. Give it a try' and retraced my steps. That night I met two admirable young women, one of whom facilitated the clown group, whom I have since come to know as personal friends. I was, and still am, overwhelmed by their integrity, energy and unconscious generosity of spirit. For a couple of hours I ran myself ragged in a big dark Victorian theatre and quickly re-discovered the stupidity and sense of play that makes clowning so irresistible. Over the following weeks and months I met various members of the group which lived in the building and gradually discovered the other activities of the squat such as life-drawing, cycle maintenance, Theatre of the Oppressed and, of course, the occasional protest preparation. In a city and era devoid of genuine community centres and un-commercialised, genuinely public space this big, dark, musty, grubby squat was a breath of fresh air. It very probably saved my life. In the past year and a half I have visited several squats around the Hackney area. The squatters are, on the whole, young people in their mid-twenties to early thirties. They are intelligent, often educated to degree level and are politically and socially aware. Politically diverse, they are motivated by a common sense of stewardship both of society and the planet. They epitomise Mohandas K Ghandi's exortation to 'Be the change you wish to see in the world'. They occupy buildings which have been left vacant by landlords for years at a time, and put them to use in service of the local community which is more than can be said for speculative land-owners.

As many squatters consider themselves (for the present at least) anarchists they won't like me saying this; but they most likely represent the movers and shapers of the future. These are young people motivated by the highest intentions. They give of themselves freely in a society where, increasingly, everything is weighed, costed and sold to the highest bidder. In criminalising squatting and its young socially motivated activists, we risk criminalising the future. Squatters in the main act within the law and for the highest moral motivation - they are, and will be, assets to society lets not trash their lives with criminal records. _______________________ Presently the Department of Justice is carrying out a consultation exercise on the question of whether squatting should be criminalised. If you would like to have a say in the matter please click on the link here. I hope my words will influence you. Frank Anthony Sept 12th 2011