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When you look at the society
where we live in
you realize that they naturally force you
- I mean the System forces you -
to work, to pay the rent..
In order to pay the rent you have to work...
and to pay the taxes.
And when you come with alternative way how to live
then it is something unacceptable
and they are even able to imprison you for it.
§249A of the Czech law code
article 1 and 2
Illegal interference into the right of flat,
house or non-residential space:
1. Who illegally occupies or uses house, flat or on-residential space
would be imprisoned for up two years or fined
2. One who inhibits legitimate person from using house,
flat or non-residential space
would receives the same punishment
Squatting is very subversive in itself
because it questions one of the base saintship of capitalism
which is the right for privat ownership.
It questions the right to own something
and gives priority to the right to use it,
so squating is anti-capitalistic in it’s very nature.
Squating means occupying and using of
long-term empty houses without the permision
from their owners. Occupied places
are usually not being used just for living
but also for wider social, cultural and political activities.
The aim of all collectives that squatted in Prague
was a creation of alternative social-culture center
that would give space for
non-commercial activities.
In a city full of clubs and bars
the large part of (not only) youth is missing
the space for self-realization
free of dictatorship of money, advertisement and sponsorship.
In the same time it is more and more difficult
to find affordable place for living.
On the other hand there is a lot of houses
that are empty for years
slowly becoming ruins.
Some of them because they are just subject of speculation
some are letting to break intentionally
as their owner wants to destroy for example
listed building and build officies of luxury hotel instead.
Since the beggining of 90’ more than a dozen
houses were occupied like this in Prague.
The last remaining squat in Prague was evicted
at June, 30 2009.
Let’s have a look at the history of a few of them...
I moved in after we were evicted from the Zenklovka.
It was in January.
We than moved to the Ladronka
where we realized that it is not the biggest place
and that it is not big enough for all of us
and that we want to continue squatting.
So we were looking for a new house
all around Prague
and we found Milada.
We occupied it on MayDay 1998.
I lived over there, where you see window bay
under the balcony...
That room with nice windows..
Blue windows, yes...
I lived one floor above...
I had the only room with balcony...
...I had storey there and stuff...
...it was nice room...
We were evicted from Zenklovka in the end of January
and since that we were looking for a new house
all around Prague.
We were thinking about pros and cons
FOOTBALL MATCH AT MILADA, 1998
This house was interesting for us
but was in a bad condition
We decided not to take it
when we saw it for the first time.
It changed when we learned
that it is not listed in real estate registry.
We were looking for a house
where we could stay for a longer time period.
So it meant house with a building ban
or other kind of law problem.
And the one that belongs to state or a city
as we didn’t want to squat private owned house again.
That’s a woodhouse, isn’t it?
What?
That’s a woodhouse, right?
It was in a better condition back in our times.
But when you see those posters or that sign
it is clear that is has some history
and something was going on there
Even though that this reminds me
my attempt to run an infoshop
when I was always sitting there alone for two hours
drinking coffee and nobody had ever come.
Right.. But it is a piece of life...
...a piece of history.
It is difficult to show anything to you
when it is in this condition...
But I remember doing loads of wood
on that staircases...
And they have been destroyed by it...
You think they have been destroyed by it?
Winters were really tough overhere...
but it was really good in that sence
that while in summer we were scattered
all around the Europe or wherever, nevermind.
But in winter we came back to the house
and as we burnt in stove
it had magnificent atmosphere.
People were gathering in rooms together
chatting and drinking...
Winter was really great because of that...
But every morning there was cold again, anyway...
While I’ve been there
dozens of gigs took place
also some exhibitions, lectures, workshops
when we talk about culture.
In the same time some gatherings were taking place
for example before the first major neo-nazis demo in 1999
that was their first attempt to go back into the streets in years
there was a discussion of about 50 people
about how to face it up.
Milada had been open
but I don’t now if it was open even to the general public.
When I was there actions were aimed
mainly to subcultures - punk, grind, tekkno and so on.
No open actions for general public took place
such as author's reading or exhibition.
Also there wasn’t working community
nor the functional collective.
Or at least that’s how I see it.
In those two years we were there
we did around 200 public actions.
In the beggining there were mainly punk and hc gigs
then we started to do tekkno parties during the winter
and since the last autumn we started
MILADA EVICTION ATTEMPT, 1998
to trying to do it more variously
we tried to cut themselves off the subculture roots
and to do a program that could reach farer,
program opened to wider spectrum of people
than it was in the beggining.
Various thematic parties took place,
screenings, workshops, theater plays etc.
When I saw shots from the eviction
I was really surprised.
I also saw the TV program about 1998 eviction attemp
and realised the big difference in intensity
and brutality of the action.
EVICTION OF MILADA, 2009
The only thing that is comparable
is destruction of the house and of our personal property.
That went in the same intensity.
Whatever they could destroyed they destroyed.
When we managed to defend the house
we stood in emergency state
as we thought they’d try it again.
So we tighted rope into that window overthere
and in order to get into the house you had to climbed.
It was like that for about two weeks...
...so every time I went home I climbed...
INSIDE THE EVICTED MILADA
We made this barricade overnight
when we heard the rumour we are going to be evicted
next day. It was last autumn.
We’d had an iron prepared and then
we just fulfilled it with concrete.
And then we welded it together with hinges.
Finally it was of no use
as they put ladder on balcony
and went inside through window in this room...
MILADA IS STILL EMPTY AND FALLING INTO DISREPAIR
TILL TODAY
It all started back in 1997...
...is that right? I’m not sure actually...
We were young, going to Ladronka -
- one of the squat I always sympathized with
and still consider it to be the best and best organised
squat in Prague till today.
And various people were meeting there,
people from scene and symhathizers of squating
and the topic of the future of squating rised up there.
The question whether a new house would be occupied.
There was a bunch of people that wanted
to solve their housing problem by this way
or wanted to live in a squat because they want to try
community living.
So a working group was composed
and started to search for a house.
Whole list of building suitable for this was made.
Two of that were picked up later
as the best suitable for occupation
because of law reasons and it’s condition
as well as locality.
We occupied Zenklovka.
It hadn’t last for long, unfortunatelly.
However it was genius project
And I could sincerely say
I spent the best time of my life there.
Zenklovka was the first squat I moved in.
It was in 1997.
We occupied it in August
in about 12 people.
Our aim was to build a tea-room downstairs
and a space for exhibitions.
And we wanted to make a space for living upstairs.
The house had a private owner.
We tried to do an agreement with him for a while
To no avail, but it was probably mainly our mistake.
However we did the basic repair work in first 14 days
it means we cleaned all the mess in rooms and stairs...
...clay from backyard etc.
Basically we did this basic stuff.
There was no electricity and water in the house.
We were bringing water from hydrant across the road
and were using candles.
After 14 days Mr. Suchanek came to the house
in the morning of some working day.
He had been visited by police before
probably by anti-extremist department
and I think that as usual they told him
that junkies occupied his house.
He and police made pressure on us
in order to make us leave the house.
They made an ultimatum
that we should leave the house till eight o’clock
otherwise we would be evicted by police.
What was great was support from people from Ladronka
who helped us to defend Zenklovka by advice as well as
by physicall support.
Because Mr. Suchanek really came back with police
and tried to kick us off the house.
We made barricade on stairs and went to the roof.
Part of the people ran away on roofs
part was catched and part stayed on the roof.
It was 14 days after the occupation
when we were evicted.
In about two days we re-occupied it.
Thanks to the personal experience with Mr. Suchanek
we probably proved to him that we are not junkies
and that it is possible to make an agreement with us,
set some time period and let us use the house for it.
So we agreed we could live here till the end of January 97.
There was a tea-room already in operation
people could come and learn about us
as we had some literature, magazines and books.
Also discussions and lectures took place.
We only did a few cultural actions here,
one accoustic gig in backyard,
ran a tea-room.
Few lectures took place, one about underground and literature...
...Mr. Vodrazka had a lecture about chaos...
After the eviction of Zenklovka there was plan B
and that was the second best house suitable for occupation.
And that was Milada.
A lot of people from Zenklovka moved there.
The idea of occupation was rising up during 1992
when there was a need among Prague’s anarchist
to have a place for meeting up, doing gigs...
In general to have a space for our political and cultural activities.
The only sympathizing place was 007 club
but that was limited and not suitable for meetings, duscussions, screenings etc.
So in the second half of 92’ the idea rised up
and we started to search for the place.
The first attempt took place in March 1992
when the empty house in Plzenska street was occupied.
It was a short-term one, it lasted just for a few weeks...
We were three people living there.
ONE OF THE FIRST ARTICLES ABOUT LADRONKA IN PRESS
It somehow disapeared, we were kicked out by police...
But the need of autonomous space as a background for our activities
was still present
so we were searching another houses.
Two were picked up.
PICTURES FROM LADRONKA
One of them was Ladronka, the second was house at Krejcarek
So we were considering it, learning about ownership etc.
Finally we unanimously choosed Ladronka.
We all liked the house when we were there for the first time...
...it was empty, opened, really nice house in nice environment...
...in addition it belonged to the city-council that didn’t care about it
which was another point for us.
During the summer preparations took place...
...discussion about who is going to live there...
...searching for neccesary stuff and background...
And in September 93’ it was occupied.
In the beggining 8-10 people lived there.
Already in September first preparation work started
regarding living condition as well as a hall
as we wanted to open the place as soon as possible
so we could do the activities there that were the reason of occupation.
So the aim was to occupy it in order to get the space for our activities.
Living was secondary thing.
We took Ladronka as autonomous cultural space from the very beggining,
since the time we did first projects, intensions, studies...
We had a Ladronka foundation back then, but we had to liquidate it later.
Total mix of actions took place there
the core were gigs, but also exhibitions, festivals...
VIDEO FROM LADRONKA
...tea-room, screenings, info-shop...
Spectrum of activities was really wide
including artist's workshop for a while...
A few hundred actions we'd did there left it's mark in Prague cultural scene
and more, as Ladronka was known and popular internationally as well
thanks to all solidarity demos taking place at embassies abroad as well
the reach of this culture was wider then just Ladronka, Prague.
Majority of program was composed of gigs
but also exhibitions, occasional lectures, screenings...
...volkskuche, i.e. cooking for people...
It served as a place for meetings of different political groups
mainly anarchist's...
Ladronka operated very well in the begining.
I don't want to specify the period, but the begining was great
as it really served as a center where people were meeting each other
and it also managed to got some kind of...
...not a prestige, but rather...
a reputation that the squat got for outside as well.
In 95' when they wanted to evict us
DEMO AGAINST EVICTION OF LADRONKA, 1995
we managed to avoid the eviction
by a campaign and got the name, or rather...
...that we were taken as a power that you have to count in.
There was a lot of solidarity actions with Ladronka
I can't even remember
from demos when we for example dropped a mega banner
from the Oldtown tower at the moment when a big demo was coming.
Part of it were not only gigs in a number of other clubs
but I remember that Svihadlo [famous local raggae band]
- and now I'm not sure if it was in 95' -
did a music video about Ladronka
so that was also part of solidarity actions
also series of solidarity demos at Czech embassies abroad - in Warsaw, New York..
In the end Ladronka lived only from myth it got in first half of 90'.
Maybe also because it separated itself of the protests
against International Monetary Fund and World Bank...
[taking place in September 2000]
We could argue, maybe it would got evicted anyway
but maybe it just showed that it's not part of the movement
and that nobody would stand up for it.
AND THIS IS LADRONKA TODAY...
Which was manifested later
One or two demos took place, but the rage like the one
in Copenhagen when the Ungdomshuset was evicted was missing...
Eviction of Ladronka was controversial in my opinion.
I'm saying that because it was evicted in 2000
and it was a little revenge for anti-IMF and WB protests.
Politicians decided to use a media environment
and surfed this wave...
Come downstairs...
Be so nice...
We are here, number 1935...
We need a state police here...
They are playing the squaters...
The owner is unknown to me...
But it is marked as for sale...
The most important was that we ever decided
that we meet up and went for it
and also after the eviction we were able to continue
and that we take it as pushing the limits and trying something new.
BUDANKY LOCALITY
OCCUPIED IN 1991
EVICTED IN 1992
FALLING INTO DESPAIR TILL TODAY
OWNER: CITY-COUNCIL OF PRAGUE 5
CIBULKA FARM
REPEATEDLY OCCUPIED FOR A SHORT-TIME PERIOD
AND REPEATEDLY EVICTED BY POLICE
FALLING INTO DESPAIR TILL TODAY
FARMHOUSE SAFRANKA
OCCUPIED IN SUMMER 2002 FOR A SHORT-TIME PERIOD
EVICTED BY MUNICIPAL POLICE
TODAY: LUXURY RESIDENTAL COMPLEX
OWNER BACK THEN: PRAGUE CITY-COUNCIL
FORMER SPA AT ALBERTOV
OCCUPIED FOR A SHORT-TIME PERIOD IN SEPTEMBER 2009
IMMEDIATELY EVICTED BY POLICE
FALLING INTO DESPAIR TILL TODAY
UNUSED BUILDING IN THE LONG-TERM
RAILWAY STATION VYSEHRAD
UNUSED BUILDING IN THE LONG-TERM
BLOCK OF FLATS, MOZARTOVA STREET 2 AND 4
UNUSED BUILDING IN THE LONG-TERM
Ghosts here. Are you afraid?
Don't be. You could be the ghost here!
Wanna me?
Fight is not over...
This movie was created on DIY principle
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All people worked on it voluntarily, i.e. for free.
Movie is distributed under Creative commons licence
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