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Social Centre in Helsinki faces eviction - Solidarity neede
helsinki squatters - 01.09.2010 15:06
Tomorrow the 2nd of september the Youth Council of Helsinki (Finland) will
vote for the future of Autonomous Social Centre Satama. The house was
given to the squatter movement after two years of intense squatting and
other actions.
Although the house was given to the squatters by the city officials the
squatters haven't paid rent, only garbage disposal was left to the people
of the house to pay. Satama has organized numerous activities since
january 2009 when the keys were received. There have been solidarity
people's kitchens, bike work shop, café, theatre practices and shows, gigs
from punk to traditional Roma music, sowing work shop, pirate cinema, many
discussions and presentations on social/political questions and of course
the house has been working closely with the Finnish No Border Network (in
Finland its called Vapaa Liikkuvuus) in order to provide services for the
mainly Romanian Romas who have been under a huge repression by the city
officials and police.
Actually the sudden urge to kick out the squatters stems from the "Roma
problem" as the city officials like to call it. When Romania became a
member of the European Union many Romas took off in hope of finding a
better life. In Romania they are still treated as second class citizens.
In Finland many of them started begging on the streets of Helsinki, which
was something the Finnish people had never seen before.
The right wing politicians started to attack them on all levels demanding
deportations and declaring all Romas as criminals. However, since they
were EU citizens, deporting them wasn't as easy as the right wingers (and
sell outs who call themselves "leftists") would have wanted. One day,
purely by accident a few Romas happened to appear in a huge abandoned
warehouse next to Satama. The squatters introduced themselves and offered
the Romas blankets and mattresses and offered to help with the silent
squatting of the warehouse, but the police arrived quickly to evict the
Romas.
Since that day the people of the Social Centre decided to let the Romas
bring their caravans and cars on the yard of the Social Centre and also
offer them the use of showers and other facilities in the house. Soon they
also had electricity from the house and everyone seemed happy.
By this time the number of the Romas outside the house has gone up and at
the moment there are from 50 to 70 Romas. There have been numerous
attempts to evict the camp but determined squatters have refused again and
again to ask them to leave, even under heavy repression and threats from
the officials and police.
Now a group of officials and capitalists, put together by the racist mayor
Jussi Pajunen is calling for the eviction under the excuse of the squtters
breaking the contract by having the Romas on the yard. However the
contract for the house says that the yard belongs to the squatters as well
and the contract also says that the city has no saying in anything that
goes on in the area described in it.
If anyone is breaking the contract it is the city of Helsinki! We are
calling for solidarity all over! We are few in numbers and without
international solidarity we are doomed! Even if the city decides to evict
the house the eviction will take some time, since the contract is official
it should have a three month term of notice (i hope this correct in
english).
Find a Finnish consulate, punish Finnish companies, have a solidarity
event or demonstration, do whatever is in your power to do!! We will not
abandon our Roma friends! End to repression of the Romas in Finland, in
France and everywhere!
You can send news of actions to:  abajolosmuros@riseup.net
 http://satama.org
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