Social center in Helsinki, Finland to be evicted
nnn - 06.03.2011 03:07
Helsinki social center activities will continue despite city government hostility
On Monday the 28th of February, the Real Estate Department of Helsinki called off the lease of the autonomous social centre Satama. The contract has been made with the Youth department of Helsinki and the official term of notice is three months.
The stated reasons for the dissolution of the lease agreement and the demolition of the house are that the building is in bad condition, and that the building plans in the area have sped up. However, there are no known building plans for this site in particular, and the house has never been proven to be unsafe. During the past two years, people active in the building haven't discovered any of the claimed safety risks. The volunteers and participants of the social centre feel that the city is using pretexts in order to demolish the house ahead of time.
This is not the first time that the city officials have tried to evict Satama. Last autumn the house was under serious eviction threat but the eviction attempts were effectively prevented thanks to political pressure and support given to the house and Roma people. In autumn 2010, dozens of Roma people were camping on the yard, where the social center provided electricity and a place to stay. The continued attempts by the city to evict the Romas from the streets of Helsinki has raised the Roma issue into public discussion, and despite resistance the city was able to get rid of the Romas living in Satama´s yard in November 2010. Thus the city officials simply moved the problems that Roma people face Europe-wide out of sight. The fear of Romas returning to Helsinki and into the surroundings of Satama is one real reason for this new eviction attempt.
The Satama building was given to squatters in 2009, after a persistent squatting wave in Helsinki. The lease was originally agreed for 3–5 years, and dissolving the lease ahead of time is revealing of the city's attitude towards the house and its activities. "Fear or the Romas returning into the city and the surroundings of Satama is the real reason for this eviction", says Illusia Girs, a social center volunteer.
In the last two years, the social center has provided space and resources for various projects, such as a vegan café, a bike workshop, a freeshop, different theatre groups, art workshops and collectives. Dozens of events from concerts to people's kitchens have taken place in Satama. The social centre is a place for non-commercial activities and because of its autonomous, non-mainstream nature it is also under constant pressure.
Fortunately, the social centre project is not dependent on one space, and one way or another its activities will continue in Helsinki.
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