The group of squatters who are now in a building on Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal in Amsterdam hopes to inspire others to start squatting as well. The squatters are known as Mokum Kraakt and they hope they can stay in the property.
They have hung a large banner with the text ‘Mokum Kraakt’ on the facade. “We really want attention to be paid to this. We want people to come by, especially if they agree with us that something must finally be done about the housing crisis,” says a member of the group who acts as a spokesperson.
Another member: “The right to housing is just as important as the right to property. So this is a protest. And it’s immediate housing too. And that’s just super important in this day and age. So we hope we encourage people to resist to come.”
There is understanding in the neighborhood for the squatting action. “As far as I’m concerned, if something is empty and it is not used, it can be squatted,” says a local resident who also squatted in the 1980s. Yet there are also critical voices. “I’m fine with it, but I wonder why you all want to live in Amsterdam, while there is so much vacancy across the IJssel in Drenthe and Groningen.”
Earlier this year, a building on Marnixstraat that Mokum Kraakt had squatted was evicted by the police after about six weeks. It remains to be seen whether that will happen this time. Previously, the fire safety was not yet approved by the Public Prosecution Service as argument used for evictions and the squatters themselves indicate that this building on Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal has been ‘neglected’.
Agents have already visited and the group has indicated that the building should not be evicted immediately, because the squatters have been there for several days. “After that, we left again,” says the spokesperson. “There are no police in sight at the moment. So we hope it stays that way.”