The Swamp, Utrecht, Kanaleneiland
This week the judge decided to make the eviction of the Swamp possible. This means that birds, rabbits, bats, rats, insects and people lose their living space and a young forest will be killed. All to make space for more asphalt, another distribution center and a busparking that could be built somewhere else.
The judge ignored that the owner; Borghese Real Estate B.V., hasn’t even asked for permits to cut the trees on the part of the Swamp that is not destroyed yet.
We won’t let one of the very few places of green in the city of Utrecht be killed. We won’t move from out self built community where we live together with nature, as self sufficient as possible, and free.
We call out to all people to defend nature here with us, or in your own way, everywhere. We expect the eviction of the Swamp soon after Wednesday the 31st of October, next week.
FUCK PROFIT, FUCK ASPHALT!
THE SWAMP STAYS!
The Swamp?
5 july 2013, industrial land squatted in Utrecht, previously used by Shell. The Swamp became a space of living and sharing with people and nature, outside of consumption trends. In a city where the waiting list for expensive “social housing” is endless, we decided to build our own houses and work in a sustainable and self-sufficient way. In Kanaleneiland in particular, only a couple of years back social housing was sold to private corporations behind people’s backs.
5 juli 2013, gekraakt terrein op de Gelderlantlaan, voormalig op- en overslagdepot van Shell. ‘The Swamp’ is een vrijplaats geworden buiten deze normen van financieel gewin en speculatie, waar samen leven en delen gemeengoed is. En dat in een stad waar woningnood heerst en de wachtlijst voor ‘’betaalbare’’ sociale woningen eindeloos zijn. Als gevolg daarvan besloten wij zelf onze huizen te bouwen en autonoom te wonen. Specifiek in Kanaleneiland werden een aantal jaren geleden sociale huurwoningen achter de rug van de mensen verkocht aan privébedrijven.