Asilo squat in Torino, Italy, under threat of eviction
The Asilo Squat is under threat of eviction because the Romanian
association "Fratia" ('brotherhood' in Romanian) based in Torino, Italy
has decided to expand its offices located at 29 bis Corso Giulio Cesare
and spotted our house as a site for its new premises. The Association
requested, through the Municipal Councillor Ilda Curti (Chairperson
resonsible for the politics of immigration), that the Asilo Squat
building be handed over to them. The problem is that this place is not
empty but has been built up and animated for almost thirteen years by
many people, including a family, a fact which is well known to the
authorities. At this point in the game, Councillor Antonello Angeleri
solicited Councillor Ilda Curti to positively consider the request of
the association. There could not be a better occasion to enact the
"eviction policy" which has been realized in Torino during these last
years of repression. In fact, the Municipality has already undertaken
this policy to evict squats in order to transfer the buildings to
associations offering "services to citizens" (i.e. Rosalia, Alcova
and
Fenix)
As there are upcoming elections, Angeleri does not wish to lose the opportunity to promote himself in the eyes of the citizens as a supporter of a "multi-ethnic Torino", particularly in light of the large Romanian community in the city, and to demonstrate he is against the squatters, who for many years have neither cooperated with communal institutions, nor voted in elections.
Comfortably seated on their thrones, these councillors await the fight between the squatters and their supporters on one side and the Fratia Association on the other: a scene that would distract the citizens from seeing the bluff of the Olympics (excessive debts of the municipality, speculation, environmental devastation and the developent of unused public structures such as the Palafuksas of Piazza della Repubblica) and to feed journalists who are always looking for sensational stories about squatters and immigrants.
To avoid a war between the poor, we went to speak to the Association's spokesperson, Aurelia Mirita: their response was not receptive but was rather insolent (their advice was that we find them another place so that we can remain in our current location). As a result, we are forced to believe that underneath this masquerade of finding a suitable location for this association, disguised as trendy political speeches about integration of immigrant communities, is merely a new attack on urban occupations of empty buildings.
We are well aware that a successful eviction of Asilo now will lead to the attempted evictions of other squats in the future. Therefore, we invite everyone who has an interest in this house and occupations in general to show their solidarity and participate in upcoming actions against the eviction.
Asilo Occupato Principe di Napoli
more info, flyer, event and pdf (translation in Italian, French and
Spanish)