Squatting Amsterdam Ep. 2: Breaking into my House

If you've missed previous instalments, you can catch up here on my initial post about squatting and episode 1.

(not our place, but it will give you an impression)

I left you off with that I had found a potential house to squat. It was empty for a year to make it legal by law and the KSU Oost (squatting headquarters east) had confirmed my target and had a match in their card system database. This meant we, me and a girl called Lena (pseudo) whom I had actually met in the vegan bar at KSU, were ready to prepare breaking into our new house at Ruyschstraat 32.

It came down to this following checklist:

1. Pick a date. Sundays were popular as police activity is low.
2. Pick a nearby squat of our target house as a gathering point to make an easy and quick approach on the breaking-day.
3. Flyer at all known squats in Amsterdam-Oost to rally troops on the breaking day. You preferably need a group of about 30 people to deter any sneaky police action/arrest or an attack by the owner. Safety in numbers.
4. Prepare a Bed, Table and Chair. This is undoubtedly the funniest aspect of squatting. By law the house needs to be empty for a year to be an eligible squat. But after you break in you need to claim residency rights (law) by supplying the minimal setup: a bed, a chair and table. On the Sunday you carry this on a cargo bike (bakfiets) and park it adjacent to the door, so once the door has been forced open, these 3 pieces of furniture can immediately be moved into your new apartment. Accompanied with these 3 items also jack posts are supplied. These are used to barricade the door from the inside.

And this is how we entered the scene one Sunday morning in the summer of 2006. We gathered at a squat around the corner. Before preceding with the actual break-in, first a briefing is held. The main spokesperson introduces the real estate object and explains the vacancy situation to all the aiding squatters. This is often a standard talk where all ids and passports are collected in a bag. This to prevent your identification in the event of a possible arrest (and you can pick them up again at this gathering point). A reminder announcement is made to protect 'the breaking-crew’ at all times. These are two specialists who know how to work doors, cylinders and keys. This duo needs to be shielded during the attempt to mask their faces to prevent identification. The sole illegal act of the squat action is the breaking of the door. But if the breakers can't be discerned, it's all clear. This duo also immediately leaves the scene when all doors are open and the locks have been replaced.

After this talk we set forth to Ruyschstraat 32. The thirty of us walked for two minutes to reach the house and we all made a semicircle around the door whilst the breaking team opened the door with a crowbar. It was done in a couple of minutes. Once the door was open, the bed, chair and table were lifted up the stairs and the second door to the apartment was forced as well. Once this one was opened, the bed chair and table were installed and immediate work on the lock began, including the instalment of a piece of wood on the floor for the jack post.

During the break in, one of the neighbors, an old man was freaking out on his balcony when he saw 30 people forcing the door next to his. Later we learned our new neighbor was Jewish. I'll address his story on the next episode.

(not our place, for impression only)

All this happened within less than 10 minutes. Lena and I, the official occupants now of RS-32, saw our apartment only after all the installing crew were done with securing the floor. The apartment had been completely stripped. It was merely brick walls with a wooden floor and ceiling. A lot of work had to be done to make this place liveable. We had about 100 square meters for the both of us, including a beautiful balcony overlooking the central garden of the block.

At this point the police was actually called by the squatters to assess vacancy and to determine the squat successful. A police car arrived 10 minutes later. I watched the scene from the French balcony on the front side. At this stage the role of the spokesperson becomes clear as he/she is our liaison to inform the police on the situation. The spokesperson guides the officers through the house. Sometimes they want to make pictures to have proof it was really empty and nobody was actually living in the place. Most police officers have zero experience with this and don't know what to do. So often actually the liaison informs what to do. It's very funny.

After about 15 minutes the officers left and everybody gathered into the apartment to check out the crib. I've joined many other break-ins after and one can often delight into what amazing space has been opened for living. Often they are huge places, and you start to dream what to make of them. And so the squatters all walked up stairs and joined together in the apartment, drank a beer, and celebrated a new house added to the community. It was a wonderful and exhilarating experience. A painted banner was strung to the french balcony that spelled: "Speculants out, Squatters in.”

That night I remember very well. I slept on my mattress in my bare bones apartment in Amsterdam-Oost. For the first time I had my own place. I don't think I've ever felt such a deep feeling of freedom. I slept like a baby.

On the next episode we'll talk about Gerard, our Jewish holocaust surviving bodybuilding neighbor and we have our first encounter with the maffia. Yikes!

Stay tuned.

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