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Underground > Switchboard >

Question for Squatters

14:59 / 25.01.02

There seem to be a few people here who are squatters. I was wondering how you acquire internet access in that situation.

20:45 / 25.01.02

Assuming you have the phone and electricity turned on, I would think it's pretty much like anywhere else. Are you having specific problems?

18:00 / 27.01.02

This is my first post from our squat! Got the ADSL-connection
sorted out this week (company only asked for
the adress and the money, why should they care?)
and now we'll never have to leave the house!

We're actually doing ridiculously well, considering
that squatting is totally illegal here. The house
next door has been squatted by a nice bunch of
young punks with seemingly endless supplies of
dope, and the sauna by the shore is inhabited by a
yoga-hippie I've never seen. So we're really not a squat anymore, but a squatted village. Next we'll pull a cable over to the neighbours so they can enjoy the internet too. Yeah, we still have to carry all our water by hand. That's development for you. :-)

09:05 / 07.02.02

You don't. You post here through the library or a friends house. At least that's what I did when I squatted in South Beach.

Disco is My Class War

09:05 / 07.02.02

Congratulations, BioDynamo. That's ace. Techsquatters rule.

16:46 / 07.02.02

Thanks, Rosa. I'm still getting used to this lynx-stuff we have to use, as is evidenced by the.. strangeness of my post above.
So, what can I say? Just Do It? Squat the empties? All very sloganishy, but works for us right now.

17:46 / 11.02.02

But you need electricity to run the computer don't you? Won't whoever owns the house start to wonder about the fact that they keep getting an energy bill every month for their empty home?

pointless and uncalled for

17:52 / 11.02.02

You know, the utilities companies don't exactly make a great effort to ensure that the people that they are serving actually have right of tenancy at that address. They still get to make the money either way.

Most set up's can be done with a phone call and frankly it's ridiculously easy.

12:48 / 12.02.02

quote:Originally posted by Thiazi:
But you need electricity to run the computer don't you? Won't whoever owns the house start to wonder about the fact that they keep getting an energy bill every month for their empty home?

Sure we need electricity. So we steal it. Not from the owner of the house, apparently (a company that might ignore a bill landing on their desk, or not), but from the electricity company. For some reason there is no electricity-contract for our houses, but it is still switched on. Probably to be used by the wrecking crews, whenever they appear.

Anyway, we're still doing fine, three and a half months now. I've moved to the more recently-squatted house, staying there with a bunch of drunk-punx who are amazingly organized at one moment, puking all over the place the next.

Today we're having a meeting to discuss "village relations" and the possible defence against hostile forces like police, as well as the possibility of "going public" and opening up our "village" as a social centre.

odd jest on horn

20:47 / 12.02.02

you go Bio!!!!

18:44 / 14.02.02

So what tactics are you using to prevent a police invasion?

12:50 / 15.02.02

Right now none, except keeping the doors locked and having dogs around. But neither of these have been needed, since the police don't seem to know we're there. Nor does the owner, apparently.

In the coming weeks we'll build a proper bolt for one of the doors, put a metal net in front of a window, probably remove some stairs and (my dream) make a proper 'fallbloekje' (that's dutch, probably spelled wrong, and means a reverse trap door, one which is usually open, but you can close off a staircase with it).

As for level of force acceptable in self defence, well, it should be limited to pouring the dishwater on intruders, possibly paint bombs. None of us wants to go to prison..

Sure, having baseball bats and the like might help us in the short term, but the level of repression we would face for that (and not only us, but the Movement here, too..) isn't worth it. Right now, anyway.