The Hackney Social Centre was evicted May 16, 2008, after two unsuccessful eviction attempts in April. Many of the people living at the Social Centre have returned to their countries, and many are still in London, involved in different projects. The Social Centre was a brief but valuable experiment in active resistance and active defense of a large autonomous space in Hackney.

The Hackney space has a little bit of money left from the vegan cafes and from donations from the different groups that hosted events in the building. All of this money is going to fund direct action activies in London and abroad. Last month, £300 was given to comrades in Vancouver, organizing militant direct action resistance to the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. In Hackney, squats and low-income housing are directly threatened by the Olympic re-development plans. The militancy of the Canadian activists is....inspirational.
URGENT UPDATE! The Hackney Social Centre is still under **THREAT OF EVICTION!** In March, the building's owners were given a Warrant of Possession by the courts. The Social Centre's scheduled eviction was successfully resisted on Monday 21 April by over 60 people - both inside and outside the building. Bailiffs are now expected to return to the building at any time.

Tuesday 22 April 2008

Dear High Court Bailiffs,

Where were you? We waited for you, and were most sorely disappointed to discover that you, our most important guests, decided not to come to the party organized in your honour! Here's a taste of what you missed:


Read more about the Monday eviction attempt with "Hackney Social Centre - Morning Report" on Indymedia: http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/04/397162.html

Saturday 19 April 2008

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE MONDAY EVICTION THREAT

More information: This is the Hackney Social Centre's first eviction. Usually, this means that County Court Bailiffs come to execute the warrant of possession. Our county court bailiff eviction was scheduled serval weeks ago for 10:20 am on Monday April 21. However, last week, two squats in Hackney successfully resisted their first evictions, despite large police presence and persistant police intimidation. On Friday morning at 9:30am two police officers and two alleged representatives of the courts arrived at the Hackney Social Centre with an "Advance Notice" that a writ had been obtained for a HIGH COURT eviction, scheduled for 9:00 am on the Monday. We believe this is a response to last week's successful resistances, and see it as an aggressive, escalation tactic.

We know that the police read this website, and that they follow and monitor our activities. The Hackney Social Centre has only been open since February. And greedy property developers, hand in hand with the police, are trying to shut us down before we even really begin! Come on Monday, and be aware that a police presence is expected.


Read about the EVICTION THREAT on Indymedia: http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/04/397037.html

Thursday 17 April 2008

THIS SATURDAY - BEHIND BARS QUEER DIY BENEFIT PARTY!

Supporting the Boxgirls Womens' Self-Defense Project in Nairobi Kenya, come down to the Hackney Social Centre (10pm-8am!) for our second BEHIND BARS queer DIY benefit party! For more information about the Boxgirls project, visit www.boxgirls.de.

Monday 14 April 2008

TUESDAY 15 APRIL - Vegan Soupkitchen!

As every week, the cafe is open @ the Hackney Social Ctr this Tuesday Night from 6:30 onwards. Come by and enjoy a free vegan dinner after a busy weekend, and a follow-up to the Days of Action with a series of short documentaries about squatting and housing issues across Europe.

Friday 11 April 2008

Days of Action for Squats and Autonomous Spaces!

TOMORROW, 8pm at the Hackney Social Centre we'll be celebrating the vibrance, diversity, and strength of our evolving autonomous communities in London and across Europe, with a BENEFIT PARTY FOR ASS (the Advisory Service for Squatters). Come early for a free vegan dinner!

Events for the DAYS OF ACTION are kicking off today, and carrying on all weekend at a number of squats and autonomous spaces across London!

The themes for the weekend's Space Is the Place events are: the current housing crisis affecting the most disadvantaged, the appropriation of public space by big business through privatisation and speculation (PFIs etc), the sell-off of council housing, the Olympics in 2012 and the ruin of the Lea Valley at the tax-payers' expense, social centres, squats, etc; free spaces, the mismanagement of land and its ownership by the wealthy elite...

Weekend Schedule:

FRIDAY 11th

7pm @rampART Social Centre (yes, it’s still open!): Free Spaces info night and social meet up with cafe, films, talks, stalls, music. More info at http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/04/396086.html

8pm @NOID Gallery: acoustic bands and performance

SATURDAY 12th

12noon @Alexandra Court Hostel enroute to Hackney Town Hall: Demonstrate for clean, safe homes! Called by London Coalition Against Poverty (LCAP)Meet Sat 12th April at 12.30pm, Alexandra Court Hostel, Belgrade Road, Hackney to march to Hackney Town Hall on Mare St.

10am-7pm @New Shoreditch Squat: Squatters Estate Agency, Art Exhibition, Films, Stalls, Workshops and discussion, Freeshop. There will be practical workshops on setting up a squat, ASS workshop, social centre eviction support, setting up a squat garden (weather permitting), bike maintenance and more..

8pm @Hackney Social Centre: Benefit gig for the Advisory Service for Squatters. Bands, stalls, vegan dinner.More info http://hackneysocialcentre.blogspot.com/

SUNDAY 13th

10am-7pm @New Shoreditch Squat: Squatters Estate Agency, Art Exhibition, Films, Stalls, Workshops and discussion

Other happenings

Sat 11th : @ Womynspace. Drag workshops during the day and drag party from 9pm till late. Women only.

Sat 11th : 7pm - 11:30pm Earth Circus Climate 4 Change Cabaret @ Circle Community

Venue details

Hackney Social Centre : 231 Lower Clapton Road, E5 8EG - http://hackneysocialcentre.blogspot.com/

New Shoreditch Squat : Bowl Court off Plough Yard, by Drunken Munkey at junction of Shoreditch High Street and Great Eastern Street - http://publish.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/04/396084.html

rampART social centre : 15 Rampart St (off Commercial Road) E1 2LA - http://www.rampart.co.nr/

NOID gallery : 26 Calvert Ave, London E2 7JP - http://www.noidgallery.net/

Womynspace : 4a Corbridge Crescent, E2 - http://womynspace.blogspot.com/

Circle Community : The Old Mercedes Showroom 341 Finchley Rd - http://circlecommunity.org/


Visit http://april2008.squat.net/ for breaking news on april2008 Days of Action related events as they unfold over the next few days, providing short accounts on what’s going on across Europe and links to more detailed information when available

See http://www.squatter.org.uk/ for information on the Advisory Service for Squatters located in Whitechapel, London. The Advisory Service For Squatters is an UNPAID collective of workers who have been running a daily advice service for squatters and homeless people since 1975. It grew out of the former Family Squatters Advisory Service, which was founded in the late 1960s. ASS publishes The squatters Handbook, the twelfth edition of which is the current one, and has sold in excess of 150,000 copies since 1976.

Wednesday 2 April 2008

Saturday, 5th April, House of Radical Pranksterz presents: We love Palestine!


Benefit party for 'Picture Balata'.

Outside the West Bank City of Nablus lies the Balata Refugee Camp. Established in 1951, Balata and the dozens other camps in the West Bank, Gaza, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan were supposed to be a temporary solution for the hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees who were driven from their homes during the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948.

Nearly six decades later, Balata is home to almost 25,000 residents living on less than one square kilometer - the most densely populated refugee camp within the West Bank. In recent years, Balata has seen hundreds of deaths and arrests, dozens of home demolitions and the camp is subject to near-nightly invasions by the Israeli Army. It is here the Picture Balata workshop was started to teach youth from the camp about photography.

Picture Balata puts the camera into the hands of the children born and raised inside the Israeli occupation of Palestine. Participants ranging from ages 11 to 18 photgraph their situation as they live it in Balata Refugee Camp.