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CALL OUT: Justice Not Crisis Social Centre.

Petroski Zion | 02.05.2009 08:37 | Free Spaces | Social Struggles | Workers' Movements | Birmingham

Justice Not Crisis (JNC) is a direct action pressure group based in Birmingham. We're currently squatting a house on Pershore road, and we need your help to build a thriving Social Centre here.


The idea is to use the space for meetings, workshops, and as a headquarters to fight against 'the system'. It's a space that can act as a focal point, like minded people can get together, and share ideas/skills.

We think social centres offer a unique opportunity for people to get together, get organised, and really do something that will make a difference to the world. When we get together, we share skills, ideas and experience. There are many different groups in Birmingham fighting for many different causes, but surely we all have something in common. At the end of the day, we're fighting the same enemy. So why not help each other? There is a great energy when people work together. The whole can be greater than the sum of it's parts.

At the moment JNC has been focused on social housing, highlighting the insanity of allowing perfectly usable buildings to be left empty when there are 30,000 people on the waiting list for homes, and many people sleeping rough on the streets of Birmingham. We feel that it's criminal for property owners (who have no right to the land anyway) to leave buildings empty, just so that they can make more profit in the future.

After squatting in the Firebird pub for 12 weeks, it was finally sold to Optima housing association who are in the process of using the land to build social housing.

At the Beechwood hotel on Bristol road we tried to protect the land from environmental damage done by the owner, Mr Kang, who was burning toxic waste there, cutting down protected trees, and poisoning the lake. Unfortunately we didn't have sufficient numbers to prevent eviction from the Beechwood.

JNC has good connections with official political groups, and many high profile supporters. We work using a mix of conventional politics and direct action. We have a good legal team, and know how to use the system to our advantage when it suits us. We also have excellent contacts with the media.

In conclusion, here is a real chance to do something cool in Birmingham. Show the world that Birmingham is not a dead city for activism, that there are people here that will stand up and fight for what they believe in. JNC will always go on, but at the moment we need more support if we are to use this space properly. Without more support we feel that the social centre could disappear.

However, if the people of Birmingham decide to rise up, there are always more buildings. We have the experience now to open and manage new squats. Imagine a network of social centres, where the people decide the rules. Where anyone can go and feel welcome. Where we share things and operate for the good of the people, instead of to make a profit. Where we can escape the silly rules and bureaucracy imposed on us by our 'rulers'.

If you're interested, drop round at any time, or call Pete on 07534 082 173. You don't have to be an 'activist' to get involved. Everyone is welcome. If you have something to teach, come and share it. If you have food to donate, that's always appreciated. Even if you're not sure about the project, but are curious, come and see what we do. All support is useful and welcome.

318 Pershore Road
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B5 7QY

www.JusticeNotCrisis.com
 Justice.Not.Crisis@googlemail.com

Please pass this message on to anyone that you feel might be interested. Feel free to repost it online, print it, pass it on to as many people as possible.

There will be a meeting/party/gathering on Saturday 9th May. Turn up any time after 6pm, invite your friends, and lets see if we can come up with any good ideas.

If you want, this can be the start of a revolution. ..



Petroski Zion
- e-mail: justice.not.crisis@googlemail.com
- Homepage: http://www.justicenotcrisis.com


Comments

Hide the following 3 comments

The revolution will not be co-opted!

02.05.2009 13:54

It's been well documented on Indymedia that Housing Associations are the new Rachman landlords. Justice not Crisis are directly related to the Optima Housing Association. Optima emerged out of the national Pathfinder Scheme to cleanse low demand/sink estates. Lee Bank, the estate Optima took over, was mostly knocked down, and 'redeveloped'. Lee Bank was effectively given away by Birmingham City Council and there was even talk that Optima were paid a substantial sum of money by the council to take over Lee Bank. Remember this is really expensive land right next to the city centre. The 'redevelopment' saw many people forced out of the estate under the premise that they would have a chance to 'move back'. They were mostly forced out to more sink estates in Birmingham's suburbs which will never see any improvements because they aren't situated next to the increasingly gentrified city centre.

Since then Lee Bank has been artificially renamed Attwood Green. It's glorious park of mature trees were bulldozed in the name of progress and more expensive properties were built to attract more affluent people. It's local shops, pub and youth centre were also turned to rubble. Many people claim that pathfinder schemes such as this are an attempt to cleanse working class communities out of areas close to city centres earmarked for 'redevelopment'. The result of Lee Bank's 'redevelopment' is the net loss of more affordable, secure and accountable rented housing arguably making the housing crisis in Birmingham much worse. There is also much less green space, ugly hotels, empty yuppie flats, a network of CCTV surveillance and a zero tolerance towards so-called anti-social behaviour.

We need more affordable, secure and accountable rented housing in Birmingham. This means defending what's left of our council housing. Housing Associations such as Optima have voted for the stock transfer of council housing. How is less affordable, less secure and less accountable rented accommodation going to help solve the housing crisis in Birmingham? The property market collapse will also mean that Housing Associations such as Optima are going to pass on their losses to their tenants, forcing rents up even more. Perhaps these residents will organise and propose rent strikes sometime in the future – I certainly hope so. How will Optima respond – pick up the phone and call their bailiffs?

From just a quick glance of Justice not Crisis' website they openly declare their support of wannabe politicians and parliamentary candidates. They also boast support from a local cop and a magistrate. This is a little unnerving if Justice not Crisis want to associate themselves with the autonomous culture and politics of the social centre movement in the UK and beyond. Autonomy means many different things to different social struggles, but it's clear that we don't accept the authority and pernicious influence of the state and it's opportunist politicians. These parasites have and always will co-opt our struggles. The revolution will not be co-opted!

@ is for Autonomy


sustainable community owned housing?

03.05.2009 12:34

Had a quick look on Optima's website ... found the detailing of their 'Park Central' development (  http://www.optima.org.uk/main.cfm?Type=PARKCENTRAL ) (on the former Lee Bank estate mentioned above) quite interesting: hotels, retail complexes, business space ... and 13 % affordable social housing. I wonder how many of those compelled to leave Lee Bank in this gentrification project are going to be able to get one of those new affordable houses which Optima are building there? I also noted their backing of a 'supermarket based development' (  http://www.optima.org.uk/main.cfm?type=GALLERY&cat=13&Image=28 ) . Don't Optima people in JNC boast about their involvement in anti - Tesco campaigns?

optima watch


Birmingham aint a dead city for activism!

03.05.2009 14:15

What is this - how to lose friends and alienate people?!

There's always been stuff going on here in Brum. You probably missed the city wide campaign to defend council housing where lots of different groups put aside sectarian differences to try and save our housing and we won!

As you're posting to Birmingham Indymedia, you might have noticed there's a list of campaigns on the left of the page (sure some of them are more active than others, or go through circles of activity/inactivity) but they all need some input from people. There's also the newswire that's got reports posted to it virtually every day from grassroots groups trying to make a difference in this city.

If you're implying we don't have a lifestyle orientated activist culture here, then yeah you could be right, and I'm relieved we don't. If you want that, then there's plenty of it going on in other cities. Whether they'd align themselves with a Housing Association is a different matter altogether!

are we really fighting the same enemy?


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