In broad daylight anarchists in Athens attacked an auction house known for selling off the homes of poor families in debt. Communique below.
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The issue of auctions has become a taboo in public discourse. Theoretically, nobody likes auctions, apart maybe from the troika. The governments so far are supposedly giving ”negotiation battles” in order to prevent auctions. Banks are telling us they do not want auctions because they are recorded as loss. Notaries supposedly abstain from these procedures collectively, pretending they have some kind of social empathy.
Unfortunately this couldn’t be any further from the truth. Auctions take place in courts on a weekly basis, usually on Wednesdays from 16:00 to 17:00. We witnessed the home of an unemployed father of four who has 85% disability being auctioned four times within the space of two months. Another case was that of a 6 member family who had their home auctioned for a 3870 euro debt towards the company Perfect Clean that handles the building’s common expenses. In another instance, the same company attempted to auction a 49 sq.m. flat in order to cover a 2500 euro debt. These cases are only the tip of the iceberg. In a city like Athens, where there are over 100 000 empty houses while thousands of people are sleeping rough, it is enraging, to say the least, to have auctions forcing people to become homeless.
The only reason auctions have not become common practices is the social resistance in the form of mass interventions which put a stop to the entire auction process. However, the problem is much wider and those responsible for this situation are more than the usual suspects from the banks lurking in some corner, or the notaries who absolve themselves of responsibility or those in power who sign whatever it is asked of them. Equally responsible are companies such as Perfect Clean who shamelessly and ruthlessly throw families onto the streeets for debts of only a few thousand euro.
When it comes to journalists on TV who intentionally misinform their viewers by saying nonsense regarding ”bad payers by choice” we respond that yes, we admit those exist and can be found very easily. All they need to do is take a look at their bosses: tv-channel owners, publishers, contractors, ship owners, bankers and generally all those people who identify themselves as ”upper class” , a class which has ravaged public and social wealth for decades, wealth produced by all of us.
Things are simple and one target must remain clear: we must protect our homes in any way possible from small and big predators . Participate in solidarity committees, community networks, be present at court. In short, show your solidarity through action and support as many people as possible.
For all the reasons outlined above, we came to the office of Perfect Clean, which we took care of accordingly. Our choice is nothing more than a minimum response of what this company deserves for its role in cases such as the ones described earlier. According to complaints the company is now looking to take advantage of the situation in order to get its hands on the entire building. Against these practices, we say ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! If you have no respect for us, the time has come for you to fear us.
(via Athens Indymedia, translated by BlackCat for Insurrection News)
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