This September I was delighted to find out, that a group of activists residing in Chisinau opened a squat called Centro 73. The “official” opening party was held on 25'th of September, and received quite a bit of media coverage by some local TV stations, news websites etc. I wanted to learn more about this project, so I decided to ask some of the people directly involved in the opening of this place.
1. Tell us a few words about the project. How did it all start? How/why did you get involved?
Rosa: It's hard to only say a few words about the project. I guess it started with three guys getting interested in squatting, looking for buildings and finding this one. This was when I got in, I'm a volunteer from Germany and after my first week in Moldova I heard a rumour about a squat. From that moment I was searching for it desperately and I got to know Anatolie (who had already heard about my interest in the project) who offered me to take me there. So I went and I loved it. Soon after we had a big clean up and due to the insecurity about whether the building would stay or not we decided to quickly have a public opening. And this is where the whole socio-cultural centre thing started. We started to have regular meetings, organize events, etc. I got involved and was (and am) so interested in this, because this is what I believe in and what I like doing, because I think there can't be enough free spaces in a city to help people develop their minds and thoughts independently from the usual every-day influences, from commercialism from prejudices from discrimination.
Christina: I wasn’t there yet when it all started. I came to Chisinau a couple of weeks after the place was taken over and given new life already. I heard about it on my 2nd day and knew that that’s the place where I really needed to go as soon as possible. So I did. And I took my Moldovan friend, who had heard about it but hadn’t been there, right along. That was Friday. And Saturday was a party there. And Sunday they made food… and Monday I already started to participate in the weekly meetings and participating in organizing stuff.
2.Did anyone have any squatting experience before this? Did you encounter any difficulties, taking into account that this is the first squat in Moldova?
Rosa: Back in Germany I worked with a group that tried to establish a socio-cultural center in the city I lived in. We tried to squat a building last summer, unfortunately we didn't succeed because the law-situation in Germany on this is much stricter. (Especially my city is full of cops and people scared of evil squatters.) Since then we have been organizing events in public space and trying to reclaim our city and show the people that we need space. Apart from this I have been in several squats in Germany, houses and a squatted trailer-park, took part in a free-space congress in a squat and visited meetings in a squatted university. Centro 73 being the first squat in Moldova brought advantages and disadvantages. The big advantage is that the people have no prejudices about squats, you can form the image of a squat, not having to deal with any image somebody set up in the past. At the same time the main difficulty is that the people are not familiar with the philosophy behind a squat. People are not used to integrative culture that is not only supposed to be consumed, but where everybody works with and for everybody. Therefore it is difficult to involve especially locals into the work that has to be done, the meetings and the organisation, because many seem to take it like just another bar.
Christina: The group is really diverse. Some of us have squatting experience – either having visited squats or events organized in such, or having lived there. Others got to know the idea of squatting just when starting this squat in Chisinau. Personally I just came from living in Vienna where the Europe-wide university protest against the (sick and rotten) implementations of the Bologna Systems where kicked of and where we squatted the main auditorium of the University of Vienna for more than 3 months…
3.There was quite a bit of media coverage.. How did the authorities react? Did you have any problems with them so far? How about the general public, neighbours ?
Rosa: The only person that seems to have a big problem with us is the owner of the building. I think this media attention scares him because it will make it more difficult for him to get a permission to destroy the building. Besides that we only had some neighbour-problems as we were too loud at night and they called the police. Nothing dramatic ever happened though.
Christina: The media echo was nice – and a good way to get the news to the people. As far as I understood there isn’ t any law in Moldova that illegalizes squatting, so we didn’t have trouble with the authorities.
4.How would you compare squatting in Moldova to Western Europe? Some essential differences/ similarities.
Rosa: The big difference is, as I said, that it is a totally new idea for many people. This means there is no consensus-philosophy behind the squat, that all visitors share. In squats in Western Europe that I have visited some ideas, rules or whatever you want to call them, are taken for granted by most of the people. For example discrimination (racism, fascism, sexism, homophobia, …) being not tolerated, hierarchies being avoided, a concept of self-governing and autonomy being practiced and so on. Here all kinds of different people with different backgrounds visit the squat and there are no “rules” that everybody agrees on. This creates a different atmosphere, a different mix of people. Also the place is less “political” than most squats I know about, the people don't share some kind of main ideology or activism, the main goal for most is culture and art. A similarity is the DIY concept, the self-made floor, bar, painted walls, … And of course the fact that it's a great place.
Christina: Squatting in Austria or Germany is illegal. I can only refer to my experience in Vienna (other squatted houses, not the University) where there is the constant potential of being kicked out by the police – which is pretty much always means fines. Which sucks. So for me squatting in Moldova is much more relaxed.
5.Radical leftist/ anti-authoritarian/ autonomist politics, as I see it, are central to the squatting community elsewhere. Is this also the case in Chisinau? What is your view on this matter?
Rosa: No. As I said before, one of the main difference to other squats is that centro73 is less “political”. This is on one hand probably caused by the lack of experience with squatting, but also by the lack of other subculture, of any kind of “scene” in Chisinau. (At least I haven't found this scene in the past 3 months) And for people that have an idea about activism in their mind, it is very difficult to develop it without any place where you can find information, influences, other people to talk with, where you are independent from all that shit you could be opposing, … I hope the squat helps some people to develop their minds and opinions more freely, to lose prejudices, get new impulses and develop some form of activism. I don't know if it will turn into a radical place ever, but I don't think it has to. It should turn into whatever the people need. Most important to me is that people care about it and care about each other. Already staying in a squatted building is a political statement in my opinion, even if it's a cultural place, because you show that there is the need of an noncommercial “free” and different place – and you provide this place. This is enough for the beginning.
Christina: You can feel this spirit here as well… I wouldn’t put myself in any of this “drawers”. I think people have the right to reject harmful social norms. And I believe people are able to organize and govern themselves. If the life we lead isn’t normal… well, to me my life is fine .
6.In Western Europe, a lot of squats have become legal.. There are very few remaining “real” squats. This is just one way the authorities deal with the “problem”- integration. “Squatters” now pay rent to the landlords and taxes to the state etc.. What is your view on this subject?
Rosa: This is a very difficult issue. On one hand legalisation is the only way for many squats to stay and to have some safety. Without this safety it can be really hard to do any kind of work, if every day you have to be scared of evacuation. Also people are less scared of “legal” places and it is easier to involve new people like this, all in all you just have way less trouble.
On the other hand I really dislike this process of legalisation because it means making a compromise and giving up a part of the autonomy of a squat, it means collaborating in a way with a system you oppose and you try to escape with your squat. But often there is no way to prevent this development if you want to stay at all. And you can still be loud and do good work in a “legal” squat where you pay a symbolic amount of money instead of ending up with judicial processes and being kicked out of the place you love.
Christina: I don’t know squat that have become “legal” in the way described in the question. But I think it depends on the conditions that come along with the so called “legalization” – if it means that now they also have to follow rules made by so called authorities then it sucks. Because then it is more or less blackmailing. We let you stay, but you do what we want. A squat pops up where people want to have a place for their own to live to their own rules, made by common agreement and on the basis of grassroot democrazy, gender equality, no-discrimination of whatever kind. As soon as decisions are taken or rules accepted for the sake of someone outside, a moneygiver for example, I don’t think it is true to the idea of squatting anymore…
7.Some people see squats, as just hanging places for junkies. And of course some squats are just that. On the other hand there are squats where the use of any drugs (including alcohol) is prohibited. Drug use could be just enough of a reason for the authorities, to forcefully evict a place so I kinda' understand the reasons for the latter case. Some opinions? I've seen that one of the events held at Centro, was a “Marijuana Inform Workshop”. Do you think this can be used somehow against you by the media/authorities?
Rosa: I dislike making a bunch of rules about what to consume and what not to. For me people can consume what they want as long as they consume it responsibly and don't harm anybody else with their drug use. The problem is that it is difficult to make people consume responsibly and that every person reacts different to every drug. Also drug use can stop people from being productive – on the other hand there are people that believe to get inspired more easily with drugs. At the same time you are right saying that drug use can be an easy argument against a squat. In our case though we are not any kind of registered association or organisation, we don't have some kind of boss or authority and we clearly state that everybody is responsible for themselves. We don't ask anyone to consume illegal drugs in the squat, but if somebody does and nobody is harmed or even notices, how should we stop them. This does not mean that the squat is supposed to be a place where you can just come to consume drugs. We have talked about this issue a lot before, also about the use of alcohol, because for some people (like me) it becomes problematic when people regularly come to this place only to consume. We haven't found any consensus yet. As for the Marijuana Inform Workshop, I don't see a problem I this, because it was a simple informational workshop, not a “hey let's smoke weed together”-party, and there is nothing to say against informational work. You can just come to consume drugs. We have talked about this issue a lot before, also about the use of alcohol, because for some people (like me) it becomes problematic when people regularly come to this place only to consume. We haven't found any consensus yet.
As for the Marijuana Inform Workshop, I don't see a problem I this, because it was a simple informational workshop, not a “hey let's smoke weed together”-party, and there is nothing to say against informational work.
Christina: I stand up for a responsible use of drugs. I really dislike drugged people when their behaviour is shitty and annoying or even offending to other people and they are not able to “behave” – no matter if the drug is alcohol or weed or whatever. I don’t think banning is any solution. I liked the Marijuana workshop cuz its goal was to inform on Marijuana to promote a responsible use of it. That didn’t really answer your questions.. so, when the Marijuana Day was proposed I was really skeptical because of very this thought: it might get us in trouble. But again, Moldova is so much more easy-going than what I am used to… when I visited new squats without personal documents or journals and notebooks.. just in case ;)
8. Did you have any problems with right wing extremists? I heard that in Moldova, there are both ethnic russian nationalists and moldavian/romanian. There's even a branch of Noua Dreapta (The New Right)- a Romanian neo-fascist/extreme nationalist / orthodox fundamentalist organisation. Did you get any reaction from them, regarding the activities of the Centro, or otherwise.
Rosa: No, luckily we haven't had any problems with right wing extremists. I have heard some complaints about nationalistic statements – especially of alcoholized people – definitely an issue that has to be discussed. But we did not have any acute problems.
Christina: I didn’t. Also didn’t hear of their activities
9.Are you involved in any other projects regarding social/political activism in Moldova.
Rosa: I am working as a volunteer in an integrative center with people with disabilities. I am vegan and talk to people and inform them when they are interested and want me to. I am anti-sexist and I shake guys hands. And tomorrow I will go to a LGBT center in Chisinau for the first time to see what it's like, I don't know yet how far I will have the time to get involved in this though.
Christina: Social: well, I am a volunteer in Moldova. I work for La Strada in peer-to-peer education to inform on the ways and risks of Human Trafficking and I work in shelter for people who had been trafficked and who have returned to Moldova. I am officially not allowed by my volunteer contract to be political.. well. Screw that. Life is political.
10.Any future plans about the Centro? When I first heard about the place, nobody lived there. Do you think it will remain the same?
Rosa: Right now we have the big problem that the owner is getting scared and wants us out. The lock of the squat got broken, a fence has been built around the property and there is a guard 24 hours per day.
But we still stay there, we refuse to go until nobody can show us a paper that legally states that something will and can happen with this building and that we must leave (and maybe even then we stay?). So our main plan right now is refuse, revolt, resist. For this we might even have to “live” in the squat, or at least have somebody stay a lot of time. I can't make any clear statement because right now nobody knows what will happen the next day.
If we get kicked out, we plan to find some other building and I hope we will.
Christina: We’ll see what the winter brings. We are constantly repairing, adding, changing.
11. Most of us here at L.M.A. zine are either vegetarian or vegan. Can you find vegan/vegetarian friendly food at the events at the Centro? Is anybody involved/that you know vegetarian/vegan? If yes, how's vegetarianism viewed in Moldova (maybe this should be the topic for a future article)
Rosa: Oh hello, I just wrote about this. Yes, I am vegan and there are other vegetarian people (and one vegan) that come to the squat. Not many, but a few. And all food we have cooked so far was vegetarian, with one exception even vegan – and at this day we also had vegan food. We haven't made any clear rule about this, but I think there would be some people to rise their voices if somebody started to cook meat. We also have some vegetarianism information on our walls and I am lucky to have met one of the very few people here interested in some kind of vegetarian activism. But still the idea does not seem to be very spread here. At my work and in other places of every-day life it is often considered as a little bit strange to not eat animal products. Some people are interested, some people ridicule the topic, some people just strictly seem to oppose vegetarianism or veganism.
Christina: Yep, you can. First of all, everybody can bring whatever they desire. But community cooking events are organized on Vegan basis. I am a Vegetarian, almost Vegan. Buying and consuming local and sustainable is more important to me than straight Veganism (I simply don’t want to buy half my food knowing it travelled half the world, wasting a huge amount of carbon dioxide, not to mention the chemicals put into it…). But yes, it can be a challenge in Moldova. Especially when living in a Host Family and just learning their language.
12. Thanks a lot for your time! Do you have anything else to share? Good luck with your future projects! Cheers! - M./L.M.A.
Rosa: You are very welcome, I hope I didn't write too much.
And yes I have something to share: you should all come to visit our squat (if it stays...), enrich us with your impulses and ideas, work with us or at least look at and enjoy this beautiful place!
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