photographs of somewhere else for a change.

Monday March 03, 2003 14:59

by i mac d.

with a bit of a commentary.

A look at an occupied Council building in the centre of a European city of two million people. Just go look at the images in the links and read the words below.

the first photo shows a banner with the slogan "what is your war?". Someone has put a "P" perhaps for Parking beneath.
http://barcelona.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=34367&group=webcast

the words mean "liberated space against the war sunday night. tonight there is a camp in front of the liberated space to preserve against a possible eviction. In the morning chocalate! and later an assembly.

`hackejar l'espai públic: alliberar-lo i compartir-lo...
= hack public space: liberate it and share it.

the second photograph

the camp. The builing is number 2 Placeta del Pi.
Pi is a Catalan surname as well as being a Mathematical constant. The Mathematical constant of Pi is used to help clever people do circles.
http://barcelona.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=34371&group=webcast
again the slogan
"hack public space: liberate it and share it".

the third photograph

http://barcelona.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=34374&group=webcast
behind the big universally recognised semiotic of a bomb with a "no" slash is the front door of the "space liberated against the war".

the other photographs.

http://barcelona.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=34377&group=webcast

The banner means
"another war is possible"

For some time now the "space liberated against the war" has been doing its thing. Nunca Mais questions and answers, human shields, military fiscal objection, various groups doing workshops, big circle of people sitting "reclaiming" the public space that is a a little square, being "disobedient" but it mauy be worth mentioning not being reported for being "noisy" by the neighbours. "disobedient" yes! "noisy" no!
The next door neighbours are a "youth hostel" the sort of place a young couple might stay if they were thinking of seeing other cities in Europe. The minister for Tourism has thus made astatement this morning that all the "pacifist" "disobedients" can stay for ever and ever. We all get proper jobs now helping foreign visitors to Barcelona understand the "WAR" parking, making sandwiches and the value of a good unmasked public hug-in.

Ok that last bit is not strictly true nor even close to accurate.
but you get the idea.

if you like the idea go to http://barcelona.indymedia.org/?language_desplegable=en&Submit=enviar and read about the "Anti-war liberation creates new squat"

"anti-war liberation squatting" like "disobedience" is going to be required reading in fifteen years so you could think of this as saving on the Magazine suplement specials down the road. (Do your head a favour).