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For a Meditarranean Network of Inhabitants iSi, se puede!

Pedro Martin HERAS

Pedro Martin HERAS

Pedro Martin Heras, Plataforma Afectados por la Hipoteca (Mortgage Victims Platform), Spain  

For a Meditarranean Network of Inhabitants iSi, se puede!

The PAH is a citizens' movement made up of around 252 knots, who are fighting for housing rights in Spain. I am personally committed to this movement because I believe in it. I would like to encourage all of you to get involved in this project. Because as we say in the PAH … iSI SE PUEDE! (YES WE CAN!)

1) The Mortgage Victims Platform (PAH) is a citizen's movement made up of around 252 knots, who are fighting for housing rights in Spain. The existence of so many groups, with the participation of a large number of people, is due to the fact that between 2007 and 2008, there were more than half a million evictions in Spain. In other words, more than half a million families have been driven out of their homes, mostly resulting from legal proceedings following a mortgage dispute. Renter evictions are becoming more and more common.

2) Such a high level of participation means we can put our heads together. Our meetings are open and horizontally organised. There is no single person in command. At these meetings, the committee is collective. This has enabled us to develop our offensive and defensive strategies, which work on both the individual and collective levels.

  • Political awareness is lacking, but there is a general awareness of banking practices, for example, contracts and hidden clauses.
  • There is not enough social housing in Spain, and 3 million empty housing are owned by the banks!
  • We are focusing our attention on the defence of each evicted individual, and our project to change the law in Spain and in the EU.
  • The first time individuals or families come to our meetings, they are in a very bad psychological state. It is the collective which saves the family and restores their dignity, by assuaging their feelings of guilt and failure. What we call empowerment is a result of collective action. It is the strength to deal with problems, and to get their life back on track. To be the main protagonist of their own recovery. This way of operating means that the PAH is an established and respected organisation.
  • On the collective level, thanks to commission groups, we now know where we stand. We now know the methods used by the banks and/or landlords, the protagonists, the effects on the victims of this crisis, the housing market bubble in Spain, which we denounce as a swindle  . We know that all this is rooted in an international capitalist neoliberal mentality. This is why we work on the local, provincial, regional, European, and international levels. Because we know that these people's behaviour is the same everywhere.
  • We physically stop evictions by blocking the entry of the police into houses on a daily basis. There are more than 160 cases every day in Spain. The PAH is not involved in every case, as most of the time we are unaware of them. But when we do know about them, we act, by occupying the public space, meeting the judicial procession with a negotiation team, and negotiating with both parties until we succeed in convincing them that without alternative accommodation, there can be no eviction. Especially when children are involved. Recently, we have been making use of a report from the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR), which obliges Spain to fulfill its obligations, as it has signed the main international agreements.  Examen Comité DESC a España en derechos económicos, sociales y ...https://observatoriorsc.org/examen-comite-desc-espana-derechos-economicos-sociales…  La ONU se ha convertido en el último recurso para evitar el desalojo ...  https://www.eldiario.es/.../familias-punto-desahuciadas-encuentran-aliado_0_7989706  

3) The PAH is happy to have been invited to Africités. We are very interested in being part of a Mediterranean network for the right to housing, to the city, and to governance. In this struggle, personal effort alone is not sufficient to reach the objectives, such as winning or improving rights, or the application of the International Charter of Human Rights.

  • For this occasion, we will be making the most of the fact that in February 2019, we will have had nearly 10 years experience of struggle behind us. Our PAH International Committee, of which I am a member, will inform the PAH meeting about the motivations and objectives involved, with a view to joining this Mediterranean network.
  • I live in Irùn, a commune of Gipuzkoa in Northern Spain. At time of writing, more than thirty Africans are trying to enter France, but they have been sent straight back. They will carry on trying until they succeed. Local organisations offer aid and assistance; the public intitutions do not take the intiative or assume their responsibilities.
  • What I mean is that the problem of emigratrion and immigration concerns us all; we see it around us every day. We are aware of it. We know that the earth belongs to everyone, and we would like immigration to be voluntary rather than a necessity. The question is what can the PAH do to contribute to this Mediterranean network?
  • The first answer to this question is that since all the members of PAH are volunteers, their availability varies from day to day. There is always one person available from the PAH International Committee to represent the PAH internationally. This PAH Committee will do everything it can to respond to the needs of this new Mediterranean network. As long as we do not cross our red lines (non-violence, not partisan , horizontality, concern for others).

4) The PAH, via its International Committee, will officially communicate its position concerning this intiative. I am personally committed to this movement because I believe in it. I would like to encourage all of you to get involved in this project. Because as we say in the PAH …

iSI SE PUEDE!

(YES WE CAN!)


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Douglas Galloway

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