Review on why you should think twice before judging squatters and their lifestyle
Junkie, stoner and dangerous are a few degrading adjectives often attributed to squatters in general. Perhaps not so surprising when in most countries it is illegal to occupy an UNINHABITED building or land, yet how much does one really try to place oneself in their shoes, or for the least, hear them out?
For the past month, I've been chilling with friends who happen to be squatting in London, and let me tell you, they're far from deserving those tarnishing clichés. Now, this post is not about how you should drop everything to go searching for your abandoned treasure (although you might want to) but rather why the negative image associated to squatting should be seriously reconsidered.
In a nutshell, squatters come from various backgrounds and cultures but resemble in their willingness to defy the status quo. Overall, they refuse (or are unable) to pay exorbitant rents for box sized rooms- talking to you, London- and choose to live life on the edge, going from one abandoned building to another. Routine hardly settles in their lifestyle as they are endlessly uncertain how long they will be able to call a place their home. As soon as they're on the radar, it's only a matter of days before they get evicted by force, rushing to pack all the belongings they've accumulated in their temporary cocoon.
Continuously frustrated to be treated like germs that need to be wiped out - and who wouldn't be- the squatters I've met have tempted a new approach. They try out their luck by personally calling the owner of the building, explaining that they're just people like you and I, and that they would happily pay for the gas, electricity and water they use if only they were to be left in peace. One even offered to invite the not-so-pleased owner for coffee so they could discuss alternative solutions, in vain. A daring tactic you might think, but one that has already worked for some other lucky squatters.
You probably guessed it right : most of the time, the offer is refused without second thought or a hint of consideration. However, you'd be astonished to notice how well squatters take care of these abandoned properties, cherishing them like their own. The ones I've met would live in harmony, decorating the place with love to make it as cosy as they could. Check out the picture of the room above so nicely organized or the one bellow with a playful "if you don't wash up after yourself, you'll reincarnate into a greasy plate of leftovers" tag on the wall. Does that look like a degradation of property to you?
See, it's not because someone has a peculiar lifestyle that they should be treated like illegal rubbish. If you look closely, you'll notice that many offbeat squatters can be extremely savvy, knowing many interesting tricks and gimmicks of alternative survival skills that most of us don't. Above all, they deserve to be treated with respect since occupying an UNHABITED building that sits there to rot doesn't stand for a wicked crime whatsoever. So please, next time you hear an angry owner shout at some peaceful squatters, or catch yourself judging their lifestyle, think for yourself : what are these folks doing that is SO wrong? Are they hurting anyone? Creating collateral damage? No. The huge majority is just a bunch of people trying to live as untied to the status quo as possible, and frankly, they have my full respect for that.
