Project BuurToren: Collective Action for Housing and Solidarity #
What a beautiful city we live in, everyone should be able to enjoy that, right?
Unfortunately, many Rotterdammers don’t have a home. They sleep on friends'
couches, in their cars or even in the park. To do something about this, we have
put the vacant building in Oud Charlois back into use.
Homelessness at the core #
Threatening homelessness and the housing crisis form one of the biggest
challenges of the time we live in now. Homelessness is not a personal issue or
just a healthcare issue. It is a structural consequence of a deep housing
crisis that is deliberately maintained by politicians who reward big capital.
Homelessness affects students, workers, single parents, elderly people, migrant
workers and refugees.
The bed-bath-bread scheme (later LVV), which provided temporary, dignified
shelter for undocumented people, was discontinued at the end of 2024. It was
the reason for us to take action. But even after a large demonstration, a
petition and even lawsuits, the municipality of Rotterdam maintains that the
scheme had to be abolished. Stopping bed-bath-bread is not migration policy.
It doesn’t solve anything, because nobody will take a next step from the
street. Everyone agrees on that: Stopping the bed-bath-bread scheme: a danger
for the most
vulnerable?
Nobody is illegal #
We are tired of politicians using people without passports, Muslims or Eastern
European workers as scapegoats. Those people are our friends, our neighbors,
our colleagues. They are people who do hard work, get paid too little and get
fired for nothing. We don’t kick downward, because we are not cowards. We don’t
let anyone drive a wedge between us and our fellow citizens. If we kick, we
kick upward, at the rich who leave buildings empty, ask ridiculously high rents
and have friends in politics.
A beautiful city is a solidarity city #
BuurToren is a Rotterdam collective that stands for a solidarity city. We want
to make Rotterdam more beautiful, diverse, cohesive and livable. But for
everyone, not just for the rich. Because existential security and a roof over
your head should not depend on having money, what color you are, what you
believe in, which country you were born in and whether you have a passport or
not.
We don’t just want to create living space. By organizing info evenings and a
neighborhood kitchen, among other things, we fight against the
individualization and gentrification of the city. Safety, self-organization and
cooperation with the neighborhood are central to this.
Join us! #
We warmly invite you to come by and get to know us! We hope that BuurToren is a
small step towards a city where everyone is welcome and equal.
We are actively looking for more vacant buildings in Rotterdam where at least
five people can live, preferably with space for public activities. Do you have
such a building in your neighborhood? Let us know via buurtoren@riseup.net.
Do you want to roll up your sleeves and help us? Come by every Sunday from
17:00 for our introduction session. See this page for more
information about this.
You can also donate! #
VB Solidarity Fund
IBAN: NL25INGB0007660436
mentioning “BuurToren”