Squatters out in the cold
A Residents of the Ladronka squat had been living in the building for the
past seven years. But city authorities gave them a rude awakening in the early
morning of November 9. Police kicked down the door of the century-old farm complex
in Prague 6 and
ordered the 15 people living there to leave immediately. Five arrests resulted
when police learned the squat had been tapping the city’s electric lines.
B City council member Filip Dvořák, who ordered the eviction, cited a
July petition calling for the removal of the squatters and a recent call from
Senator Jan Ruml urging action. “There was concern among citizens that the city
wasn’t doing enough to protect their rights,” said Dvořák. “We’ve had numerous
complaints over the years of vandalism and noise in the area of Ladronka; of
things being stolen from peoples’ gardens.”
C The squat had gained international renown
over the years, hosting guests from across Europe
and serving as an occasional venue for punk concerts and house parties. “This
was our home,” said a 21-year-old resident who identified herself only as
Gabina. “We really did a lot of work on this place over the years. We’re all
homeless now, freezing out here. Why couldn’t they have done this in the
summer?” Asked why the squatters weren’t warned, Dvořák replied tersely, “This
was a normal working day. Does the postman warn you before he delivers a
letter?”
D Violence erupted the same afternoon as squatters formed a human roadblock to stop a moving van filled
with their belongings from leaving the premises.
The scene turned almost comical as the van repeatedly turned around and the
squatters scrambled to stop it – until riot
police put a stop to their efforts with clubs, routing the squatters and allowing the van to make a speedy escape.
“They took everything,” said Petr Dydovič, a six-year resident of the squat. “Food,
clothes, and furniture – they even took our dogs to the pound. Luckily, two got
away.” Police gave residents a week to reclaim
their belongings.
E As the weak afternoon light began to
wane, the squatters gathered on the grass around a tub of soup and an iron pot filled with tea. Lines of police
monitored the building, and three defiant
youths looked down from the rooftop – Ladronka’s last residents. They held out
against the cold until 8 p.m. “We lived here as part of an ideology,” Gabina
said. “To live communally, to build our own culture. That’s definitely over
now.”
defiant – vzdorující
premises – prostory
renown – renomé
riot – výtržnost
roadblock – zátaras, bariéra
to reclaim – opět nabýt
to rout – rozprášit
to wane – slábnout
tub – nádoba
1) Read the article and match each of the headings to a paragraph.
1 Concert and parties
organizers have become homeless
2 Ladronka’s last residents
3 Rude awakening of Ladronka’s
residents
4 Introduction
5 Fighting with the police
2) Read the article and answer the questions.
1 What is the article about?
2 What is Ladronka?
Describe the residents and their life there.
3 Who is Filip Dvořák? What
is his opinion?
4 What happened on November
9?
5 Describe the present
situation in Ladronka.
3) Explain the following words.
1 squat
2 arrest
3 belongings
4 iron pot
5 to live communally
4) Answer the following questions.
Who are squatters? What is
their lifestyle like? What kind of people become squatters? What problems do
they have with police? What are typical places to squat?
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