Amsterdam 8 January 2004 Fort van Sjakoo Saved!With great happiness we can now inform you that we have succeded in buying our bookshop space. Ten months ago we decided, with our backs against the wall, to try and to get into our control the ground floor and basement of our shop. Since then we have gathered 220,000 euros. Enough to buy our shop without having to take out an expensive loan from the bank. Through the effort and support of many people it looks like the independent Amsterdam bookshop 'Het Fort van Sjakoo' is now guaranteed an affordable place for the future.
The survival of 'Het Fort van Sjakoo' was threatened by a rent increase of 900%. The Woningbedrijf Amsterdam (WBA, Housing Corporation Amsterdam), who we rent from, wanted this increase because they wanted to get the market price from their commercial properties. From the beginning we knew that we could never, and didn't want to be able to, afford this amount. Our collection of books and magazines at 'Het Fort' is decided by the needs/wants of a volunteer-run collective to spread certain information. This need/want stands diametrically opposed to the profit thinking that an enormous rent increase would demand of us. After 25 years it looked like it was the end of 'Het Fort van Sjakoo'. After a few conversations with the WBA it became clear that there was very little room for negotiations. The WBA said that the higher rent from us was needed so that they could finance less profitable projects. A lower rent was seen by the WBA as a subsidy and we should go to the local government for that. After Sjakoo's scream for help went out a wave of protest began. From many different places came a solidarity protest. Especially those directly involved with the bookshop were prepared for action. Very quickly it became clear that we weren't the only ones with this rent problem. Every day people came into the shop to talk to us about similar problems they were having with the WBA or with other housing corporations or the local government. Legally it looked like the WBA were within their rights. The only way out seemed to be a hearing by the chamber of commerce to find out if the rent increase the WBA asked for was the fair market value. We learned that this hearing could be very risky for us, because the eventually set rental price would be retroactive. Most of the WBA victims that we spoke with decided to take the simple way and came to some agreement with WBA themselves or to just give up their leases. Since we at 'Het Fort' couldn't find any other suitable space we decided to go the hearing route. In the meantime the sympathisers of 'Het Fort' didn't sit quietly. From around the world letters of protest streamed in to the WBA. Many different urgent letters came in from all corners of the earth from people in the book world and some well-known authors let their names be used for the struggle. There were also a number of actions from the autonomous side that didn't want to give up "their" bookshop without a fight. The façade of the WBA office was redecorated with the slogan "Rot op met je 900% huurverhoging" (Fuck off with your 900% rent increase), the managing director of the WBA received a cream pie in his face, and their office was occupied for half a day. An information campaign was started by the group De Vrije Ruimte, (the Free Space), who lobbied with the theme "Social Rent for Social Functions". Even within the government we got support when the party Amsterdam Anders (Amsterdam Different) and the Greens who put through a motion that urged one of the aldermen/womyn to put pressure on the WBA to postpone the rent increase. Of course while all of this was happening the 'Fort van Sjakoo' collective was busy discussing how we would, in this storm of protest, let our own voice be heard. The WBA remained fixed in their position that they had nothing to do with this discussion. In their opinion this was the local government's business. The meetings between 'Het Fort' and the WBA got rough. Definitely after the occupation of their office the WBA dug their heels in. Arguments for and against our rent increase went on via the media who were eager to publicize our quarrel. This stalemate came to an end when the commission from the chamber of commerce decided on a rent that was just a little more than half of what the WBA originally asked for. This decision made the WBA look bad and was a victory for us, but we still couldn't afford the new amount!! Now 'Het Fort' was faced with a rent debt and a higher rent for the future we couldn't afford and the WBA was going to get about half of what they thought they would get for the space. This helped both parties to get back to the negotiating table. During the next few meetings with the WBA it appeared to us that a proposition to buy our space for 200,000. euros was possible, and then we came to an agreement that the WBA wouldn't charge us for the retroactive rent we possibly owed and that we would have a half year to see if we could manage the purchase of our shop. With support from 'De Verandering' (The Change) from Utrecht and a few sympathisers we came to the conclusion that such a purchase was feasible only if we could scrape together half of the amount. It was now or never, a foundation was created that would manage the bookshop space and a support group who set in motion the purchase campaign "Stort voor Het Fort" (deposit for Het Fort). It quickly became clear that there were many people who wanted to support 'Het Fort van Sjakoo' in her purchase plans. An estimate and a pamphlet were made and right away money started to stream in. Hundreds of people and organisations donated or lent us money. The loans were mostly interest free. Throughout Holland many people took the initiative and organised benefit concerts/parties and collected money. Within a ten months time the needed amount was received. So much came in that we don't even need the bank to lend us money to make the purchase!! What we dared to dream actually came true. We all got, with the help of the solidarity (interest free) economy, the space out of the market. Now the history of our space on the Jodenbreestraat can now go on and on. From social housing, on the list for demolition for an office complex, to being squatted and saved by the neighbourhood, to being legalized by the local government, to being put into the hands of a private company and then to being in the possession of a collective. Alas the mentality of the civic government and the housing corporations hasn't changed. It appears that their policy will only create more victims. Very quickly now rent-controlled housing is going on the private market, rent subsidies are being cut off and rents are increasing. For a while it looked like our only alternative was to squat an empty storefront and now a parliamentary majority wants to outlaw the squatting of commercial space. We hope that our resistance will stimulate people to fight for their rights, even when they've already been taken away. We are naturally extremely grateful to all the people who have helped us over the years in many different ways. We'll keep you all up to date. Greetings from the Fort van Sjakoo collective and Stort
voor het Fort. Time for a Party New in the basement of het Fort: Subterranean Music |
