The Cork 32 County Sovereignty Movement recently supported an anti-eviction action carried out by the Community Tenants Action Union (CATU).
The eviction was occurring under the premise that the property was sold however the tenants were not notified at any stage. The landlord had also came to the property and removed the fuse to the electricity box unbeknown to the tenants who were not present. The tenants have also discovered that the money they were paying for their bills was not being used to pay the bills which remain in the landlord’s name. This was clearly an attempt to pocket the money as well as each tenant’s deposit. Without electricity the tenants could not utilise basic facilities and were forced to cook their food over an open fire as shown in the photograph.
Despite the tenant’s attempts to make contact with the landlord involved as well as the agency managing the property, they were met with a wall of silence. Activists are providing help and support to the tenants in this on-going process and in a small victory were able to return power to the tenant’s home enabling them to cook and utilise a heating system during the very cold winter weather.
In a more sinister turn activists have identified the new landlord as being previously linked to a human trafficking operation which involved the exploitation of immigrants. This included exploiting immigrant workers, denying them basic rights such as fair pay & breaks, renting slum accommodation at extortionate prices and exploiting women by using them as sex workers.
The 32 County Sovereignty Movement will continue to support these initiatives to help oppose the exploitation of of the working class and expose slum landlordism. We encourage all members of the public to support these initiatives on a unified basis as these predatory landlords continue to be a plague on our society.
Let us be clear that a home is not a luxury but a human right. Our country! Our communities!
Beir Bua
