Will see the start of inhabitants’ organizations and social urban movements’ initiatives in the Far East of the Russian Federation
which will set the wheels in motion for housing rights without borders as part of the WSF’s 2008 Global Day of Mobilization. In fact, there will be dozens and dozens of marches, protests, debates and assembly’s which, for the first time in the history of humanity, will simultaneously commit tens of thousands of people to the claims of housing rights without borders in both rich and poor countries, in the south and the north and in the east and the west.
It’s an important step in the construction of an inhabitants’ global conscience, which rebels against the constraint of either being customers of the land and human commercialized relations or face exclusion. Instead it claims the overall right of being constructors of the city of the future, even at the cost of conflict, considering the conflict as generating alternative ways of sharing.
Since the conflict, involving the existence of a billion people who are either homeless, have been evicted or are living in bad housing conditions, is global: this same existence accuses the failure of the globalization of the model of the neoliberal city, wars, social and racial discrimination, financial and housing markets, sector privatization as well as the parasitic use of disasters.
Twenty-four hours, the longest day for housing rights without borders; since a billion people without homes or who are living in bad housing conditions cannot wait for the completion of Objective No. 7-11 of the Millennium Development Goals to improve housing conditions for 100 million people by 2020. Especially when the forecast envisages the opposite; 700 million more people living in bad housing conditions by the same date. They deserve answers now, from every alternative globalist movement.
Twenty-four hours without borders will therefore draw an end to the global campaign ‘Act together - housing for all!’ launched by IAI, HIC and FAL, from the World Day for the Right to Housing and by the World Zero Evictions Days in October 2007. It is a campaign that has lasted four months during which time struggles, proposals and international solidarity have emerged, showing the core of the commitment made by the assembly meeting at the end of the WSF 2007 in Nairobi and with the signing of the Call for unity of social urban movements.
Four months, that have amplified the impact of preceding episodes of the Days of October, making an important and largely shared step by social organizations, NGO’s and local authorities, which share many principles and objectives.
Twenty-four hours without borders in order to measure the efficiency of simultaneous exchanges of analyses and shared pathways, since the front of the right to housing is still dramatically inadequate in front of economic, political and institutional decisions and to the bulldozer which shatters the lives of inhabitants.
Twenty-four hours without borders in order to mark a new beginning: henceforward www.habitants.org will host the interactive and global agenda of events for the right to housing, prepare the next World Zero Eviction Days, attend critically the World Urban Forum (Nanjing, 13-17 October 2008) as well as construct the next Global Day of Mobilization and the World assembly of inhabitants.
Because It is now crucial to walk the Urban Way together to mobilize the g-local inhabitants’ organizations and social urban movements.