page_title: We Are Here (collective)
section_title: 2018–
hierarchical_section_title: We Are Here (collective) / Significant occupations / 2018–
caption_attribution_description: English: This photograph was taken by Guido van Nispen at a demonstration by We Are Here (http://wijzijnhier.org) in Amsterdam on 28 April 2018. It was uploaded from Flickr. Nederlands: Wij Zijn Hier manifestatie 20180428, Amsterdam
context_page_description: We Are Here is a collective of migrants based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, which campaigns for human rights for its members and all undocumented migrants. The asylum seekers have in many cases had their applications to remain in the Netherlands denied but they either cannot go back or refuse to return to their country of origin. They ask for access to social services such as medical care and housing. The group formed in 2012 and by 2015 contained over 200 migrants from around 15 countries.
  The collective is constantly in flux as a result of individually precarious legal situations. Since its members refuse to use the homeless shelters offered by the city of Amsterdam, which can only be used from 5 p.m. until 9 a.m., the collective has squatted a chain of buildings in and around the city since 2012. Most buildings are quickly evicted, some have led to offshoot projects. The group is mostly composed of men originally from Africa, although there have also been women-only occupations.
context_section_description: We Are Here squatted in a building in Amstelveen on Groen van Prinstererlaan in June 2018, having left Rudolf Dieselstraat. They had briefly occupied a former bowling alley in Amsterdam-Noord and failed to squat at Hoog Kadijk and Weesperzijde. They were then given an eviction order for the end of the month.
  The Weesperzijde squat action at a former United Nations building became a notorious incident, since the building was actually inhabited. A heated confrontation between We Are Here and a resident, who happened to be the son of the chair of the local branch of the VVD, was filmed and circulated in the press. In April 2019, member of the collective Fortune M. was given a three-day jail sentence and a conditional fine of €150, for damaging a door during the attempt to squat the building.
caption: Placards at 2018 demonstration
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