Even under social and political pressure, Hof Wonen remains firm and informed the group and Ben that they will continue the eviction on next Monday. In doing so, Hof Wonen aims to further escalate the conflict and send the police and bailiff to a vulnerable resident who, together with his girlfriend, becomes homeless as a result. We call on everyone to come to Stuwstraat 58 in The Hague on Monday 13 February from 8:30 am to support Ben during the evacuation. Show that he is not alone, together we claim housing rights and make housing insecurity visible!
Requirements handing over
From 10 am on Friday morning, about 30 BPW employees and sympathizers gathered at Hof Wonen's head office. People from all corners of the country had climbed out of bed early to show solidarity and to make it clear to Hof Wonen that we do not want even more homeless people in the city of The Hague. Speeches were given by BPW'ers and council members of the Haagse Stadsfeest and SP Den Haag, and after a speech by Ben, the demands were handed over to a spokesman for Hof Wonen. They announced almost immediately that they no longer wanted to look for a solution and that they would still carry out the evacuation of next Monday, thus making Ben and his girlfriend homeless. Therefore, our demands remain clear:
Clearance for vacancy
Come to the evacuation on Monday 13 February from 8:30 am at Stuwstraat 58 in The Hague to once again reinforce these requirements! Show your solidarity and make the homelessness of residents visible!
Homeless with the victory of the alderman
We will not let it pass silently that human rights are being violated by a housing corporation with the approval of Martijn Balster, alderman for Housing. On Thursday, February 9, it was debated in the city council the motion of SP and HSP: "Do not make residents of action areas homeless." Even after an emotional speech from Ben, this motion did not pass through a negative voting advice from the alderman and therefore could not count on the support of PvdA and GroenLinks, among others.
Came two weeks ago the national ombudsman with a report which indicated that human rights are insufficiently protected during evictions and that too often people, families and children end up on the street after an eviction. This while the government has a duty of care and must guarantee the right to housing.