Les 11: activism
Palais des droits Schaarbeek: one death at the Palais des Droits in Schaerbeek. A man lost his life
on Saturday in the squat occupied in Schaerbeek by a thousand asylum seekers left on the street
by Fedasil.
A man died on Saturday “of natural death” at the Palais des Droits, in Schaerbeek, Cécile
Jodogne (Dé ), the acting mayor, con rmed to us. The victim is an occupant of this former FPS
Finances building located rue des Palais, 48, in Schaerbeek, which was invaded at the end of
November by asylum seekers for whom Fedasil, the federal agency supposed to take care of
them, does not could not nd a place in a reception center. According to the agency's o cial
count, there are 2,700 in the case. Without shelter or food, they wander the streets, metro
entrances, parks and train stations. A thousand of them took refuge in this building without
heating, equipped with a few toilets and sinks, where the health and safety conditions are
catastrophic.
According to our information, the victim, aged around
forty, was found lifeless on his mattress in the morning
by a friend in misfortune. According to this friend, the
man was not well. For a week, he had been swallowing
medication, absorbed with alcohol, to try to control his
psychological distress. His family has been noti ed.
The body is expected to be repatriated to its country of
origin on Saturday.
At the poorly named Palais des Droits, the occupants
are left to their own devices, without management of
the mental health problems which a ect the vast
majority of people in exile. “We let them destroy themselves. We are more and more helpless,” a
volunteer told us.
Climate activists dye water black in Rome's Barcaccia fountain. Three climate activists linked to
the Ultima Generazione group on Saturday poured black liquid into a Baroque fountain at the foot
of the Spanish Steps in Rome. Activists dyed the waters of the 17th-century Barcaccia fountain
with a vegetable-based liquid, in front of shocked onlookers, before being detained by police.
In a statement, Ultima Generazione said the action "foreshadows the 'end of the world' scenario
we are heading for, as we increasingly step on the accelerator: drought alternating with
devastating oods, which will put an end to life on Earth, along with heat waves.”
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,Rome mayor Roberto Gualtieri arrived at the scene shortly after the incident and said technicians
were carrying out work to prevent permanent damage to the boat-shaped monument sculpted by
Pietro Bernini. "Rome is at the forefront in the ght against climate change and in the protection of
artistic heritage" - Gualtieri wrote on Twitter - "Throwing black liquid into the Barcaccia risking
ruining it is an absolutely wrong action that does not help the environment.” Condemning the
action as "the straw that breaks the camel's back," Italy's culture minister Gennaro Sangiuliano
wrote on Twitter: "It's time to say enough: we are faced with a systematic action of vandalism
against the artistic and cultural heritage that has nothing to do with environmental protection.”
Two activists from the Let's not pay for the fossil campaign, promoted by Ultima Generazione,
Scientist Rebellion and Vigils against deaths at sea, daubed the entrance to Palazzo Vecchio with
washable orange paint, using two re extinguishers against the facade of the municipal building.
“Today's action - they specify - follows the rejection in the budget committee of the Senate of the
Republic of some amendments to a bill concerning the cutting of various environmentally harmful
subsidies (SAD) which took place yesterday, 16 March. Cuts that would have made it possible to
make approximately 500 million euros of funds, citizens' public money, usable in a short time,
which could be used to secure the country from the severity of the current and upcoming drought
conditions and for other investments in ecological conversion. At the same time we see the
concomitant approval of the questionable and dated project of the bridge over the Strait of
Messina”.
The two people from the Last Generation were immediately blocked by the police, together with
the mayor Nardella who was in Piazza della Signoria. “Sea pollution at a microbiological level is
increasing every year. Many areas go beyond the legal limits due to poor puri cation and illegal
waste in the mouths and canals. With the case of Regional Road 429, with thousands of tons of
highly toxic waste disposed of underground, we have a striking example of crime against the
environment. The Tuscany Region has only isolated the area by promising a cleanup which does
not seem to be in its plans. This inaction has forced the inhabitants of the area to live in terror for
more than a year, when their protection should instead be a priority", these are Nicole's words.
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, Artist turns Tehran fountains blood red to re ect regime’s brutal protest crackdown. Water
installations in Iran’s capital appear to be pouring blood amid weeks of women-led protests that
have seen scores of demonstrators killed by security forces.
Fountains in Tehran appeared to be pouring
blood Friday after an artist turned their waters
red to re ect a deadly crackdown amid weeks
of protests sparked by the death in custody of
Mahsa Amini.
A wave of unrest has rocked Iran since the 22-
year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman’s death was
announced on September 16. She died while
in the custody of the notorious morality police
after her arrest in Tehran for allegedly failing to
observe the Islamic republic’s strict dress
code for women.
Anger over her death has sparked the biggest wave of protests to rock Iran in years and a
crackdown that has seen scores of protesters killed and hundreds arrested. Despite the security
forces’ use of lethal force, the protests have continued for 20 consecutive days and nights,
according to online videos veri ed by AFP.
An ode to Henri B Defauw, designer, builder, curator,
museographer and director for life at the Verbeke
Foundation
Henri B Defauw's oeuvre crosses the boundaries
between form and content in a playful but also
challenging way - in his dozens the packaging form
becomes the content and the content becomes part of
the form. He crosses the boundaries between painting
and sculpture, between sculpture and (interior)
architecture, between inside and outside, between
object and concept, between the material and the ideal.
The publication is part of an exhibition at the Verbeke Foundation from autumn 2023 to autumn
2024.
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