It ALL Started with RAGE and ANGER

Syrena is an autonomous collective that is a headquarters for the Warsaw Tenants Association which focuses on housing struggles and tenants’ rights. Syrena is based in a reclaimed tenement building in Warsaw. The space func- tions as a place for non-commercial activities and support for local initiatives and inhabitants. The building is a typical case in the history of reprivatization – the procedure of transferring community-owned houses to so-called inves- tors. It was a squat in March 2011, now it is inhabited by about 35 people and hosts several other organizations like the Warsaw Revolutionary Theatre, immigrant support and antifascist groups, a bike workshop, an anarchist library as well as the coffeehouse Café Kryzys. Lisa Puchner of dérive talked with activists from Syrena and Café Kryzys about their stories and the situa- tion of tenants in Warsaw.