Dear supporters,
the fact that we haven't kept you updated for so long is due to the circumstances. During the past 1 and a half year much or nothing has happened. Our situation has only worsened - and our humor therewith as well.
The town's administration just stated they had been in dialog with us. However, if there has been any contact during the last 5 years and a half, it has always been us who started it. Very seldom we get any concrete information, and then most often only via loop ways and/or accidentally.
Like everyone we have been hit by the pandemic, and we're eager to restrict the spread of the COVID virus. Ironically, the town's administration considered right last autumn/start of winter a good moment to answer our requests and hence that us 10 people should gather around one laptop without a fix internet access to have conversations with them right in the middle of a lockdown using commercial video conference software. During a public city district citizen assembly in early December, just like in other such assemblies elsewhere, the town's administration found that digital participation was enough "democracy" for elderly and/or technically less equipped people, too. It seems to be quite practical to be able to push through mostly construction plans just before communal elections this year thanks to a global pandemic. In the virtual citizen assembly, we were fed with a statement by one of the township's planners (that of course wasn't written into the assembly's protocol) that it had been decided 5 years ago that we "had to leave," by the way. There hasn't been any legal decision by the city's council however. So, nice! The executive now also is the legislative!
In the recent past, the town's administration has sent us a letter, offering an "alternative site" to us. That site is located at the opposite side of the town, far away from our home. There was no information on exact conditions for its rental. The administration wanted our answer back then in November 2020 within two weeks, whether the site was ok: Of course, it would be ok for a further trailer site in Osnabrück. However, we want to stay right where we are!
Many of our supporters in and around Osnabrück might have been following up on the township's current behavior regarding construction plans and the conversion of land into construction sites. The governing parties have made of the by citizens requested communal housing company a simple subcontractor of the city's gas, electricity and else company (Stadtwerke). There hasn't been any option for those who have fought in a union for the creation of a real communal citizen company for affordable housing to get a say in the process. Those apartments that the parties intend to build -yes, as new buildings only!- aren't enough in number and still most of them way too expensive. Future inhabitants still won't have any say in anything.
The "christian democrat party" (CDU) and the "social democrat party" (SPD) keep sealing soil by pasting concrete wherever they can, and they neither stop at the city's "Green Fingers" (a web of green areas throughout Osnabrück), nor at private gardens or promises of the past. Renting contracts are recalled overnight and without any previous notification. The last green bands are being steamrolled by new industrial sites referring to the slogan "those in the new buildings are in need of employment." The worst in this is that they seriously assert that the planning was "green" (CDU) and "social" (SPD). It really requires a lot of hokiness of those governors to still be able to look at themselves in the mirror with these lies. It's a similar game as with the plans they have to build another part of a highway ("A33 North") through a site that has conservation priority according to the EU habitat directive and to expand the other highways around Osnabrück and elsewhere, at the same time arguing "for a turnabout in transport policy" "against climate change"...
We are sure that many of you feel as mucked about and lied to through any possible teeth as we do.
The Green Party hasn't managed in 5 years and a half to advocate us staying with our trailer community where we have been since 1997. They just mumble something about "internal disagreement." It remains completely cryptic what would be "green" about permitting, via hidden ways, the creation of a Western beltway that stimulates car and truck traffic with plans of a massive sealing of soil through the construction of houses as far as to the limits of a local recreation area's forest. That is grayish brown. And the destruction of diversity and the expulsion of human beings? - Brown.
The SPD and the Green Party were part of the same union to create more affordable housing that we actively participated in. There were several points of agreement that everyone in the union should respect. One of those is that a communal housing company shall in no case threaten existing projects. At this point we don't have any other words for them than: traitors.
The SPD dares to "argue" for our expulsion that right at our address, that is Am Hirtenhaus 5 and 9 (us plus the neighboring site with an old ruin of a house which was left after our neighbors' expulsion by the town's administration many years ago), there have to arise apartments for nursing staff. [Original quotation of the SPD's aspirant candidate for mayor: "If the communal housing company is created, and it will be created, then it will be placed exactly where you are, right onto the site of the WabOS."] What the SPD doesn't say is that it was us who already claimed 5 years ago that if there really is a need for the construction of buildings in the area, then, with our place remaining, there should exclusively be affordable housing/apartments (hopefully including some more community projects) for example for nursing and cleaning staff of the nearby hospital and research and educational institutions. And we remain convinced that our WabOS and the small area of nature on and around it at Am Hirtenhaus would perfectly fit in there between. The SPD hasn't got any arguments.
Furthermore, up to date, us -like the whole public- haven't gotten any glimpse of the objections of the "early citizen participation" and the expert reports regarding the construction plans 616/617 which also concern us. The objections and reports however have been available to the administration for 4 years by now!
It's no coincidence either that the sewage duct renewal and remodeling nearby was the first building site ever in Osnabrück that wasn't only finished in time, but, thanks to the promises of higher payments to the construction company, that, also being a first, was hired from outside Osnabrück, before hand - with all city governors gathering for its completion, also a first. These works of renovation were necessary, but first of all they represent a requirement for the allotment of the area for building construction where we are located as well.
It's quite evident that this whole process is not about "dialog" or "democracy", not even about "affordable housing", as it isn't in other local and global examples either. This is all about the conservation of power and about financial interests. And it is quite well-known that those are always hold above life - lives of individuals, life in community, lives of animals and nature. They try everything to make us and you and every citizen believe there are only accomplished facts, therewith preaching an alleged lack of alternatives.
Or, what kind of objections are "allowed" to be, perfectly "democratically", handed in during so-called "citizen participations" (oh thanks Your Gracious Highness "Democracy"), so they are serious enough? Are the destruction of an area that has previously been rated with the highest possible ecological rank, of an affordable community living project that was awarded a nature conservation prize and locally creates colorful diversity, and at most the expulsion of human beings not serious enough? Is there anything more fatal than expulsion and even death? - We know from thousands of years of experience that neither Atlas cedars, red European beeches and large-leaved linden, nor roe deers, Eurasian treecreepers, bats and tawny owls are capable of resurgence. That's no conspiracy theory!
So, this is up: Only a few days ago we were arduously taken by surprise by the threat of the recall of our rental contract already by end of March! That means that in about 5 weeks our WabOS and this green island along Am Hirtenhaus down to the forest would all be destroyed forever. Where did we get that info from? Well, for sure not from the city or its administrative organs. Those remain stupidly silent in their "dialog." The public documents for upcoming gatherings of committees and council can be found now, one after the other, at osnabrueck.de (Rat & Verwaltung, Ratsinformationssytem, then look for the lists of topics, respectively - unfortunately in German only). And those are just the publicly available documents!
We are going to hand the signatures of this petition over to the municipality pretty soon. So, we would like to ask you to share and advertise the petition again these days!
We'd also like to announce the following three very important dates:
Tuesday, Feb 23rd, at around 4 pm: The municipal committees for real estate and finances will gather (in the city hall).
Thursday, Mar 4th, at around 4 pm: The municipal committee for urban development and environment will gather (probably in the city hall).
Tuesday, Mar 9th, at around 4 pm: The municipal council will gather (probably at Osnabrück Halle).
We're jolly to indicate that in public space there's a current need to use legal face masking and textile or cardboard spacers! : )
Against the gentrification of our town!
For the climate, the environment, nature and Green Fingers!
For affordable flats! For community!
For autonomous spaces!
For diversity!
WabOS must stay!