It was March 2017 when we first opened the door of 45 Matrozou str. and began repairing the building so that it could house our struggles, desires, needs and bodies. And when these, a few months later, could no longer fit in one building we opened two more buildings that were rotting abandoned in the neighborhood of Koukaki, 21 Panaitoliou str. and the Blue House (3 Arvali str.). This is how Koukaki Squats Community was created in the center of Athens.
From then until 2020, Koukaki Squats Community had been a political community that combined anarchist struggle with communal life. The doors of its houses were open for those who wished to fight back against state violence and injustice, for people who needed shelter or wished to use its public structures, for those who sought a collective way of life. It was also an open political and social space accessible to the inhabitants of one of the most gentrified neighborhoods in Athens. Τhe community participated in struggles of the squatting and anti-fascist movement, in solidarity with political prisoners, against gender violence, patriarchy, racism, exploitation of nature, against the gentrification of the neighborhood and the privatization of the nearby Philopappos Hill. In addition to political assemblies and events that were hosted, a number of public structures were operating in the houses, such as a lending library,public baths & laundries and a free clothing bazaar.