6. The ‘Space of the Expelled’: Mutualism and Self-Emancipation
6.1 Practices of Mutualism
(RQ3): How does Làbas engage with practices of mutualism and solidarity in its everyday praxis?
6.1.1 Mutualism and Political Activism
The practice of mutualism can be understood as a characteristic of political activism which entails a relationship of reciprocal help, mutual support, and solidarity among groups or individuals with common political interests and a shared goal. Especially since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Làbas shifted its praxis to focus on practices of solidarity among other liberated spaces in the city, as well as with the people partaking in its everyday activities. The practice of mutualism within SCs can be described as a “process of re-appropriation and re-elaboration of ‘what already exist’
[…], and experimental re-use of existing physical and symbolic objects, socio-economic models, and socio-political tools” (Pitti 2018, p. 73). For this reason, due to mutualism the participants of Làbas’ projects and initiatives can benefit from a direct access to phycological support, decent housing, legal advice, language teaching, and general development of new skills (Giannini &
Pirone 2019). To this regard, according to all the militants’ interviews, engaging in practices of mutualism is what makes Làbas a political subject and project, rather than define what the activists do as ‘volunteering work’. This characteristic is vital to frame Làbas as a political agent that has the potential to bring positive impact and radical change in society through its direct actions planned with the locals. I observed that the main difference between political activism and volunteering work inside the centre is dictated to the militants’ will to build strong relationships with the different realities that frequent Làbas, rather than seek to ‘provide a service’ to the local population or those in need. To this regard, GI8 highlights:
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“Mutualism is what differentiates us from the provider of a simple service.
Welfarism means you come here, you sleep and then you go away… I am not offering you an hotel room so that you can come and go. Mutualism is the legitimate acknowledgment of the political subject we represent. So, you can talk with us about your issues, but you need to be willing to decline it in a political way. It is about helping and enriching one another, it cannot be one-sided.”20
To decline personal issues in a political matter, Làbas seeks to give its physical space those who have been expelled and marginalised from the mainstream political discourse. The activists see this as a mutual exchange, during which the collective provides the tools and space to the participants to self-organize and self-determine through learning new skills and knowledge, to then decline their issues in a political way and participate to Làbas’ public demonstration and protests. To this regard, throughout my stay, I observed the active participation of the participants to public protests and demonstrations, often holding signs with political slogans written on them, such as “education for emancipation”. Through their projects, the militants try to understand what political arguments they need to defend or attack during their direct actions to improve the positionality of those who come to the centre for the lack of better institutional support and help. Therefore, the goal of each project at Làbas is to give the means to its participants in order to self-determine without creating dependency relations between the two parties involved.
Regarding the majority of the participants of the projects organised at the centre, I have found how they may face issues to find proper public platforms to voice their socio-political issues.
These parts of the population include, but it is not limited to, students, precarious workers and families, immigrants with or without paperwork, and people without shelter. These characteristics often tend to intersect. Through relationships of mutualism and reciprocal support, Làbas denounces these issues in the public space, showing that it is vital to take into consideration these realities and intersections to offer a fair and right access to the city commons.
I would argue that by attending the centre’s activities, the participants are seeking a way to regain control over their right to the city commons and to be part of the decision-making processes. To this regard, they are seeking to establish new de-commodified social relations by having a right to decide how to manage the spaces in the neighbourhood they are located in (Di Feliciantonio 2016). GI6 underlines:
20 GI8.
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“Behind every project of mutualism and solidarity there is a political revendication, which is indispensable […]. We want to help people with a political perspective in mind, because to take care of someone doesn’t just mean to give them food, but it implies to shout to whoever does not give them food.”21
According to this, the militants aim to collaborate with the participants of the projects to establish a collective and shared praxis to denounce their issues in a public manner. All the interviewees stressed the importance of the desire to work with the people participating to the project, rather than working for them. I observed how this represents the main difference between mutualism and volunteering work: Làbas moves away from a one-size-fits all approach and proposes to develop a praxis and strategy that is shared with the person ‘in need’ to reach their goal at their own time. This process seems to be accomplished together with the person who seeks additional support, allowing them the space to self-organize the way they believe is more suitable. In practice, as discussed with the militants in charge of the housing rights support desk, I found that the collective suggests a personal model to each case they follow, instead of proposing a general one-size-fits all approach. This implies the assistance of the person whether they want to squat and occupy their own house or if they want to start a dialogue with the owner of their apartment.
The militants strive to work together with the person in need to solve their issues, positioning themselves as tools to reach one’s goals and aims, rather than imposing strict rules on how to approach the situation at hand. In general, I noticed how the collective seeks to leave space to the people in need to gain control over their own narrative and how they want to build it.
Through its projects, Làbas seeks to establish a strong relationship of mutual trust between the collective and the people who attend such initiatives. Làbas offers a space that enhances community building within its walls, allowing connections between people who have a similar positionality within society. As discussed during the interviews, the militants highlighted that the majority of people who come to attend Làbas’ projects do so in order to build new relationships with similar people in the city of Bologna, hoping to establish strong trust relations.22 For example, this tend to be the case in the Italian school for migrants for women, during which the participants attend classes foremost due to the strong friendly relationships built inside the classroom setting. This process enhances further cooperation between the participants and the political collective, allowing them to establish common ground in order to approach public demonstrations and protests (Giannini & Pirone 2019).
21 GI6.
22 SI3, SI4, GI8, GI10.
54 To further the political participation and identity of the participants, the activists have decided to incorporate and discuss current societal and political issues in the Italian school. To this regard, the militants stressed the importance to present to the people in the classroom with alternative and new ideas and opinions on a given matter without being dogmatic or westernized.23 Among the themes, they explore ideas around reproductive rights, sexual health, female emancipation, family dynamics, and working rights. I found that these conversations during the classes occur organically, with the interested participation of all the people involved in the project. The themes explored in the Italian school stem from the participants’ personal interest and willingness to open up about these issues, rather than the activists ‘forcing’ these conversations into the collective discourse. Through the constant interaction with diverse and original themes, Làbas is leaving space for the participants for the opportunity to gain experience and come in contact with different perspectives, ideas, and opinions. This allows the participants to engage in a process of self-discovery and emancipation, which push them to explore new possibilities in how to approach personal and collective issues.