First heard in ████ █ █ █████████,, date unknown. Retold at the bonfires in Mošorin in 2023, and Berlin in 2024.
In Spain, thousands of people lost their jobs and their homes during the financial crisis of 2008. Many couldn’t afford to rent, so they squatted, ███████ ███ ████ ██ (████ ██ ███ ██████████ ████) ██ █████ ██████. █ █████ █████████ ████ at one point over 250,000 people were living in unlawfully occupied flats and houses all across the country.
The media presents the squatters, okupas as they are called, as lazy, self-marginalized drifters, as a threat to other poor neighbors who pay for their housing and for their bills. 60% of those living in occupied flats have had to connect to the electricity illegally by “tapping” into the existing system. ███████, ██ █████████ █████████ ██████, █████ ██ █ common locked cupboard on the ground floor or in the basement, where the meters of all flats are kept. Only those who own or rent legally have a key, and breaking into that cupboard is a punishable offense. ████ ███ ██████ ██ █████ ████ ██ █ ████, ██████ ███ ██ ███ ████ ████████ ██████████ ██ ██ ███ ████████.
██ █████, █████ ███ no laws protecting dwellers’ basic right to water and energy. Since people need electricity, the untapping can happen regularly, with electricians from the companies having a sort of “beat” for checking illegal tapping, and so they get to know the residents, especially in small towns and villages. The proof of the disconnection is a photograph of the untapped meter. Sometimes, more often than imagined, the workers photograph the meter, then ████ ███████ ██ ██████ ███ cupboard’s door is unlocked; or ████████████████ ███████ ███ ██████████, ██ ███ ███ ██████ ████ ████ ███ █████████ ███ ████████, ███ company has been informed, the order re-established, so they can tap it again. Sometimes, ███ █████████ ████ ████ ██ █████ ███████, ███ they nod to each other if they meet in the street.