Introduction
ExOPG “Je So’ Pazzo” in Naples, Italy used to be a forensic psychiatric hospital (Ospedale Psichiatrico Giudiziario). In 2015, a group of activists occupied the abandoned building. Although at first, they had the risk of being arrested, after one year of meetings with the prefecture, the police, and the municipality, they got the authorization to stay in the building. Currently, it’s a community center well-equipped thanks to community’s contributions, with a clinic, a theater, a library, an afterschool care center, a radio center, sports areas, and a gym. The activists hold an immigration legal assistance, and a chamber of labor help desks one day every week. However, with the changing political climate both at the local and the national level, they currently face the risk of being thrown out from the space.
In June ELDH together with AED rganised a seminar on Defending Refugees in Europe in the ExOPG.