Interviews of PAH members through participant observation and semi-structured interviews

1. Interviews of PAH members through participant observation and semi-structured interviews An in-dept qualitative research about the convertion process of mortatge owners into pro-housing activists BARCELONA BARCELONA GROUP: Marta Llobet, Robert Gonzalez, Claudio Cateneo, Oriol Barranca, Galvao Debelle Lead Investigator of Sabadell & Terrassa: Marta Llobet Estany- Universitat de Barcelona Poster made by Galvão Debelle Rodrigues – Univesitat Autonoma de Barcelona THE MOVOKEUR PROJECT OBJECTIVES METHODOLOGY This post is a part of the process of difusion of the results of the european research about the squatter's movement in Europe (MOVOKEUR). Through this comparative research of several european cities, the goal of the project is to determine how squatter movements emerge, cristalize and translate their knowdge to other similar movements, like the PAH. The PAH has managed to transform a radical and minoritary practice into a tool for masses to disobey bank abuses. Intervieweys are of diverse cultural origins and social context, but all end up rallying the same cause. Discourse analysis of mortatge owners' who turned into activists because of the generalized crisis context Typology Sample of 12 PAH activists of three diferent cities (BCN still undone) 5 Interviews from PAH Sabadell, 3 from PAH Terrassa, 4 from PAH Barcelona Sample (Catalonia)  12 adults (30-50 years old) All had a job before the crisis unveiled All are in delicate situations, some suffer deprivations Almost none have not studied at the university. MethodologyIn-dept qualitative research trough semi-structured interviews (discourse analysis) Analyse the perception that PAH activists have about how the crisis led to the PAH and how the PAH helps people in general. Elaborate a comparative analysis of the discourses adopted by PAH activists to legitimize their actions both within and outside the PAH. PRELIMINARY RESULTS ECONOMIC SPHERE “Yes, our actitude changed a lot, because when we had got there we had a tremendous feeling of guilt. And after being in the PAH for a while, well, this feeling of guilt transformed into value, empowerment... Empowerment of ourselves, by knowing that we are not to blame, we're only guilty of not understanding what we signed.” PRECARITY PRIVATE SPHERE You can't imagine how close we are in the PAH, we really mean a lot to each other! The PAH is even better than your own familly. People feel your pain, they actully feel it. On the contrary, your sister, your brother, your father, who haven't been through it, don't feel the same as you do. FAMILY PUBLIC SPHERE “I think that the reason some people commit to the PAH more than others has to do with what each and everyone of us have on our inside. I was never a activist because of my catholic familly. As time passed, I realized that what I had learned from them was how to do charity work, not politics. POLITICS TERRITORIAL SPHERE “I mean, having to wear high-heels and all that ain't no liberation. And having to stick to a determinate aestetics ain't to be free neither, I mean, you know... You see prejudices here too, for instance in the machist actitudes of adolescent boy and girls when they relate to each other. You know, the veil [reffering to a religious veil] is definitely not the big issue there [in a certain foreign country]. They're diferent versions of the same problem. CULTURE CONCLUSIONS PAH activists have undergone a transformation at several levels, and reconstructed their identities around several spheres. The lack of money, relational ties, political participation, and cultural creation, have been solved in a collective manner. The richness of each local PAH emerge out of discourse now and again. The values of solidarity, justice, responsibility, etc. are common to most discourses, what could be seen as the emergence of a nomic social movement. So far, the PAH has not seriously considered the option of turning into a political movement, but external pressure is high and little show awareness to this eventual co-optation of it by the State.