This morning I walked up the street three blocks to see the damage at a squat called Notara 26. Last night it was set on fire with 120 people inside, among them, a large number of children. When I arrived, residents and volunteers were throwing burned debris out of second story windows and hauling buckets of ashes to dumpsters. The bottom two floors are gutted.
When I asked where the residents would be sleeping tonight, a young man said they will be able to sleep on the top floors. People escaping the terrors of war will sleep in a building set on fire the night before.
When I was there at 11am, there were no firefighters investigating the source of the arson, no police investigating this crime of attempted murder, no journalists with cameras or microphones. No headlines in the local paper. No neighborhood outrage.
Just people in t-shirts and flip flops throwing debris out of second story windows and hauling buckets of ashes to dumpsters.
Camino Milagro 
Ugly. Just horribly ugly.
I can’t help but note the wordless graffiti behind the trash and am compelled to to ask “what part of the story does this amazing art tell?”
Oh wow. Wonder how they knew it was arson. Can’t imagine sleeping in the stench of a burned out building. They seem to face one tragedy after another. So sorry. 😦
Apparently, the residents have found temporary housing in other squats, which were already overcrowded. The fire was started with a device described as a molotov cocktail.