One of the challenges of being an anarchist these days—and thus not having illusions about how bad things are—is the sense that nothing we do seems to work, leading to a sense of pointlessness in terms of slowing down fascism. The horrors persist, and only get worse.

Relatedly, though, not having illusions keeps us open to possibilities of our own collective creation, even if it’s tough to remember that right now.

Last night, walking down the gentrifying streets of Exarcheia, already filling up with hipsters and tourists eager to party at the neighborhood’s expense, I almost decided not to go to my destination: yet another demo. That “Why does it matter?” feeling washed over me.

Then I saw some of the kids of Notara 26 boisterously spray-painting a banner outside their squatted refugee and migrant home, alongside a multigenerational, diverse, and big crowd that buzzed not with anxiety or despair but instead a joyous spirit. I saw friendly faces and smiles, and engaged in upbeat conversations, as we waited for the signal to begin marching around the neighborhood. Or rather, we were a parade, our “instruments” the stuff of singsong, multilingual chants that the kids danced to and adults clapped to, or that people banged out a rhythm to on the brutal metal fencing that encloses the stolen (by state, cops, and capitalism) Exarcheia Square as we walked by it—a square that used to be filled with people and trees, and if resistance and organizing succeeds, will be again. The usual quarter-sheets—explaining what a demo is about—that rain down on protests were, in this case, cheerful confetti, especially when a Notara kiddo gleefully kept throwing them from a perch atop someone’s shoulders.

For this was a celebration: 11 years of Notara 26 housing people forced across hostile and often deadly borders, sans certainty. Yet Notara has held out solidarity that whole time—and today, is squatted home to families mostly from the Congo.

As I danced in unison to a tiny Congelese child grinning happily up at me, I thought: this world, even amid the worst, is what we make of it together, for each other—and that matters.

Happy 11th bday, Notara 26!

(photo of lead banner in last night’s birthday celebration on the streets of Exarcheia for Notara 26, taken by and borrowed from @land.and.freedom)