“Public space belongs to all of us”

Founded in 1995, the Vienna street paper Augustin is sold by homeless and long-term unemployed people and others who find themselves excluded from the labour market. Augustin vendors may keep half of the paper’s price to make them as independent as possible from the help of third parties. Produced by professional contributors, among them certified social workers, the self-financed street paper sees itself primarily as a platform for disadvantaged social groups.

Following recent campaigns against public begging in Austria street papers from the cities of Vienna, Linz, Salzburg, Klagenfurt, Graz and Wiener Neustadt have united to launch an initiative to reclaim public space. Augustin PR representative Angela Traußnig told wieninternational.at how you can back up fringe groups and support their integration into, or acceptance by, “normal” society.

Wieninternational: Why is it necessary to reclaim public space?
Angela Traußnig: The disappearance of public space is not a new phenomenon. Ten years ago park benches were starting to disappear from the city. Allegedly, they always used to be occupied by “certain” people. Though their purpose was to serve travellers in train stations, for example, and not homeless people or other social fringe groups. These are increasingly being driven out of public space.




WI: Do Austria’s various street papers share the same experience and concerns?
A.T.: As members of the International Network of Street Papers INSP we are all obliged to offer a platform to social fringe groups such as jobless or homeless people etc. Selling street papers gives our vendors the chance to engage in a meaningful activity that allows them to earn a minimum of money which helps them survive. Augustin vendors, for example, are entitled to keep half of the price of the paper, that is 1 euro per copy sold. Representatives from Austrian street papers meet once a year to exchange experience. Since a street paper is always a local paper there are, of course, problems in Innsbruck that are irrelevant to Vienna, and vice versa, but reclaiming public space is a relevant issue in all of Austria.

WI: How did the plan for a joint representation come about?
A.T.: At our meeting last year we asked ourselves how we could attract attention to our demands to reclaim public space. Our vendors depend on being able to stand in the streets but in many places they are not welcome. We chose the “F 13-Aktionstage” (F 13 Action Days – transl.) in February and March of this year to take action against these problems together.

WI: What are these F 13 Action Days?
A.T.: It started out about ten years ago, when demands for free travel on public transport for socially disadvantaged groups were raised in Vienna for the first time. At that time a group of people began to occupy the D tram going from Südbahnhof station to the City Hall where they would voice their concerns every Friday. The activists later specialised on Fridays falling on the 13th of a month, thus reversing the myth of that being an “unlucky day”. Every Friday 13 became a day of celebration and of action in Vienna and has since stood as a symbol of reclaiming public space both for us as a street paper and for many of our readers. Other Austrian cities such as Amstetten, Linz and Graz have meanwhile joined this initiative. Those affected by the problems take action themselves and confidently take possession of the space where they are not welcome in everyday life.

WI: Which concrete activities were taken on 13 February and 13 March 2009?
A.T.: In February about 150 people met for a sudden “waltz mob” on Praterstern square. Flashmobs are unannounced assemblies in all possible, and impossible, public places. And because people waltzed with each other before simply walking away again we called the whole thing “waltz mob”. Information was not previously announced and only posted on our F 13 website at short notice in order to show that public space is available to everyone to the same extent. In March the waltzing took place at Spittelau station. These and other activities are to raise awareness that all groups of the population have the right to use public space.




WI: Are there any particularly problematic locations for Augustin vendors?
A.T.: At the moment we have about 450 active vendors in Vienna. Most complaints come from shops that prohibit selling the paper at their doors. The first district is a tricky area as far as complaints are concerned. Parts of Mariahilfer Strasse (Vienna’s leading shopping street – transl.) are really packed with Augustin vendors. If there’s someone trying to sell you a street paper every ten metres or so that’s too much, we certainly understand that. However, many of these vendors are not officially registered with us. Not being allowed to work legally they somehow acquire some copies of Augustin and sell them without our knowledge.

WI: Where do people like to see Augustin vendors?
A.T.: We have an oral agreement with Wiener Linien, Vienna’s public transport provider, allowing our vendors to stand in underground railway stations before the ticket validation machines. However, constant communication with those in charge is necessary. There are restaurant owners who phone us up to ask where their Augustin vendor is because they haven’t seen him or her around for some time. Shop owners and vendors have to find a mutual agreement. Sometimes this works better, sometimes worse.

WI: What about the legal situation?
A.T.: Of course, shop owners have the right to ban undesired individuals from their own premises. And organised begging is also prohibited in Vienna but that regulation is often misinterpreted. Organised begging means that people are forced to beg by racketeers which is, of course, not to be supported. But mere eye contact between two beggars doesn’t automatically mean that they are part of an organised group. Loudspeaker announcements on public transport in Vienna, for example, ask passengers not to encourage organised begging.

WI: How did Augustin react to that?
A.T.: Augustin and others who are committed to social causes recently set up the “BettelLobby” (begging lobby – transl.) that wrote to Wiener Linien saying that the announcements were mere allegations and an attempt to influence passengers’ decisions. Even though Wiener Linien claimed to have received many complaints from passengers about begging the announcements are not being made anymore.




WI: Where do you think does the mistrust against homeless people, beggars, or Augustin vendors come from?
A.T.: A headline in a daily paper is enough to influence a lot of people. As soon as someone writes that an “organised beggars’ mafia” is active in Vienna no one stops to ask who these people are or what “organised” actually means. That is reason enough for us as a street paper to offer our readers an “aha” experience with our reports. If you read the life story of an Augustin vendor, for example, it will certainly give you a very different perspective on homeless people.

WI: What can Augustin achieve?
A.T.: Robert Sommer, the founder of Augustin, once said: “What street papers really want to achieve is indifference in their readers.” In the sense that there is no difference between people and that all individuals have the same value. Our prime objective is not to re-integrate our vendors into society – that would be a utopian goal. What we want is for them to be accepted as they are and not to be marginalised.