The Patershol neighborhood in Ghent was dominated by the former monastery of the Calced Carmelites. Some parts were in very poor condition, but around one of the two cloisters, a community had developed that represented a typical cross-section of the Patershol population. Neighborhoods like the Patershol were a thorn in the side of quite a few politicians; they dreamed of a city where the dilapidated historic neighborhoods would be revitalized. For the Pand neighborhood, this meant a thorough restoration, for which the residents had to make way. Vague promises about preserving the residential function were met with suspicion: when a neighborhood undergoes gentrification, the original, less affluent residents always suffer.
In 1979, the residents founded the Pandinista Residency Front (PVF), analogous to the Sandinista Liberation Front from Nicaragua, which had ultimately defeated the local dictator. The PVF proposed alternative proposals, established contacts with urban renewal action groups in other cities, rolled up its own sleeves for maintenance work, and creatively tried to mobilize public opinion for the cause. They organized picnics at the Ghent flower market, organized open days for the Pand, launched their own radio and newspaper, and created artwork for the walls of the Pand by artists such as Roger Raveel and Kamagurka.
Yet, eviction remained a tangible threat: at the end of July 1980, the residents received an eviction notice. On the morning of August 20, 1980, a fifty-person police force raided the Pand. That evening, residents gathered in the courtyard. One of them, Jan Emmery, captured the mood perfectly in his self-written song, "De dapper Pandbewoner," which he performed several times that sad evening.
The PVF later released "De brave Pandbewoner" as a single, with a song by Walter De Buck about urban renewal on the B-side. The single, titled "'t SPAND TE GENT," was also available for purchase, both to appeal for solidarity and to fund the war chest.
