The Lisbon Chamber approved BE’s proposal for the emergency admission of Timorese

This Wednesday, the Lisbon City Council approved the BE proposal, presented more than a year ago, for a municipal project for the emergency reception of Timorese citizens through a response in the areas of housing, labor, health and education.

At a public meeting of the municipal executive, this proposal was declared viable with seven votes against the leadership of the PSD/SDS-PP and 10 votes in favor, namely: three from the IPS, two from the PCP, three from Cidadaos Por Lisbon (elected by the PS/Livre coalition), one from Livre and one from BE.

Presenting the proposal, BE councilor Beatriz Gómez Díaz said that when presenting the document in October 2022, she tried to reach consensus with the PSD/SDS-PP leadership, but was unsuccessful.

In this context, the Chamber supported Timorese citizens through an emergency reception center in the Lisbon parish of Campolide, created in March 2022 to receive Ukrainian refugees and closed on September 30, 2023.

The proposal calls for the creation of a municipal emergency reception project “ITA HOTU HAMUTUK – All Together” to support and monitor the Timorese who have arrived in the city of Lisbon in recent months, by providing housing, work, medical conditions and education.

Justifying the vote against BE’s proposal to admit Timorese, Human and Social Rights Councilor Sophia Atayde (CDS-PP) said the chamber was supporting “172 people” at the Campolide emergency reception centre, highlighting the situation three months later. and recorded “97% automated success.”

Teams are monitoring 15 Timorese nationals sleeping in Praça da Figueira and nine nationals in Praça do Martim Moniz to integrate them.

“It is not justifiable to open this center to only 15/20 people,” said Sophia Atayde, highlighting the work within the municipal plan for people experiencing homelessness.

Also on BE’s motion, the House unanimously approved the creation of a Municipal Plan to Combat Racism and Discrimination, which should be the result of “a broad process that should be implemented with the participation of anti-racist organizations and representatives of different racial communities.” , which include measures aimed at correcting inequalities in the areas of employment, housing, education, health, social protection, justice and security, sports and others.”

In abstaining from PSD/CDS-PP, the Executive also made possible BE’s proposal to create a municipal program for Lisbon – “Sponge City”, using nature-based solutions to combat floods and other extreme climate events.

Without the presence of Lisbon Mayor Carlos Moedas (PSD), who did not participate in the public meeting this Wednesday, opposition councilors, notably BE, PCP, Livre and Cidadaãos Por Lisboa, returned to criticize the delay in planning the proposals, with some in the drawer There is more than one for discussion, which violates the deadlines established in the rules.

During the citizens’ hearing, among the various issues raised, the situation of drug use on the Avenida de Ceuta was addressed, with the Councilor for Human and Social Rights reiterating that the council was awaiting the government’s response to be able to take action. strengthening interventions in this area, including opening a second drug use clinic on the east side of the city.

“We are waiting [o Governo] increase investment in this area of ​​drug addiction and finally renew it with the creation of ICAD [Instituto para os Comportamentos Aditivos e as Dependências]investments that were suspended with the disappearance of SICAD. [Serviço de Intervenção nos Comportamentos Aditivos e nas Dependências]“, noted Sofia Atayde, noting that the chamber “since 2021 alone” has been working on this issue.

“As for the problem of consumption, as we know, we have a social crisis in the country, as we know, we have uncontrolled immigration,” noted the CDS-PP adviser, while PS adviser Pedro Anastasio considered it “very unfortunate” that drug addiction is linked to immigration.

In her defense, Sofia Atayde emphasized that “many migrants, many of them young, […] they already come with consumption, and often the street context worsens their physical and mental health.”