Bairro da Liberdade is waiting for a “blessing” from the Pope to solve housing and drug problems.

A cluster of uninhabited houses and drug trafficking are visible problems in Lisbon’s Bairro da Liberdade neighborhood, where it is hoped that Pope Francis’ visit could help speed up the response. Pontifex

“What I wanted was that the Pope chose this area for the municipalities, the state, to pay a little attention to the shortcomings and needs of this population,” says Canon Francisco Crespo, in charge of the Social Center of the Parish of São Vicente de Paulo, an institution that the head of the Catholic religion will visit on August 4 as part of World Youth Day (WYD).

Speaking to the Lusa agency, the priest believes that the Pope’s visit could “bless” state organizations to interfere in the affairs of Bairro da Liberdade.

Considered a “forgotten” area by the political authorities, the Bairro da Liberdade district, which often loses its name due to confusion with part of the Bairro da Serafina district, has dilapidated houses, without living conditions, many without bathrooms. An old problem that remains unanswered in sight.

“These are two different areas,” says the parish priest, referring to Bairro da Liberdade, “terrible” in terms of housing, and Bairro da Serafina, where there are affordable houses and where “housing is good”, both located on on the outskirts of the Águas Livres Aqueduct, next to the Parque Florestal de Monsanto, next to the Eixo Norte-Sul, structuring the road infrastructure at the entrance to Lisbon.

With chairs leaning against the walls at the entrance to the houses, the inhabitants of Bairro da Boavista socialize on the street. This is the case of 67-year-old Adriano Almeida, born and raised in the neighborhood, who tells Luza that the situation “was much better than it is now.”

“Now it’s a shame. It is very difficult to live here in this area. There are still people here who don’t even have a bathroom, it’s very bad, ”he says, meaning that there are residents who have to do their physiological needs in a bucket.

“This area has been forgotten. It has always been forgotten, that’s why it is called Bairro da Liberdade. It has always been forgotten. Here everyone did what they wanted,” says Adriano Almeida, adding that, in addition to housing, there is a problem associated with drug trafficking, damn it.

Lourdes Mendez, 90, a resident of the neighboring Serafina district, usually walks the streets of the Bairro da Liberdade district, where the Centro Social Paroquial São Vicente de Paulo is located, which she visits to occupy her time, and shares the idea that it is necessary solve the housing problem, where “there should be more neat houses, not so many tents”, and the drug trade, which “spoils everything.”

“There are houses here without any conditions, even without a bathroom, there is, for example, a yard with a shared bathroom,” says Maria Silva, 86, who spends the day at the parish social center in Bairro da Liberdade. but lives in Bairro da Serafina.

Busy sewing a white towel at the day center, the resident highlights the importance of the Centro Social Paroquial São Vicente de Paulo: “If not for this job, Bairro da Serafina would be nothing, it would be a drug treatment center. “, including in this link Bairro da Liberdade, who ends up being named Serafina due to the proximity of both.

“Very pleased” with Pope Francis’ visit to the institution, Maria Silva hopes it will give “a little visibility” to the work being done in the parish social center, which is “not in a very good economic situation”. because, like others, the state does not have enough funding, and “the priest thinks he is crazy to manage this to be able to pay his salary.”

During a tour of the streets of Bairro da Liberdade, Campolide Parish Council President Miguel Belo Marquez (PS) admits that housing is “the biggest problem” in the area.

“I know this is a problem all over the city, but the reality is that the city moves at different speeds, and here the problem is much more egregious. Here we have a very serious situation with the lack of living conditions. […] We have houses where there is no sanitation,” the mayor suggests.

The chairman of the board believes that there are structural problems that “have to be urgently solved for a long time”, which requires the participation of all public structures, namely the parish council, the city council and the government.

Miguel Belo Márquez also mentions that the area of ​​Bairro da Liberdade has registered “an increase in the number of migrants, which is very welcome, but unfortunately must also be subjected to absolutely inhuman conditions”, with apartments accommodating eight, nine or 10 people when they can’t even accommodate two.

The mayor advocates a “structured, well-designed housing intervention”, believing that the ideal solution would be an administrative takeover of all the degraded buildings in order to be able to intervene “from a hillside where there are a lot of people”. were relocated for security reasons, fearing that the hillside would collapse, and that, unfortunately, in a more formal or informal way, many of these houses are already beginning to be reoccupied.”

“The Pope can be, first of all, a catalyst and a way to draw even more attention to the unworthy living conditions of some people who live here. […]. If the Pope’s visit helps to attract more attention from decision makers and speed up processes, we will be very happy about it, and I am absolutely sure, knowing what the Holy Father is doing, that the Pope himself will be very pleased if he can take an active part in the acceleration solutions to the problems of these people,” says the chairman of the parish council of Campolide.

As for drug trafficking, the mayor knows that there is a problem. During a visit to Bairro da Liberdade, he witnessed a discussion of this issue among the residents, which in a matter of minutes escalated from an exchange of insults to physical aggression and death threats, in which he intervened to end the conflict.

On August 4 (Friday), according to the program of the Pope’s Apostolic Journey to Portugal, at 9:45 a.m. at the Centro Social Paroquial São Vicente of Paul, a meeting is scheduled with representatives of some centers of social and charitable assistance.

Considered the biggest event of the Catholic Church, WYD will take place this year in Lisbon from August 1st to 6th, and around 1.5 million people are expected.