The mayor of Lisbon said this Wednesday that Portugal does not have a decent immigration policy, referring to the deaths of two immigrants in a building fire in Muraria, suggesting “everyone is to blame”.
“Everyone has responsibilities, […] We have to look at our country and think about what kind of policies we need to have in order to have a decent immigration policy, and we don’t have a decent immigration policy in Portugal,” said Carlos Moedas (PSD).
The mayor spoke at a decentralized open meeting of the Lisbon City Council to hear the citizens of the parishes of Santa Maria Maior, Santo António, Sao Vicente and Misericordia, where the “tragedy” of the fire in the building in Muraria took place. , which left two people dead and 14 injured, and revealed a lack of conditions for the reception of immigrants, including overcrowding.
“When we look at countries like Germany, Sweden and Denmark, we see exactly what a decent immigration policy is that comes with people coming to the country, and that doesn’t happen in Portugal, so that’s the first thing we as a society, we need to think about it,” the mayor of Lisbon defended.
Carlos Moedas emphasized that the population of Portugal and Europe is declining: “We need more people and we need these immigrants, but they must come to countries with dignity and they must come to countries with a work contract, they cannot come to countries without having any mode of existence and be in a precarious position […] in dire situations.”
The topic was raised by Santa Maria Mayor resident Maria Pinheiro Vargas, who said that “everyone knows what’s going on in these neighborhoods”, referring to the reception of immigrants, which “is a dark matter”, in which “there are no checks, big houses bought, work inside carried out, two apartments built”, believing that “it’s a pity, a shame, a scandal”.
Following the intervention of the residents, PS Councilor Pedro Anastasio lamented the loss of life in the Muraria fire and criticized the statements of Housing Councilor Filipa Roseta (PSD) who questioned the intervention of the Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF). ), considering it “an attempt to shake off responsibility”,
The socialist proposed a survey of the “living and health conditions” of the buildings in Muraria, noting that “this is a problem that existed but is getting worse” so new solutions are needed, recognizing that “local housing can be a risk factor”, but inspection powers divided between the chamber and the Food and Economic Security Authority (ASAE).
Outraged by what happened in Muraria, PCP adviser João Ferreira disputed Filipa Roseta’s public intervention because “it didn’t do justice to the Lisbon City Council”, stating that “this is a problem that, if more than one person is blamed, should lead to a serious commitment . looking for solutions.”
The communist said that the lack of conditions for the reception of immigrants is “a situation that is recurring in many places in this city” and stated that “the council cannot wash its hands like it has nothing to do with this.”
The BE and Cidadãos Por Lisboa councils (elected by the PS/Livre coalition) also mourned the victims of the fire and stressed that the immigrants “are in a very vulnerable position”.
The president of the parish council of Santa Maria Mayor, Miguel Coelho (PS), who is in charge of the territory of Muraria, acknowledged the “great humanitarianism” of the mayor who was at the scene of the fire, and stated that it was necessary to find out what happened, stating that “admittedly, there is very dark background.”
“I do not agree with this hysteria that immigrants are to blame, and yesterday [terça-feira] lady advisor [Filipa Roseta] opened that door, perhaps unwittingly, when he asks what the SEF has done,” Miguel Coelho pointed out, stressing that the problem is not with the immigrants who are here, but with the conditions in which they are received.
In Lisbon’s municipal assembly on Tuesday, the housing councilor questioned the intervention of the Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF).
On Saturday evening, a fire broke out in a building on Rua do Terreirinho in the Muraria district, killing two people, a 30-year-old man and a 14-year-old young man, both Indians, and injuring 14 people. All of them have already been discharged from the hospital.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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