Housing is the biggest problem for Ukrainians who have taken refuge in Portugal since the start of the Russian offensive, said the coordinator of the space in Lisbon, which directly supports more than 2,000 beneficiaries.
In the VSI HERE – Todos Aqui space, the movement was already much more active, but there are always people, especially women, who come to choose clothes or take food baskets, answer bureaucratic or legal questions. “A lot of help is still required to complete the paperwork,” says Afonso Nogueira, coordinator of the space.
Created within the municipal emergency program for the integration of refugees from Ukraine in accordance with the protocol between the Association of Ukrainians in Portugal and the Lisbon City Council, the space has been operating since May last year and provides visitors with a range of valences (accommodation, access to employment, access to education and training, health, mobility, culture, sports and social support).
VSI TUT is a “public space” that intends to “give a boost to acceptance, and now integration,” the coordinator sums up.
“Housing is without a doubt the biggest problem. Decent housing,” he admits, noting that the Porta de Entrada program has already received “about 120” responses from households looking for a home.
The problem, he explains, is that applicants must have a free-market lease “finalized in Portuguese and with all that it entails” before they can apply to the Institute for Housing and Urban Rehabilitation (IHRU). ).
“But to get to that … rent is exorbitant in Portugal, especially in Lisbon, and because of the language barrier, these contracts are lost due to a lack of openness on the part of landlords” who prefer to “contract with someone who pays quickly.” and all due diligence”, note.
It is necessary to support the refugees “in order to establish contact with the landlords and negotiate”, he emphasizes.
The housing response is “difficult” and “not always effective”. […] officially”, which “causes great concern of the Association of Ukrainians in Portugal,” Afonso Nogueira admits.
“We have made efforts to keep people out of the street,” he says, citing partnerships with hotel chains or the use of the Emergency Social Fund under a protocol with the Lisbon municipality as examples.
“The Portuguese were absolutely fantastic […] at the first stage of admission. But, the families who welcomed people home, […] in ten, eleven months […]it is normal that they need houses. […] And the refugees themselves must lead their lives in a structured way, and housing is the key to achieving this full and concrete integration,” the coordinator emphasizes, noting that “finding solutions” is “absolutely essential”.
Apart from housing, one of the biggest barriers is the integration of Ukrainian children into schools. “Now there are 4,500 children studying in the Portuguese education system, which means that about ten thousand children are not studying in the Portuguese education system,” he says.
“It’s not a big problem because […] the vast majority are embedded in the Ukrainian system of distance learning, but it is very important from a psychosocial point of view that these children […] physically present in Portuguese schools,” he said.
Ukrainian children can attend the distance learning system from Portuguese schools. “Children should be with their peers,” he stresses, urging parents to enroll their children and emphasizing the impact on the mental health of minors.
In September 2022, since the beginning of the war in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the Service for Foreigners and Border Guards has provided temporary protection to 51,716 people, of which 13,632 are minors.
Diana and Sergey’s four school-age children study at a Portuguese school.
The family entered Portugal via Porto and then traveled to Lisbon, where they live, in a house in the Entrecampos district, paying 500 euros for rent that will rise to 200 next month.
“We are very happy to be in Portugal, we do not want to move to another country,” Diana assures. “The city of Mariopol is completely destroyed, our house too. So far, we have no plans to return to Ukraine,” Serhiy says.
He is 39, works for a medical supplies company and says he is “very happy” thanks to his boss who has “helped him a lot” since he arrived. She is 33 years old, she stays at home with her youngest child, but is looking for a part-time job.
A couple with five children aged one to thirteen use the VSI TUT bins, where what’s left of clothes isn’t enough for food despite donations from individuals and companies.
“We still need to support a lot of people,” says Yuriy Kondra, a member since 2007 of the Association of Ukrainians in Portugal, where he has been living for 23 years.
Volunteer VSI HERE, takes a break in the distribution of food baskets to talk with Lusa and remember that the Association of Ukrainians in Portugal was joined “on the 25th” of February, the day after the start of the war, and loaded “trucks with food, medicine and other goods” to Ukraine.
Refugees began to arrive in May, and efforts were focused on receiving them.
“Now there are not many people coming. Some of those who came have already returned, while others want to integrate into Portuguese society,” he describes, confirming that “great difficulties with rent, with housing”, but also “with work and not knowing how to speak Portuguese” .
The influx of refugees from Ukraine has “dramatically declined” since June. Despite this, the Municipality of Lisbon has decided to keep the emergency center installed in the Sports Pavilion of the Lisbon Municipal Police in the parish of Campolide, which received 2,430 people between March and August, but is now hosting mostly Timorese citizens.
VSI TUT has evolved “in response to needs”, and if “initially the response was extreme”, namely social (food and clothing), now it has moved to “a stage of integrating refugees and strengthening ties in the territory”, describes Afonso Nogueira.
The main requests now are Portuguese language courses (which are supported by Speak Social, a Portuguese organization that supports refugees from Ukraine) and legal support, both on employment contracts and in cases of violence against refugee women. “This is a very vulnerable group of the population. […] came [para Portugal] mostly women. A typical household is a woman with children and her mother or mother-in-law,” says the coordinator.
On March 9, 2022, the Lisbon Chamber unanimously approved the creation of the municipal emergency program VSI TUT — Todos Aqui, on a proposal submitted by councilors from PS, PCP, BE, Livre and independents (Paula Márquez from the political movement Cidadãos por Lisboa), which was later approved by other members executive branch, including President Carlos Moedas (PSD).
The municipality plans to allocate 320,000 euros for the creation of the space – 290,000 euros in 2022 and 30,000 euros in 2023 – for a year.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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