Misericordia Parish Council President Carla Madeira advocates urgent construction of additional housing in Lisbon to avoid situations of overcrowding, and to increase the number of housing units for the homeless, of which there are more in the city.
Speaking to Lusa about the fire that killed two immigrants in Muraria (in the parish of Santa Maria Mayor) a month ago, Carla Madeira (PS) described the housing problem as complex, intractable.
According to information provided by the authorities, a fire that broke out on February 4 in an overcrowded block with immigrants on the ground floor affected 25 people in the building – 24 residents and one non-resident, initially leaving 22 people homeless, of which 10 continue to receive housing assistance (the rest found a solution on their own).
Lisbon Civil Protection at the time confirmed that two Belgians, two Argentines, two Portuguese, three Bengalis and 15 Indians were living in the building. Most residents will live on the ground floor, but this number has not been officially confirmed.
The president of the neighboring parish council of Misericordia urgently needs to address the problem of housing in the city of Lisbon, as well as the reception and integration of immigrants.
“Either people sleep in less pleasant conditions, or they sleep outside. And this is also a problem. The number of homeless people in the city has increased significantly. the homeless are “specific” with concomitant consumption, and in fact they are left to sleep on the street. And those who do not sleep on the street are subject to situations similar to the one observed in Muraria,” he said.
According to the mayor, there are many citizens who came to Portugal for a better life, but their salary does not allow them to pay for accommodation. In this context, he added, “immigrants are being persecuted.”
“It seems that the immigrants who come to Portugal are to blame. This angers me a little. We are not talking about people who come to walk and spend the night. people who were in that house [Mouraria]but I believe that many have worked,” he stressed.
Carla Madeira is unaware of situations similar to that of Muraria, in her parish (covering areas such as Cais do Sodre or Bairro Alto), that is, that many people live in the same house in humiliating conditions.
On the other hand, there were non-standard situations related to local housing.
“In our parish, at the moment, it is not possible to open new local premises, but it is possible to conclude short-term lease agreements. […] I see that it’s not so much about living conditions, but about circumventing the rules so that the owners continue to use housing that has a housing license as a tourist one, ”he said.
The problem, he added, is “reducing the amount of affordable housing” in the area.
The President of the Parish Council of Santo António (which includes Avenida da Liberdade, Rato or Principe Real) is also in favor of increased supervision and control of the situation of immigrants.
“We ran into this situation some time ago, with 15 certificates at the same address. What we did was report to the Aliens and Borders Service and from there we started working directly with them. others together. We have a sheet that cannot be forged. and only the original is valid. It was made with the help of Mint Press, it has a hologram, a watermark. So here it limits any attempts to copy, fake,” said Vasco Morgado (PSD).
The mayor is also unaware of a case in Santo Antonio similar to the fire station in Muraria, stressing that there is a policy of proximity to foreign nationals.
“Our social support is also very strong, we walk the streets door to door a lot. Council chairs know where the problems are,” he said, advocating dialogue among everyone to try to find a solution.
San Vicente Parish Council President Natalina Moura (PS) contacted Lusa and said that she was not aware of such cases: “The only situations that cause us concern are the number of people who come to the parish council for residency certificates. , and what we did when we had doubts was to have the documents certified and to ask for help from the Aliens and Borders Service, and also to look at the Lisbon city council.”
A few days after the Muraria fire, the president of the Santa Maria Mayor Junta (which covers the area), Miguel Coelho, acknowledged the local reality of “overcrowding in most dwellings”.
“In this part of the city and in the parish, there are many houses where immigrants live. It can be seen that the exploitation of space is underway, the intensive economic exploitation of these spaces, ”the socialist emphasized.
Luza unsuccessfully tried to get comments from the parish councils of Arroyos and Peña de France, also located in the historic center of the city.
According to the Lisbon Chamber, the faction in which the fire in Muraria took place rented accommodation. The municipality indicated that each of the eight parts of the building has an owner – all individuals – and that three are registered local accommodation enterprises.
According to SIC and CNN Portugal, the owner of the overcrowded space where the fire broke out, who declined to be named, said she had entered into a commercial lease (for the store) for 750 per month and said she did not know the space was subleased.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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