“Many continue to sleep in the open. Some shanties that weren’t demolished have taken in the children,” explained Kedy Santos, a CDU municipal deputy in Loures, who is monitoring the situation of around 36 people displaced after self-built homes were demolished on Monday in the União de Freguesias de Camarate, Unhos e Apelação.
The Loures City Council confirmed the demolition of 25 precarious constructions in the Bairro do Talude Militar as part of a municipal policy operation to combat illegal land occupation, noting that five constructions were unoccupied and “the remaining 20 were occupied by 37 adults and nine minors.”
After being attended to on Monday by council services at the Casa da Cultura de Sacavém, the residents returned to the area to “sleep in the open,” because “most work nearby” and fear that, “if they don’t find places for the children, they could be flagged” by child protection services, acknowledged Kedy Santos.
The Vida Justa movement activist lamented that municipal services are only “offering the first month’s rent and security deposit” to citizens who, “despite working, cannot access the free rental market,” and that the council preempted a precautionary measure against the demolitions, claiming not to have been officially notified of the action.
According to the municipal deputy, “the council has no solution” to present to the residents, as “the number of shanties hasn’t increased in the last three months,” and “dialogue was lacking.”
“Leaving people in the open and children without a solution is unacceptable,” stated Kedy Santos, adding that the displaced will contact the parish council to seek potential support.
The official emphasized that those affected “don’t want to jump the queue, they just want to continue living in minimum conditions until they find a solution” according to their earnings, and “it’s not just immigrants, but also Portuguese people affected by the rise in rents in nearby neighborhoods” of Talude.
In a written statement, the council explained that the “intervention is part of an ongoing effort” to “curb the growth of illegal self-construction clusters, which have been worsening alarmingly in recent years, often exploiting the vulnerability of immigrants in precarious situations.”
The council reiterated that it will not allow the proliferation of more illegal constructions in the municipality, “maintaining a zero-tolerance policy for situations that violate territory planning and jeopardize public safety and health.”
An official from the mayor’s office, Ricardo Leão (PS), told Lusa that, according to social services, “of the 25 constructions demolished, only 17 families attended the meetings,” of which 12 reside in the municipality and five in other municipalities.
“Families with addresses outside the municipality were directed to the social services of their respective councils,” stated the official, adding that, “of the 12 with addresses in Loures, two already had rented homes,” seeking “to reduce fixed monthly expenses” and “adapt the space to the family’s size.”
The remaining 10 families, comprising 24 people, including four minors, declared “they have no alternative housing” or “any formal or informal support network that constitutes an alternative.”
The official further noted that, after a socio-economic analysis, “the vast majority” are “integrated in the labor market, several with regularized contracts,” but with “insufficient income to face the free rental market,” and “situations of job insecurity” were also identified.
The council assured that it will continue to assist in the search for alternative housing, with the possibility of economic support for the deposit and first month’s rent, and “support by the social emergency teams.”
The Vida Justa movement criticized the policy of the Loures City Council for “not wanting to provide close support” to people affected by the housing crisis and accused the council of “attempting to forcefully replace residents of municipal neighborhoods at the expense of entire families who thus become new homeless people.”
