Fatima, Santarem, Portugal, Aug. 11, 2025 (Lusa) - The Portuguese Catholic Migration Organisation (OCPM) said on Monday that it is necessary to look seriously at the issue of housing for all and argued for affordable rents for working people.
“We need to look seriously at the issue of housing” for all, Eugénia Quaresma told the Lusa news agency, commenting on the demolition of precarious shacks built by residents in the Talude Militar neighbourhood in Loures (Lisbon).
With regard to the national pilgrimage of migrants and refugees to the Sanctuary of Fátima, included in the international anniversary pilgrimage on 12 and 13 August, which begins on Tuesday, Eugénia Quaresma admitted sadness at the way the demolition took place, considering, however, that people “could not continue to live that way”.
“And perhaps the biggest criticism is that people don’t have a solution, or haven’t found one, or haven’t accepted it. It’s also true that some of the proposals weren’t the best,” she added.
For the OCPM representative, it is necessary to “develop another type of emergency support and it is undoubtedly urgent to lower rents”.
“There must be affordable rents for people who are working. (...) For people who are working, there must be a different solution, temporary, it is true, but until the person can become independent, because, having their documents, having their job, the person becomes independent and gets on with their life,” she continued.
On the other hand, Eugénia Quaresma admitted that these demolitions have “raised another need, which is dialogue with the countries of origin and correct information for the countries of origin, because then there are various businesses that are created around migration and the most vulnerable”.
“We need to create a good information network [with] consulates, religious institutions, the government. This dialogue must take place in such a way that the message gets across and that people do not come to fall into this situation,” she said.
Recognising that “it is true that they are not living in dignified conditions”, there must also be “education at source, so that [people] are not deceived”, because “there have been unpleasant situations of people being sold into undignified conditions”, she added.
On 30 June, the citizens activist Vida Justa movement denounced the demolition of 36 shacks in the Talude Militar neighbourhood, with the council reporting that 25 precarious buildings had been demolished, affecting 37 adults and nine minors.
In a written statement to Lusa, the local authority confirmed on that day the demolition of 25 precarious buildings as part of a municipal policy to combat illegal occupation of the territory.
According to a survey carried out by the municipal services, five of the 25 buildings were unoccupied and “the remaining 20 were occupied by 37 adults and nine minors”.
“This intervention is part of an ongoing effort by the local authority to halt the growth of illegal self-built settlements, which have been growing at an alarming rate in recent years, often exploiting the vulnerability of immigrants in fragile situations,” the local authority explained at the time.
On 14 July, an operation was launched to demolish 64 precarious houses built by residents in Talude Militar, where 161 people lived. Fifty-one were demolished on the first day and another four on the second.
The operation was suspended after a Lisbon court ruling, following an injunction filed by 14 residents.
SR/AYLS // AYLS
Lusa
