The chameleon will never be seen with the same eyes by the inhabitants of Ilha do Farol. The animal achieved what the islanders have been trying for a long time: to stop – at least for now – the demolitions in that housing nucleus in Ria Formosa.
The injunction filed by the Municipality of Olhão, which claims that the destruction of buildings in the core of the Farol calls into question the habitat of the chameleon, This afternoon, it prevented the administrative takeover of some houses by the Polis Society.
It was 14:31 pm when Feliciano Júlio, president of the Ilha do Residents Association Farol, knelt on the pier on the island of Farol with arms in the air in victory sign. Meanwhile, the president of the Polis Society Sebastião Teixeira got on the boat to return to land, without even having set foot on land on the island.
But battle held this Monday, which had as winners the residents of the Ilha do Farol, started much earlier, still in the morning.
The announcement made yesterday in a statement by Sociedade Polis, that it would continue today with the administrative swearing in that nucleus, gave the alert and the islanders of the various centers of Ilha da Culatra gathered at the wharf of Farol, as one prepares for an invasion of the enemy.
O Sul Informação arrived at the scene even before 9 in the morning. During the crossing of the Ria, groups of people from Culatra and Hangares, wearing black shirts, walked along the beach, as if it were a pilgrimage.
About 200 islanders gathered on the pier, Feliciano Júlio asks everyone to gather around him and calls for calm, asks them to avoid insults and that, if the swearing-in takes place, that it be accepted peacefully.
Nobody knew the time of the arrival of the “invader”, and every boat that could be seen in the distance motivated the comment: “it must be them!”. False alarm.
A sea taxi with journalists, another sea taxi, and at 9:35 am a Maritime Police speedboat arrives at the pier. The military disembark, clarify that they are there on routine patrol and receive red carnations from the hands of a woman, sporting them, one of them near the holster, towards the alleys of Ilha do Farol.
Information continued to reach the islanders and, as in any war, there was counter-information: "they come from Olhão", it was said. Another resident guaranteed: «they are now leaving Faro and bring the intervention police».
The wait continues and some demonstrators sit on the esplanades until a siren echoes on the island. The alarm signal makes people get up from their chairs, heading, at a running pace, towards the pier. There is the information that the Polis Society departed from Faro protocols for Farol.
The islanders wait and, around noon, a navy ship passes by. New false alarm. The ship does not dock and heads towards Olhão.
With the arrival of lunchtime, the “troops” need to eat and Feliciano Júlio returns to gather the islanders, called to the place again with the sound of the siren. There is new information. The Polis Society will be meeting to decide whether to go to the island to take administrative ownership.
Even so, it is not advisable to leave the pier unattended. Two groups are formed: one goes to lunch and the other is sentry. Then change.
The Polis Society did come, with the two groups already reunited, after another sounding of the siren, when it was five minutes to two in the afternoon.
António Cabrita, a lawyer for the Municipality of Olhão, had, in the meantime, sent an urgent request to the Administrative Court of Loulé and received the order notifying the Maritime Police and the Maritime Authority in order to «prevent the Requested Entity [Polis Society] from starting or to continue the execution of the acts of administrative possession and demolition of the existing buildings on Ilha do Farol Spring».
At the pier, an impasse is generated and, after a few minutes, Sebastião Teixeira agrees to speak with António Cabrita and Feliciano Júlio, while the islanders, in a more secluded position, sing the National Anthem and shout slogans like “the fight go on, cops to the street!» and "The united people will never be defeated".
The conversation lasted about ten minutes, until 14:31 pm, when Sebastião Teixeira and the other members of the Polis boarded again towards land and Feliciano Júlio knelt and raised his arms in victory sign.
During the six hours that the Sul Informação he was there, he didn't see any chameleons, but the islanders speak of him as a hero.
Comments