The rats, the snakes, the rain inside the tents were left behind. Since this Thursday, the gypsy community, which was installed in Orada, in Albufeira, has houses on the Escarpão site.
These are not luxurious homes. They are, in fact, prefabricated, but they have the conditions that, for 24 years, the family of José Reis, patriarch of the community, did not have. Hot water, bathroom, insulation from the outside are “luxuries” to which the eight households, who received the keys to their new homes this Thursday, were not used to.
There are 33 people, including 18 children, who arrived at that place with one objective: to get out of it as soon as possible, because the idea is that the Aldeia do Sanacai will serve as a "skills incubator", as explained by Patrícia Seromenho, provider of Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Albufeira, responsible for the project.
At the ceremony for handing over the keys, the provider, addressing the community, explained that the occupation of these houses is a beginning and not an end: “today is the first day of 36 months. The goal is that, over these months, they are able to be integrated into the labor market. That adults acquire skills, so that they can integrate, and that the boys are successful students. The objective is that, through your autonomy and income, through your work, you will be able to have the right to housing and that you will be able to get out of here».
Catarina Marcelino, Secretary of State for Citizenship and Equality, accompanied the inauguration. Here and there, he took the opportunity to advise the families, to ask questions and even to play with the children, excited about the new homes.
In statements to the Sul Informação, with a trembling voice, because the morning was full of strong emotions, the government official praised the project, which she considered an example.
“It's an excellent project because it doesn't just take housing into account, but integration. The community will be monitored, so that the children are successful in school, so that people know how to take care of the houses, so that they can undergo training, so that they can have their own job. The objective is to empower the families, so that they can leave here and join the majority community», said Catarina Marcelino.
Integration was one of the most repeated words during the morning, but the truth is that Aldeia do Sanacai is located in Escarpão, far from the headquarters of parishes and half-walls with scrap metal.
The Secretary of State assumed that “the location is distant and isolated and I cannot consider this to be a good thing, but I am aware that this was what was possible and, sometimes, we have to do what is possible, and the Chamber and the Mercy worked hard to make this project a reality».
Carlos Silva e Sousa, mayor of Albufeira, celebrated his 60th birthday on this day and told the Sul Informação that the inauguration of Aldeia do Sanacai «is a gift for me» because it is «the realization of the dream of integrating these families».
The mayor agrees with the secretary of state in relation to the location, "I wish it was closer", but "this was the possible place, it was the land we had for this project, we didn't have any more".
Even so, despite the distance, Carlos Silva e Sousa says that this «is a way to bring them closer to all of us. They were at a distance, because, being close, they were very far away, living in shacks without conditions».
"It's been 24 years of living in misery," he recalled, Sul Informação, the patriarch José Reis, who thanks the provider of Santa Casa de Albufeira, who «a lot fought for us to improve our lives and, while we haven't improved, he hasn't rested. It's true that sometimes we got angry with her and she with us, but it was like that, we no longer believed in anything».
Now, says José Reis, "I believe it's true, because I'm looking at the houses." And the patriarch also sees a better future for the daughters and grandchildren who make up the community.
«The houses are beautiful and they are good. The site makes a lot of difference, because it's diverted and there aren't any shops close by, but they say they bring transport for the boys to go to school and that's the main thing. That the boys go to school with conditions, with clean clothes, with a bath, everything in order. It's much better, life is different, the situation is different», concludes the patriarch.
There will be “a better day tomorrow”, because that, as explained by Patricia Seromenho, is the meaning of Sanacai.
Photos: Nuno Costa|Sul Informação
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