housing crisis is pushing more and more immigrants onto the streets

In Portugal, the housing crisis is pushing more and more immigrants — including Brazilians — onto the streets of large cities, such as Lisbon. “I’ve been at Noor’Fatima for two years. And I notice that in the last year there are a lot more people. And there are more Brazilians and people from Eastern Europe too”, says Rita Borges, a volunteer at Noor’Fatima.

The organization she works for distributes food to the homeless population, and the number of homeless people has more than doubled since 2017 in the country: today there are almost 11 thousand, and around 10% are foreigners. Some even have work, but are unable to pay rent. “There are people who work and don’t have money to pay for a house. In other words, they work and live on the street, they live in a tent. Including Brazilians. There are people in this situation”, says Rita Borges.

The report from D.W. found many Brazilians in this situation in Lisbon. They avoided cameras and recorded interviews. They suggested, in certain cases, that it was out of fear of what the family in Brazil might think.

They were people, some very young, who said they had gone to try their luck in Portugal and ended up forced into the vulnerable streets. For two main reasons: lack of employment or employment with insufficient salary for the basics, such as food and a roof over your head. And many shared one desire: to return home.

Portugal is one of the symbols of a European crisis: the soaring value of housing, especially in large centers. A Brazilian woman had an idea to escape the financial strain that a more expensive rent would cause.

“Here in this tent this strategy began. I had two of these. I slept in one, and the other I used to store my clothes”, says carpenter Andreia Machado da Costa.

She lives in this camp on Carcavelos beach, one of the most valued regions of Greater Lisbon. “I got here paying 200 euros for the room. Me and my friend. Then it went up to 300, and was going to reach 400. I said no… it’s 50% of my salary. There’s no way I can pay 50% of my salary to sleep in a shared room”, highlights Andreia Costa.

For Márcia, the first night in the conglomerate of tents was a true test of endurance. “I said: if I can spend one rainy night in here, with wind, then I can spend the rest here. That’s when I came here”, explained cook Márcia Álvaro.

The land where the two live is heavily wooded and houses several other tents, where Brazilians also live. This one is from Marciele, from Presidente Prudente, in São Paulo.

Marciele came to Portugal in search of better living conditions. For her – and her family in Brazil. She says she has managed to save money by living in camp. But since she left behind a six-year-old son, she doesn’t think about anything else. “I just wanted to save money to go back, to leave. I really want to go back to Brazil. A lot. Every day”, says caregiver Marciele Botin de Pinho.