Manifestation in Berlin supports housing struggle in Portugal

“ ANDu still liked to go back” was read in one of the posters erected at the Brandenburg Gates in Berlin, where about 200 to 250 people today expressed solidarity with the struggle for housing in Portugal.

Among the participants was Beatriz Tempera, emigrated to Germany, who does not hide the will to return.

“I would like to live in Portugal, if the situation were less difficult,” Lusa explained, explaining that she misses Portuguese culture, family and the possibility of contributing to the society she grew up in.

“It’s hard to be away from the people we love. People don’t last forever,” said the Portuguese woman living eight years ago in Berlin.

Linked to the areas of education and arts, Beatriz says that difficulties in Portugal also weighed on the decision to emigrate.

“ No one deserves to emigrate to survive, to have a decent life ", highlighted.

The demonstration brought together mostly Portuguese, but also Spanish and German. Next to the poster that expressed the desire to return, another denounced the housing crisis: “La vivienda nos cuesta la vida” (The housing costs us our lives).

To the microphone, the Portuguese Taiga Trigo addressed the participants in English, drawing attention to the relationship between emigration and the absence of more people in protest on the streets in Portugal.

“ There are no more people on the streets in Portugal to manifest because many of us were forced to emigrate ", pointed out.

The concentration took place in solidarity with the mobilizations for housing in Portugal and with the general strike called in Spain for the same day.

For Beatriz, the struggle for housing is also a question of democratic participation. One of the aspects that brings it closer to the camp movement is the holding of popular assemblies, where citizens can discuss problems and participate in decisions.

“ It is really a key to a more free and just society: that people organize themselves and that they want to influence and make decisions about the reality that affects them ", defended.

The emigrant believes that we must go beyond complaints and make concrete proposals.

“ It is very important that we organize ourselves to really suggest and propose solutions”, he stressed.

Also Mafalda, who has lived in Berlin for 12 years, went out on the streets because she considers that access to housing is a problem that knows no borders. She has lived in Friedrichshain for nine years, is a single mother of a 12-year-old daughter and pays 950 euros for a T1 apartment.

“Today they are no longer at these prices,” he acknowledged, considering himself lucky to be able to maintain a relatively affordable income in Germany.

When he arrived in Germany, Mafalda also faced difficulties finding a home. The experience has marked the way you view the rental market. When renting rooms in your room or making the apartment available during the holidays, you always tried to practice fair prices.

“ I always cover the fair value, not an inflated value, out of respect for all people and also out of respect for me”, he explained.

In Portugal, he has friends with difficulties finding a home. And when you think of a possible return, housing is one of the main doubts.

“It’s a big question,” he admitted.

For Mafalda, the problem is no longer limited to those who are unemployed or living in poverty.

“It’s not just the unemployed, it’s not just the worker, it’s not just the families, it’s not just the single mothers. There is a whole big problem”, he observed.

“ It is important to expose the problems for solutions to appear and not only complain”, he said.