Around 200 islanders from the Algarve islands of Culatra, Hangares and Farol got up at the crack of dawn today to travel to Lisbon in protest against the controversial demolitions of shanty homes throughout Ria Formosa.
According to news sources, 10 busloads of protestors set out to take their anger and frustrations to the steps of the nation’s parliament.
Wearing t-shirts that read ‘Je Suis Ilhéu’ (I am an islander) many held banners with slogans like “47€ million to destroy our homes”.
As the Resident reported earlier this week (see https://www.portugalresident.com/ria-formosa-islanders-stage-demonstration-in-front-of-parliament), a number of islanders received good news when Loulé’s Administrative and Fiscal Court ruled in favour of three of their injunctions lodged against Polis Litoral in a bid to stop the government-backed bulldozers that have been destroying their homes in the name of environmental safety.
Seven of those bids though have been rejected, and many islanders are still either living rough, lodging with friends and relatives or at risk of being kicked out of their only homes.
Photo: ANTÓNIO COTRIM/LUSA
