A public meeting at the parish council of Ferrarias, Silves, on Thurday evening had to be moved to the nearby and larger football ground hall as so many people turned up to protest at plans to house several Roma families on farm land which backs onto existing private properties.
The plan promoted to the parish council by Portugal’s Misericordia charitable institution is to assemble nine prefabricated houses with concrete foundations for 39 individuals on farm land near the point where the N269 passes over the IC1 by Malhada Velha.
Several Portuguese locals put their name down to be included on the list of speakers and their opposition to the construction of a camp was recognised by enthusiastic applause and cheering.
A representative from Misericordia spoke and was drowned out by whistling, outbursts of laughter and booing as she tried to inform locals that the Roma families were to be housed in nine, three-room houses, a plastic tank sewage collection system is being installed and that electricity and water supplies would be provided free of charge as well as free food deliveries.
One of the speakers informed the audience that this development had none of the necessary licenses that the public normally would have to apply for and that the land had been farm land with carob and other trees and should have remained as such unless the council had re-categorised the site.
Locals have been collecting signatures in a house-to-house campaign to oppose this development that until last night had the parish and council’s support.
The petition reads that the undersigned would like to express their indignation at a camp being constructed in a built-up area.
A councillor from Albufeiria informed the audience that these Roma families currently are living near the marina and need to be relocated, although it was not made clear why.
The audience was at its most unruly when informed by the representative from Misericordia that “all of the needs of these gypsies would be met,” when she could not reveal the ages of the people to be relocated nor did she have any plans to control the numbers moving into the camp to access free accommodation, food, electricity and water.
Many of the audience discussed the sense in providing a free lifestyle and housing a generally itinerant section of society on a small site next to private housing, now separeted by green shuttering, with no provision for the accommodation of their animals.
The President of the parish council, faced with a capacity crowd with many residents standing, assured his electorate that the work, although well advanced with the parish council's approval, "would not be continuing."
When faced with the power and influence of Misericordia, the parish may be forced to accept the camp but residents have made clear their opinion.
