A group of people living on the outskirts of Lisbon have broken the silence to which they seem to be historically condemned and created an unprecedented movement to make themselves heard: Vida Justa. They have already taken to the streets in protest, but it is mainly through social networks that they have been denouncing the difficulties they face on a daily basis in an innovative way, with mini-documentaries and surveys. Transport and housing, above all. They want to continue growing in the surrounding neighborhoods and show that everyone can have a voice and “a place”.
It's a working day in August. It's just after five o'clock and at the Agualva-Cacém train station in Sintra, dozens of passengers are rushing from the railway platform to the bus terminal or arriving on foot from the surrounding neighborhoods. Several bus routes announce the “start of service”. The majority are women, almost all of them cleaners, who wait patiently for buses that will take them to Oeiras, Cascais, other areas of Sintra and also to Loures. For many, this has been the routine for more than two decades, and always with criticism.
“Careers are never certain. If the driver is on vacation or off, there's a schedule he won't do. It happens several times. I've called Carris Metropolitana to find out what's going on and they tell me that the driver is booked to do the route, but apparently he doesn't show up”, says Paula Rosa, 49, a supermarket worker in São Domingos de Rana, Cascais. She starts work at seven o'clock and, every day, she has to catch the 1622 bus at 5.35 am to avoid being late, a route she has been taking for 20 years. “There have always been problems, but not as many as now”, regrets.
