Torre - Living in Darkness

From São Tome to the outskirts of Lisbon, they’ve been promised dignity.

Bairro da Torre, a shantytown in Camarate, is home to a Santomean community brought to Portugal within the framework of a Medical Board between the Portuguese Government and that of São Tomé’s to provide better health care to the population. 

Abandoned and forgotten, approximately 200 people live in extreme unhealthy conditions without electricity, and sentenced to social exclusion and economic difficulties. In the absence of a rehousing solution that satisfies the residents, they remain living in a tight labyrinth of shacks, among the ever-growing piles of garbage.

In the dark, they keep waiting for the promised dignity.

This story received the Estação Imagem 2019, Portrait Series award.