Impossible to turn our back or close our eyes

Rúben Dias and Ferro have put on the volunteer suit and were in the terrain with the Comunidade Vida e Paz, an institution that every day – with the help of 600 volunteers – distributes meals to hundreds of homeless people in Lisboa.

The cold wave that is being experienced all over Europe forced the activation of contingency plans to protect those who live on the streets. The first and B squads of Benfica, represented by  Rúben Dias and  Francisco Ferreira (Ferro), were sensitive to the appeals and delivered – on their own initiative and with the collaboration of the Benfica Foundation –, 200 blankets and sleeping bags to the Comunidade Vida e Paz.

At Rossio, at Santa Apolónia, at Saldanha, a bit all over the city of Lisbon, hundreds of people turn cardboard boxes into beds and improvise a place to sleep. With rain and the temperature dropping, it becomes even more difficult to live without a roof. The Benfica players were in the front line of the Comunidade Vida e Paz action and saw, directly in the eyes, the faces of life stories – many of them dramatic - to which they could not remain indifferent.

“It is a small gesture for us, but a big gesture for those we help”, said Rúben Dias in a report with BTV.

The centre-back of the first team confessed that he lived “a very good experience”, a different reality that reinforced the idea that “the question is to help and not to judge”. 

“There is no doubt it rose my awareness and left me more willing to convey the message. Make the other people understand that this can be important”, continued the centre-back nurtured at Benfica.

A reality shared with Francisco Ferreira, the representative of Benfica’s B team.

“In fact, people only realize what is happening when they are here. I believe some people can look down on or think bad things about the homeless people, but we who have been on the field, we meet the people and that makes us realize that those who are on the streets are people just like us”, he remembered.

“Sometimes it is important, not just for the food and the blanket we offer, but to create bonds and for the people to realize they are not invisible. They are here and we know they are here, they are part of our community and we cannot turn our backs or close our eyes”, he warned.

At the end, a special and well-deserved thank you to the Comunidade Vida e Paz, that every day takes to the streets of Lisbon 55 team divided by five circuits, willing to “warm” the night of those who live on the streets.

“I just have good things to say. They treated us very well and they help establish contact, they are people who want to help”, said Rúben Dias.

Text: Filipa Fernandes Garcia

Pics: Archive / SL Benfica