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Evicted Families
Living Under Bridges Fear Being Duped By
MOPT
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Evicted Families Living
Under Bridges Fear Being
Duped By MOPT
Olman Jimenez Solis and
his mother are just one
of 20 families that the
Ministerio de Obras
Públicas y Transportes (MOPT)
evicted yesterday. The
families had all made
their home under bridges
along the Próspero
Fernández highway, the
road from San José,
Santa Ana to Cuidad
Colon.
The eviction is part of
the MOPT's plans to
relocate the families to
make way for the
widening of the current
road and beginning
construction on the road
to Caldera, on the
Pacific coast.
The eviction began at
8:00am as MOPT truck
began to be filled with
the belongings of the
families being evicted.
In addition, MOPT crews
began to dismantle the
zinc and wooden slats
that formed the
makeshift homes under
the bridges in Pozos de
Santa Ana, across from
the modern office
building Forum and other
bridges along the route.
Fernando Zumbado,
ministro de Vivienda
(Housing minister),
assured with the help of
the Instituto Mixto de
Ayuda Social (IMAS) the
families were being
relocated. Zumbado
indicated that only 16
of the families qualiied
for "bono de vivienda"
(assisted housing).
The families were to be
relocated to assisted
housing in Cuidad Colon,
Mora and Carit, Puriscal
and according to José
Antonio Li, general
manager of the IMAS,
each family would
receive a grant of
¢80.000 colones monthly
to rent proper housing
while they wait their
assisted home.
However, Olman has
another story to tell.
Olman told ICR that no
one from the IMAS
visited him or his
mother to offer any
assistance and would be
spending the night in a
makeshift bed or his
vehicle on the side of
the road because he has
no place to go.
Olman, whose home is
under the bridge in
front of the ABOPAC and
the luxury Condo Roble
condominium development,
said that MOPT
authorities had visited
him on December 15 and
was threathened with
eviction if he was not
out by the 29th.
Yesterday morning, Olman
and his mother removed
all their belongings
from under the bridge
where he has called home
for many years, not
wanting any
confrontation with MOPT
authorities or police.
"All I want to do is
live in peace. My only
crime is being poor",
said Olman as he showed
us his few belongings
placed on the side of
the dirt road, where he
plans to call home until
authorities find him a
solution.
What worries Olman is
that he has been made
promises in the past and
all have been a dupe. He
fears that the
relocation is a fraud
and that once he and his
mother have left the
area they will be
abandoned by the
authorities, since he
has received nothing in
writing. |
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Olman Jimenez Solis and
his mother, one of the
20 families evicted
yesterday for living
under the Fernando
Prospero highway
bridges.
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