The Government is a unitary semi-presidential constitutional republic and the current President is Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa. After only eight months in the country, the 27-year-old has become a guide to others looking to settle here. Abou Ras, meanwhile, is determined to make it work here for himself and forothers. Interested in adding your voice to our growing community? Does the country provide the necessary structures for short-termintegration?, Yusef and Mona al-Hasan al-Khedeir and their children. Forced Migrants (internally displaced, asylum seekers and refugees). 71 0 obj <>stream These measures are intended to facilitate labour integration and to provide access to social security and health care, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Migrants are mainly from Brazil (45%), Cape Verde (37%), United Kingdom (34%), Romania (31%), Ukraine (29%), China (27%), Italy (25%) and France (23%) and most reside in the main urban areas, namely Lisbon, Faro and Setubal. Yet the country struggles to fill its quotas and many new arrivals end upleaving. To help achieve this, we encourage you to republish the text of any article that contains a Republish button on your own news outlet. Elsewhere they hateus.. In practice, this means asylum seekers are placed on arrival with different support organizations and may also have access to differentservices. These organizations recognize the need for interlocutors that buildbridges. Formerly chapters of a single national organization,, diocesan Caritas groups became more autonomous and gained complete independence in 2000. Most of this exploitation takes place in the agricultural sector where men are the majority of the victims. The total area of Portugal is 91,590 km2 and includes the Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira, both autonomous regions with their own regional governments. Rights advocates say those most likely to end up in jail for this transgression are low-skilled migrant women. The main problems that people who are trafficked face relate to formal identification as victims of human trafficking, and delays in receiving residency permits once they have been identified as victims. Furthermore, the Portuguese government is granting citizenship rights to all migrants and asylum seekers who have residency applications underway. In 2019, there were 1,849 applications, an increase of 45.3% over the previous year. By copying and pasting the HTML code in the box below, the tracking code is automatically included. However, they rely largely on private housing identified by civil society actors, which may become problematic considering the countrys chronic housing problem: there is a lack of accommodation to rent at affordable prices, and differences between regions on the availability of services leads to discrepancies in the level of support beneficiaries receive. Proceeds will go to the chefs and their families. It was created in 1962 when the Catholic Church felt the need to structure a service to coordinate, accompany and support the work of many priests and other catholic actors throughout the world engaged with Portuguese emigrant communities. But I wanted to see it with my own eyes, hesaid. Similarly, the government grants citizenship to all migrants who have residency applications underway. Furthermore, there is a gender difference as migrant women are often subjected to more vulnerable employment conditions. They were mostly between 20 and 64 years old with a majority of women (54%). It is also worth mentioning the presence of international students, as 8,400 permits were issued in 2019. The top ten countries of origin of the total applications were Angola (308), Gambia (173), Guinea Bissau (160), Guinea (128), Venezuela (96), Democratic Republic of Congo (82), Nigeria (82), Ukraine (80), Senegal (73) and Cameroon (51). All these measures are intended to ensure they have access to social security and health care during the COVID-19 pandemic. They will attend school for the first time thisautumn. The number of people infected in Portugal is 9,034, with 209 dead and only 68 recovered. Given its broad network of local offices and programmes, resources and activities for asylum seekers, the Portuguese Red Cross has been identified as one of the leading actors to provide housing and integration services to protection seekers and they have supported 268 people to date. On the other hand, to stop the brain drain, in the same year the government promoted a new programme to attract Portuguese emigrants who have lived abroad for at least three years.

Our mission is to empower stakeholders and the wider public with high quality information, insights, and analysis on critical global issues. The Immigration and Borders Office (SEF) facilitates contact between foreign citizens and SEF, promoting the reception and integration of migrant communities. editors and contributors. The Portuguese Catholic Migration Service (OCPM) is a body of the Episcopal Commission for Social Pastoral Care and Human Mobility and provides pastoral care and support to migrants and refugees. The great majority (66.5%) live in urban areas. His wife, Mona, 39, soldclothes. We had no plan of coming to Europe, Mona said over tea and homemade pastries in the familys Lisbon living room. Most new arrivals speak neither English norPortuguese. The Lisbon Project aims to integrate migrants and refugees in the city of Lisbon through programmes of education, employment, legal aid, health and housing. During the first six months of 2020, the majority of applications were from Morocco (42%), Angola (8%) and Bangladesh (8%). The Scalabrini International Migration Network in Portugal has a multicultural parish. Read more about our copyright, terms of services and republishing guide. Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, Act n. 26/2014 of 5 May 2014 that amended Act n. 27/2008, transposing Directives 2011/95, 2013/32/EU and 2013/33/EU, Decree-Law n. 153/2019 of 17 October 2019. We found a volunteer who would teach us Portuguese, but they lived far away, Yusef said. So far, it has received roughly half of the 2,951 asylum seekers it is legally required to take in from camps in Greece and Italy under the European Union emergency relocation scheme, the vast majority coming from the MiddleEast. In each of the facilities, a team of 30 social workers, psychologists, teachers and translators provides dedicated services that address psychological trauma and other vulnerabilities. Now his asylum request in Germany has been rejected, and under the E.U.s Dublin Agreement covering responsibility for refugees his family will need to return to Portugal. Its that they overlook and underestimate structural problems that we really need to face. At the Portuguese Red Cross we found a family! I didnt know Portugal was in the European Union. Of the total applications, 195 persons (20.7%) were granted refugee status and 113 received subsidiary protection (12%), while 634 applications were rejected (67.3%). Learn more about us. Ive been accepted to Portugal whats the situation there? is a common query. Portugal declared a State of Emergency on March 18, which became effective immediately at midnight that day and was set to last for 15 days. The 2020 US Department of State report confirms that Portugal fully meets the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is therefore placed in Tier 1. There is little of the right-wing rhetoric seen in countries such as the United Kingdom, focused on the burden ofmigrants. (MEE/Kim-JennaJurriaans). Also in 2019, Portugal received 3.7 billion in remittances from Portuguese citizens living abroad. Victims of human trafficking have the right to shelter, health care, and services including psycho-social, legal, translation and interpretation, as well as education and employment training. (MEE/Kim-JennaJurriaans). Donec id elit non mi porta gravida at eget metus. countries that are reluctant to admit displaced people, Portugal has taken an open approach and attempted to encourage more refugees to come. Sex traffickers exploit foreign women and children, mostly from Africa and Eastern Europe, as well as Portuguese women and children within the country and in other European countries. These short stays are not a new phenomenon, though, Santinho stressed.

We have family here, and I know I can find a job easily, he said ofBerlin. Always noise-free, always trustworthy. These are problems Abou Ras wants to help migrants overcome through an association he recently founded with a handful of other asylum seekers, called Families of Refugees. But its a hard nut tocrack. Support ranges from information provision, legal aidand translation of documents to initiatives to facilitate access to education and to the labour market, including language learning, community services, public health and social welfare. Note that News Deeply considers the publication date to be the date marked on the story, and is not responsible for any content that you choose to repost. Although the proportion of foreign workers in the less-qualified groups is 50%, this does not mean that they are unqualified. 56 0 obj <> endobj hSn0>n.e($nX6ATGK*DdEGp9s@p B\\:Tp76l&$q]uJrFud^J;/L?GT6japmJnC2'1^ B9IT6?IU!; RJ.Uq,no4VH F/jafgO:g"B6tyNmXy":&'a26Y%Y9)l8NQldW\AG4IY>)zwqkc}. Portugal received 888,200 migrants in 2019, an increase in immigration flows of almost 39%. People here are nice, they want to help. "New York" to "here") or editorial style; do not edit the wording of our articles. But now that theyre here, theyre going to try to make it work. Following Portugals pledge to transfer 500 children, the Portuguese Red Cross launched anew reception and integrationproject and has already created two shelters for 36 girls and boys. This is just one example of why the Dublin Agreement simply doesnt work, according toBernardo.

Asylum seekers represent 1% of total migrants. And what we see is we will never provide people with what they need, which is their families and theirfriends., In the foreseeable future what you will have is a very large number of people being forced back to Portugal when they really dont want to behere.. endstream endobj startxref We are refugees and we know what refugees need, said Abou Ras. Regulations Migrants represent 9% of the total population and their presence in 2018 in Portugals labour market generated an outflow of about 210 million in remittances. Others are more specific on healthcare, housing and Portuguese languageclasses. This note should include a direct link to the original article and a sentence that offers the reader the opportunity to join the Refugeess mailing list. Ensure that you include a line of our HTML tracking code on every article you republish. In the foreseeable future what you will have is a very large number of people being forced back to Portugal when they really dont want to be here, hesaid. In 2019, Portugal was listed in the top twenty countries of emigration with a rate of 20% (IOM, 2020). Portugal has ratified three of the main international conventions specific to migration governance: the ILO Convention 97 on migration for employment, the ILO Convention 143 on migrant workers. Meanwhile, more than 40 percent of those who arrived in the country have left within 18 months, according to Mayfigurescited in Portuguesemedia. Families of Refugees also hopes it can eventually partner on cultural events and employment projects with the main institutions responsible for refugeeshere. Five days after arriving, he and his family were on their way toGermany. In an effort to save money, the family went about onfoot. Sade em Portugus supports victims of human trafficking through awareness campaigns and shelters for male victims. They are part of the reason why some of the more lofty ideas behind Portugals openness to refugees the notion that they could help arrest the countrys demographic decline and provide an economic pick-me-up to sleepy rural areas are too simplistic, hesaid. The Missionary Sisters of St. Charles Borromeo Scalabriniane, in Portugal from the beginning of 1980s, give special attention to sick and needy migrants through the Hope Project in the Amora community, supported financially by the embassies of the countries of origin of the migrants. The Pope John XXIII Community has been in Portugal since 2011 and runs a family home. These shortcomings reveal how essential it is to promote an integration approach where specific vulnerabilities are adequately taken into account, and on a regular basis as their situation tends to evolve over time. The Portuguese Council of Ministers has decided to temporarily grant all migrants and asylum seekers currently in the country full citizenship rights. You may not automatically or systematically republish any material from our sites; all stories must be chosen individually for republishing. Portugals principal entrance points are Lisbon, Porto and Faro and the majority of migrants arrive by air. The decentralised model suggested by Portuguese authorities includes positive aspects that foster integration at local level, as one of its main objectives is to bring closer asylum seekers and host communities. If, for any reason, you do not copy the code prepared for you, you must paste this code snippet into the end of the article in your CMS: Have a story idea? Traffickers sometimes exploit soccer players in labour trafficking and these victims, including some minors, are often from Brazil. Mona will be one ofthem. We would walk for an hour-and-a-half to have an hour-long Portuguese class. Yes, said Mona. Mohamad Abou Ras looks over a mural showing events from Portuguese history. Second, the states generous welcoming package is hampered by poor management and a patchwork of competing systems, so some of what is promised is poorlydelivered. In response to these problems, the Portuguese government is granting citizenship rights to all asylum seekers who have residency applications underway. In the same year, an amendment to the Portuguese Nationality Law quickened access to Portuguese citizenship to children born to foreign immigrant parents: at least one parent needs to have been legally residing in Portugal for just two years prior to the birth, down from five years. Back in 2015, the country played a key role in the implementation of the European Unions relocationprogramme of asylum seekers from Italy and Greece, with more than 1,500 transferred to its territory.

UNHCR does not currently have a permanent presence in Portugal, having closed its office in 1998, but continues to work closely with its partner, the Portuguese Refugee Council (CPR). These measures are intended to facilitate labour integration and to provide access to social security and health care particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. News Deeply will use the information you provide to send you newsletter updates and other announcements. %%EOF Syrian babies born in Portugal are celebrated in the media. June 15, 2017. When living in Aleppo became impossible, the family of seven headed for Turkey, found steady work there, and over three years built a newlife. This in turn has created geographical imbalances in integration processes, and has prompted several relocated asylum seekers to move on to regions where their individual needs would be better addressed. Yusef, who has had two heart attacks since arriving in Portugal, started importing Syrian products coffee, sweets, fruit and tobacco and selling them to Middle Eastern restaurants through a Facebook page he setup. Classes will be all in Portuguese, and he has been studyinghard. hbbd``b`$C`^{$ZLA~ L If youd like to reach us with feedback or ideas for collaboration you can do so at

This is a lightweight, efficient way for us to see the number of page views of each specific article published on our partners websites. Belgium, Phone: +32 (0) 2 235 06 80 But their middle son, 15-year-old Lawrence, had an eye condition that required a special operation, and they were advised to seek treatment in Portugal, she said. hb```f``a`221 P9n8JaD'iVa@d!>`h` F40!3gQ$4 ,%3!|Fe [+u It is a bit of balm to soothe the growing pains of a system adjusting to new demands in a time of emergency, but in a community as small as the Middle Eastern refugee population here it could make adifference. This article wasoriginally published by Middle East Eyeand is also available in French onMiddle East Eye French edition.

In contrast to the many E.U. Please see our. Asylum seekers represent only 1% of total migrants, are predominantly men and come mostly from Sub-Saharan countries. Its actually become kind of a running gag with our colleagues in other organizations that refugees are more in touch with each other than their social workers and case workers are, said Luis Bernardo, a project officer with the Portuguese Refugee Council CPRinPortuguese. Portugal offers 18 months of free housing, a monthly stipend of 150 euros ($177) for each migrant and access to language classes to help integrate new arrivals intosociety. News Deeply material may not to be provided, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, to third parties or affiliates for redistribution through those entities, unless you have received prior written approval from News Deeply.