In contrast to the many E.U. countries that are reluctant to admit displaced people, Portugal has taken an open approach and attempted to encourage more refugees to come. At the time when other E.U. members are closing their borders or grudgingly taking their “share” of migrants, Portugal's Prime minister Antonio Costa, when asked in 2015 to take in 1,600 refugees through the emergency relocation scheme, said his country could support 10,000 of them. The country has formally pledged to take close to 4,600 – far more than its obligation.
Portuguese families and churches offer homes, clothing and language exchanges. Syrian babies born in Portugal are celebrated in the media. There is little of the right-wing rhetoric seen in countries such as the United Kingdom, focused on the “burden” of migrants. 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 into society. The notion was that they could help arrest the country’s demographic decline and provide an economic pick-me-up to rural areas
Yet, 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 Middle East. Meanwhile, more than 40 percent of those who arrived in the country have left within 18 months.
The reasons the country struggle to fill its quotas are myriad. There is the lack of established ethnic communities from Arabic-speaking countries. So there are no family networks and no friend networks that support the arrival of other refugees. Some refugees find themselves placed not in the cosmopolitan cities of Lisbon or Porto but in rural areas where the cultural isolation and language shocks are more pronounced. Placing individual families in remote corners of Portugal where there are limited services, for example, has not helped them integrate or build a sense of belonging.
Portugals generous welcoming package is hampered by poor management and a patchwork of competing systems, what is promised is not always delivered. While Portugal’s response to the refugee crisis shows genuine solidarity, made for a patchwork system. The state entirely relied on civil society organizations.
Portugal’s economy has been recovering since the financial crisis and is heavily dependent on service and tourism-based jobs that require good language communication skills. Many new arrivals speak neither English nor Portuguese. Portugal is a poor country without expectations of getting a job easily: it’s not an attractive country to stay.
An association has been founded by asylum seekers, called “Families of Refugees.”
"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.
“We are refugees and we know what refugees need,” said Abou Ras. “We can help.” Abou Ras will start classes in human resources management at one of Lisbon’s universities – a move he hopes will make finding a job easier. “Portugal is still the best place for refugees,” he said, “People here are nice, they want to help. Elsewhere they hate us.”
Portuguese families and churches offer homes, clothing and language exchanges. Syrian babies born in Portugal are celebrated in the media. There is little of the right-wing rhetoric seen in countries such as the United Kingdom, focused on the “burden” of migrants. 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 into society. The notion was that they could help arrest the country’s demographic decline and provide an economic pick-me-up to rural areas
Yet, 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 Middle East. Meanwhile, more than 40 percent of those who arrived in the country have left within 18 months.
The reasons the country struggle to fill its quotas are myriad. There is the lack of established ethnic communities from Arabic-speaking countries. So there are no family networks and no friend networks that support the arrival of other refugees. Some refugees find themselves placed not in the cosmopolitan cities of Lisbon or Porto but in rural areas where the cultural isolation and language shocks are more pronounced. Placing individual families in remote corners of Portugal where there are limited services, for example, has not helped them integrate or build a sense of belonging.
Portugals generous welcoming package is hampered by poor management and a patchwork of competing systems, what is promised is not always delivered. While Portugal’s response to the refugee crisis shows genuine solidarity, made for a patchwork system. The state entirely relied on civil society organizations.
Portugal’s economy has been recovering since the financial crisis and is heavily dependent on service and tourism-based jobs that require good language communication skills. Many new arrivals speak neither English nor Portuguese. Portugal is a poor country without expectations of getting a job easily: it’s not an attractive country to stay.
An association has been founded by asylum seekers, called “Families of Refugees.”
"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.
“We are refugees and we know what refugees need,” said Abou Ras. “We can help.” Abou Ras will start classes in human resources management at one of Lisbon’s universities – a move he hopes will make finding a job easier. “Portugal is still the best place for refugees,” he said, “People here are nice, they want to help. Elsewhere they hate us.”
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