Lonely
1500 refugees â most of them Syrians relocated from Greece and Italy by the  European Commission â have applied for asylum in Portugal since December 2015. In the meantime, more than half of them have already left the country in search of greener pastures. Only a quarter has obtained refugee status.
15 of them have ever since applied for family reunification.
1 has succeeded so far. Just one!
âItâs a shame how Portugal treats his refugeesâ, says Jose Manuel Pureza, MP of the Left Bloc (BE). âThe Portuguese government is – unlike many European countries – willing to accept more refugees. Thatâs positive. The problem, however, is the practical implementation.â
âThe bureaucratic and administrative obstacles for refugees are enormousâ, explains Francesco Vacchiano, investigator at the Institute for Social Science (ICS) from the University of Lisbon. âWhile people arrive here full of hope, our system only allows marginal positioning in society, not real integration. These refugees are completely left on their own. They get a roof over their heads, an allowance of 150 euro per month and are not â officially – allowed to work. Thatâs it! Their â well-meant â scattered allocation all over the country generates even further isolationâ.
âPeople are simply put somewhere and have no say at all in the conditions in which they are accommodatedâ, Vacchiano emphasizes. âAs if a refugee doesnât have a voice of his own. His educational background and profession donât exist anymore. These are simply deleted.â
The granting of a residence permit by the SEF ( Serviço de Estrangeiros e Fronteiras) – Portugalâs immigration and border police â takes by and large 12 to 18 months. One can only apply for family reunification ĂĄfter obtaining the permit, which takes âat least another 5-6 monthsâ, according to SEF.
Besides, families arenât evaluated as a whole but each member is screened one at a time, giving rise to even more delay in the reunification process.
One can only conclude, that it makes little sense to allow more asylum seekers into the country if SEF is not able – or willing – to step up their work. Even if the government preaches, that it wants to welcome another 1000 refugees this year.
Bom fim de semana       Enjoy your weekend       (pic SAPO/PĂșblico)