Delay

‘When traveling from Amsterdam last Sunday, the incoming TAP flight was delayed by an hour. Although they had to change terminals, no information whatsoever was given to the passengers. On arrival in Lisbon, they had to remain seated in the plane for about 20 minutes, due to lack of transport to the main building. Once arrived at the assembly line, they had to wait another 45 minutes to get their suitcases and subsequently stood 30 minutes in the queue to catch a cab to the city center!’

With the vigorous rise in the number of flights to Lisbon over the past 10 years – and a subsequent increase in passengers from 13 to 27 million – complaints about Humberto Delgado Airport have doubled since 2015. Delays at departure, on arrival, at customs ( especially when arriving from a non-Schengen destination) and delays in communication. ‘TAP is always delayed’, you often hear from fellow passengers and water bottles have become standard equipment in the long waiting queues.

Lisbon Airport is congested and overcrowded, a victim of a booming tourism industry. Records are broken every year. On the 22nd of June, 680 flight movements – take-offs and landings – were reported, an all-time high. That same month, the airport had to cancel even more flights than Heathrow, that handles three times as many passengers per year.

Nevertheless, growth is skyrocketing and a further boost of 10 million passengers is expected over the next 5 years. The 75 years old airport certainly can’t cope, despite its clean appearance, tasty food, and nice shops.
To alleviate the constraints, the government seriously considers renovating a former military airbase in Montijo – across the Tagus – that could be made operational for civil aviation by 2022.

The ecological movement ZERO criticises the lack of transparency in the decision-making and fears the impact on the flora and fauna in the nearby Tagus Estuary Natural Reserve and noise pollution for the approximately 55.000 residents in the area. It demands a proper environmental evaluation, including alternative sites for the complementary airstrip. If the government doesn’t meet these requirements, the environmentalists will go to court and eventually proceed to the European Commission. The aviation lobby warns that further postponement will cost the treasury each year 600 million euros in revenues, from tourism alone.


Bom fim de semana                   Have a great weekend                 (pic Público)

 

 

 

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Undocumented

‘Only foreigners work here, he confesses. It’s hard work and poorly paid. Sixteen hours a day for the minimum wage. You keep going because they give you a contract, that is needed for a permit.’ Amit Kumar, originating from India is 32 years old and works since 2013 in Portugal. First in horticulture in the Algarve and after that in a restaurant in Belem. Although he is paying tax and social security, he runs the risk of being expelled as he can’t prove to have entered the country in a legal way. In 2017 he falls ill and has to be admitted to hospital for a week. Being unable to pay the bill, he asks his uncle in India for help. ‘I was supposed to support my family over there, not the other way around.’
When he returns to work, he discovers he is fired.

The ruling socialist party wants the government to speed up the legalization of undocumented immigrants, who have been working for more than a year and paid tax and social security. Even if they have entered the country illegally. The party invokes on Article 123 in the Aliens Act, which permits residency for foreigners on humanitarian grounds.

The reason for the amendment was the large-scale demonstration in May, when immigrants gathered before Parliament, expressing that they were treated like second-rank citizens, even though they paid tax and social insurance.

‘It concerns a group of approximately 30.000 people, who have work commitments but no rights whatsoever’, explains Flora Silva, president of the solidarity organization Olho Vivo (www.olho-vivo.org). ‘Most of them are from Lisbon but also from the Algarve, where many people from Nepal and Indonesia work in agriculture.

‘The law doesn’t promote the integration of immigrants, who work here for many years but are not treated as human beings’, says Timóteo Macedo, president of Solidaridade Imigrante (Solim). ‘Our Government argues, that we need more immigrants for our economy. Fine. They are already here, just come and see!’

Research by Solim in April showed that illegal immigrants pay on average 6 times more for a visit to the Emergency Department and 8 times more for a doctor’s consultation in Primary Health Care, than legal employees. ‘When undocumented workers pay their social security’, Macedo points out, ’there shouldn’t be any difference at all, isn’t it?’

Bom fim de semana            Enjoy the weekend                       (pic Público)

 


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Animalism

Dog at the table, fish on the plate

‘And what if the dog bites one of the customers? How do we know the dog isn’t sick?’ utters José Manuel Esteves, director of the Hotel and Restaurant Association (AHRESP). ‘Than we will be responsible!’
Eunice Marcelino, attorney at the Public Ministry is less concerned. ‘Pets are already allowed on terraces and that has never raised any concerns.’

As of next week, a new law enters into force allowing pets in restaurants and bars. ‘With domestic animals, one automatically thinks of cats and dogs but in our legal proposal domestic is not strictly defined’, explains Cristina Rodriguez, MP of the party for Persons, Animals, and Nature (PAN) and one of the submitters of the proposal.

This implicates that any pet is allowed as long as the owner of the restaurant – who always has the final say – raises no objections and the animal is leashed. ‘But the law is of course drafted with dogs in mind, which usually accompany their owners’, declares Maria do Céu Sampaio, president of the League for Animal Rights.

In most European countries domestic animals are tolerated in food courts.
France is the most pet-friendly in this respect, Scandinavia least.
Small dogs are in general no problem in Italy and Germany but for large dogs, eyebrows are raised.

More than half of the Portuguese households have a pet, which is often considered as ‘member of the family’ or ‘friend.’ Most popular are dogs (42%), ranking well before cats (22%), birds (18%) and fish (5%).
They consume on average around 15% of the family budget.

According to an investigation in April by the Association for Consumer Protection (DECO), only 20% of the owners consider taking their four-legged friend out to dinner.
‘One of the favorable side effects of this new law might be, that owners are now more motivated to raise their dogs properly, concludes Maria do Céu.


BOM FIM DE SEMANA           ENJOY THE WEEKEND          (pic SAPO/Público)

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No

‘Don’t kill our elderly’  people shouted in front of Parliament on May 29.

Euthanasia continues to be a crime with prison sentences ranging from two to five years in “the land of the Maria’s” as Parliament rejected with 115 against 110 votes a proposal of the ruling left-wing parties last week to decriminalize assisted death. It was the Social Democratic PSD – the country’s biggest opposition party – who held the key for change but in the end, nearly all their members voted against the legislation.

That the conservative Christian Democratic CDS – fiercely supported by the Catholic church – would vote against, was no more than expected. The surprise during the vote was the unanimous ‘njet’ of the Communist PCP, despite a comment of Mariana Mortágua, MP of activist party BE (Left Block).
She reminded her leftist colleagues of the historical words of Nobel Prize winner and militant communist José Saramago on the Spanish tetraplegic Ramon Sampredo, who wanted to die. ‘Nobody has the right to say: just stay attached to those (ventilation) tubes. We don’t kill but respect those who ask us: please help me.’

Euthanasia – good death in old Greek – is allowed in 4 European and 2 South American countries, Canada and 5 North American states. The Netherlands was the first country legalizing euthanasia in 2002. Although under strict conditions and carried out by a physician who knows the patient well.
In Belgium assisted death for minors became available in 2014.

‘There has been a lot of progression in the last two years regarding the right for everyone to die decently’, declares João Semedo, physician and ex-coordinator of the Left Block in response to the election results. ‘Acceptance of euthanasia is just a matter of time and the topic will undoubtedly return in next year’s elections.’

Bom fim de semana              Enjoy the weekend                        (pic Sapo)

 

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Loving

May 25 is Gender Equality Day

‘Is it normal to slap your girlfriend?
To check her phone?
And what if she wants to check your phone?’

These are questions, 17-year-old Paulo Silva asks his male classmates of the Ferreira Alves secondary school in Valadares, northern Portugal as part of a collaborative European study on teenage love and violence.

‘If boys have more privileges and sexual freedom in relationships than girls, there will be more social pressure to behave accordingly: strong, determined and protective’, reveals 18-year-old Catarina Machado. ‘We  – both students and teachers –should be more alert, when we notice that one of us is eager to control the clothing and contacts of his loved one.’

‘These themes have to be discussed openly in school to avoid the reproduction of stereotype behavior’, adds Isabel Menezes – psychologist at the University of Porto – also referring to a nationwide study under 15-year-old high school students of which two-thirds already had experienced intimate relationships. Nearly half of them believed that impeding the partner wearing certain clothes is not violence and one-fourth considered it normal, to force schoolmates to kiss in public.

He grabbed a glass, put it on my throat and said: ‘I just feel like killing you ‘

In a national survey among university students more than half stated to be victims of dating violence. Some were even threatened with death.
One-third of the students admitted being engaged in violent behavior themselves.
Twenty percent of the girls said to be ‘controlled about what to wear and where to go’ and one in ten declared to be forced into undesirable sex.

‘Young people don’t understand the complexity of violence in intimate relations’, explains Sofia Neves, coordinator of the study and president of the Observatory of Dating Violence, that received 128 complaints from – mostly female- students last year. Physical and psychological aggression, stalking and sexual abuse was most frequently reported, occurring often more than once. The cause is usually jealousy, whether or not in combination with alcohol. In only a few cases were offenses reported to the authorities but measures are seldom taken.


‘Raising awareness through information is crucial and should be started in school, at an early age’, concludes Sofia Neves. ‘To prevent violent relationships later on.’


Bom fim de semana              Enjoy the weekend              (pic Publico/Sapo)

 

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Renting

Room with a view in the center – Martim Moniz – 18 m²,  1300 euro/month

‘No, it is not okay’, mutters João. ‘We got a letter from the landlord the other day. Our contract expires in November. He wants to increase the rent from 300 to 800 euro a month and reduce the contract period to one year. I’ am sure he’ll increase the rent again next year.
But it’s too much, I can’t afford that.’

Joao is a stocky, compact fellow. Looks like 60. Blue eyes, strong hands. Works as a gardener nearby. Says he can’t stay at home during the day with a depressive wife complaining all day.

 ‘Where do you live?’, I ask
‘Principe Real, for 37 years. My daughter and grandson are born in that same place. It’s a nice neighbourhood.
‘I bet’, I say. ‘And very popular among tourist these days. I’ve heard Jamie Oliver has opened an Italian restaurant there somewhere’. My wife doesn’t like Italian’, he grumbles.

Almost half a million tenants are awaiting the same fate as João. Most of the rental agreements signed last year in Lisbon were for one year only. The good news is that the socialist government wants to intervene in the overheated housing market and overrule the Rental Law (Lei das Rendas) of 2012, when the former conservative government liberalized the real estate sector. 

Within five years rents in Lisbon increased by 36%.
Prime minister António Costa now wants that landlords – who let their dwellings for 20% below the market value for a period of at least 3 years – are given tax benefits.
The longer the contract the greater the benefit!

‘Sounds nice’, moans João ‘but 80% of 800 is still too much.’
‘Ho, Ho. I am not finished yet’, I continue.

Housing is a priority for this government, that wants to build more affordable accommodation and has set aside 1,7 billion euros to give 26.000 needy families – half of them from Lisbon – a decent home within six years. It also intends to give municipalities the right to claim vacant properties for social habitation.

Well, it’s a pity I’ am not one of those families and six years is a long time, especially at my age’, João replies.
‘No, I’ am afraid we’ll have to leave the city center. It’s a shame, selling the capital to the well-off and the numerous tourists. Thanks anyway but I really have to go back to work.’

‘But João, wait! How old are you?’
‘72. Why?
‘Well, in that case, I wouldn’t worry too much. Anyone over 65 and living for more than 25 years in the same house is – according to this new law- entitled to an automatic renewal of his current contract. And there is a very good chance that Parliament will approve this very soon. You better hold on.’

Bom fim da semana                                                          Enjoy the weekend

 

 

 

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Lonely

1500 refugees – most of them Syrians relocated from Greece and Italy by the  European Commission – 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!

‘It’s a shame how Portugal treats his refugees’, says Jose Manuel Pureza, MP of the Left Bloc (BE). ’The Portuguese government is – unlike many European countries – willing to accept more refugees. That’s positive. The problem, however, is the practical implementation.’

‘The bureaucratic and administrative obstacles for refugees are enormous’, explains Francesco Vacchiano, investigator at the Institute for Social Science (ICS) from the University of Lisbon. ‘While 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 – officially – allowed to work. That’s it! Their – well-meant – scattered allocation all over the country generates even further isolation’.

‘People are simply put somewhere and have no say at all in the conditions in which they are accommodated’, Vacchiano emphasizes. ‘As if a refugee doesn’t have a voice of his own. His educational background and profession don’t exist anymore. These are simply deleted.’

The granting of a residence permit by the SEF ( Serviço de Estrangeiros e Fronteiras) – Portugal’s immigration and border police – takes by and large 12 to 18 months. One can only apply for family reunification áfter obtaining the permit, which takes ‘at least another 5-6 months’, according to SEF.

Besides, families aren’t 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/Público)

 

 

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Tagus

Tagus
Chronicle of an announced death?

‘Got a cold beer?’
The bartender from the restaurant Pedro dos Leitões in Mealhada looked straight into the weary eyes of a stocky man in a blue jacket with Ministry of Environment written on it
‘Sure man, here you are. Been busy?’
‘You say it. Took us ages to get decent samples.’
‘Samples? Whereof?
‘Of that paper mill nearby, in Vila Velha de Rodão. We first only got that stinking foam and had to go really deep into the river to get nice samples ’
‘Oh, you mean Celtejo?’
It had been in all the newspapers and every day on TV. Celtejo, the cellulose factory had caused a natural disaster last month by dumping enormous amounts of waste in the drought-inflicted Tagus, the country’s largest river. Thousands of fish had died and tourists fled the area. The excessive discharges had probably been going on secretly for years. The government had decided to a 50% cut in production until further notice and Francisco Ferreira from ZERO – the sustainable terrestrial system association – already claimed compensation from Celtejo of 150.000 euro for damage done. Cleaning of the mess was estimated to cost at least one million euro according to Portugal’s Minister of Environment,  João Matos Fernandes.
‘Yeah, that’s the one’, nodded the client and pointed to his empty glass.
‘But why more samples?’ said the barkeeper. I thought the case was closed and Celtejo the culprit. The party for People, Animals, and Nature (PAN) demanded yesterday immediate closure of the plant. At least that’s what I’ve heard on the news.’
‘It’s not all that easy’, grumbled the official. ‘We have to be very sure before we can shut down a big company like that. Imagine what is going to happen with its 300 employees? Vila Velha completely depends on that industry. Besides that, we have to verify if its production has been really halved.
‘OK, thanks for the beer. They are expecting the data in Lisbon as of today.’
He briskly walked around the restaurant but came to an abrupt standstill when he reached the parking lot.
‘Oh no’, he whimpered when he saw the rear window of his car smashed and his PC gone.

Computer with confidential data from the Celtejo investigation stolen in restaurant Pedro dos Leitões, Mealhada
[ Expresso 23-2-2018 ]

‘The Tagus is more beautiful than the river that flows through my village,
But the Tagus is not more beautiful than the river that flows through my village
Because the Tagus is not the river that flows through my village.

The Tagus descends from Spain
And crosses Portugal to pour into the sea.
Everyone knows this.
But few know what the river in my village is called
And where it goes to
And where it comes from.
And so, because it belongs to fewer people,
The river of my village is freer and larger.’                 (Fernando Pessoa, 1914)


Bom fim de semana            Have a nice weekend             ( photo Público)

 

 

 

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Detention

21 March – International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

‘It’s violence of a racist nature perpetrated into our prison system.’
– José Pureza, MP of the Left Bloc (BE)

‘Accusations of racism, xenophobia, and torture are a shame for our country.’
– Carlos Peixoto, MP of the Social Democrats (PSD)

‘It’s a reality that exists, apartheid in our society.’
– Isabel Moreira, MP of the Socialist Party (PS)

‘Police violence is serious but look, violence against the police also increased.’
– Vânia da Silva, MP of the Christian Democrats (CDS)

Both left and right wing parties in Parliament are concerned about racism in the police force and violation of human rights in prisons. The reason is a recently published report of the European Committee against Torture, stating that police violence in Portugal – in particular against African descendants – is the highest in Western Europe.

The committee – that also visited the country in 2013 – emphasizes that the police violence at police stations has increased and that the situation in the overcrowded prisons of Caxias, Setubal, and Lisbon is ‘inhuman and degrading.’

Julia Kozma, lawyer and chairing the European delegation, points the finger towards the Ministry of Internal Affairs – responsible for the police and the security forces – and regrets its lack of ‘awareness’. The Ministry denies the accusations and declares that ‘all complaints about violent police conduct are investigated by the Internal General Inspectorate (IGAI) and immediately reported to the Public Prosecutor.’

The reality, however, is that only a very small number of the complaints are brought before court. ‘And that’s exactly the problem’, says Kozma. ‘There is a spirit of impunity and bureaucracy, whereby complaining doesn’t help. The inspection body (IGAI) needs more skills to conduct criminal investigations and more resources to act independently.’

Pedro Neto, the director of Amnesty International in Portugal, also believes that the IGAI – “the police of the police” – should become independent of the Ministry. ’One government department cannot control another state entity.’

In recent months the non-governmental organization SOS racism received an increasing number of grievances from inmates in the prison of Lisbon about racist provocations and intimidations. Peculiar was that all complaints came from African immigrants and that any registration on xenophobe or racist behavior from the guards and staff is lacking.

All hope is now pinned on the Minister of Justice, Francisca van Dunem. She announced recently not only to reduce the number of convicts in jail but also to improve the conditions in detention centers. Bias

Bom fim de semana            Have a nice weekend          [photo’s Público/Sapo]

 

 

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Waiting

The most common chronic disease in Portugal is called ‘waiting list’

Patients have to wait 3 years to see a urologist in Vila Real or an ENT specialist in Leiria and 2 years to obtain an appointment with a cardiologist in Guarda. These extremes not only occur in the countryside, as the waiting list for a neurological consultation at Amadora Sintra – one of the biggest state hospitals in the country – exceeds more than a year.

Is it a wonder, that citizens – especially the ones who can afford it – turn to the private sector, where waiting periods – due to more specialists – are half as long as in the National Health Service (SNS).

The average waiting period for (non-acute) specialist care in Portugal is 4 months, varying from 6 months for an ophthalmologist to 6 weeks for an obstetrician. Patients who have to wait for more than five months have – by law – the right to be treated in the private sector. A costly buffer as the SNS, respectively the taxpayer must pay the bill.

‘The SNS is overstretched, needs more specialists, family doctors and in particular more funding. Specialists are overworked and underpaid, 750.000 citizens still have no family doctor and the government spends less on ‘health’ than the average EU member state’, says Miguel Guimarães, president of the Medical Association. ‘Last year we received a red cart from the Euro Health Consumer Index for our poor accessibility to (non-acute) specialist care and the yellow card for our lack of general practitioners.’

The excessive waiting lists are – according to the independent trade union of doctors Sindicato Independente dos Médicos – mainly the result of the fact that specialists in state hospitals have to spend too much – almost half – of their time to emergencies. The majority of the specialists working in the SNS is therefore unsatisfied. Many want to abandon the service and either go into private practice or leave the country, where working conditions are better and the pay higher.

‘Wages are indeed low, excess hours abundant and career prospects nil’, explains Maria Ferreira of the Public Health Department of the University of Porto, who conducted an investigation under 15.000 doctors in northern Portugal. ‘Half of the recently qualified doctors is thinking of leaving the country after finishing their specialization and over 1200 doctors have already left in the past 3 years.’

Although the right to healthcare is enshrined in the constitution, lack of accessibility affects poor people most as the private sector is no alternative to them. The only they can do is hope for the best and wait.

Bom fim de semana               Have a great weekend                (photo’s Público)

 

 

 

 

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