The Deputy Minister for Parliamentary Affairs reaffirmed on Tuesday the importance of respecting human rights and solidarity with refugees, stressing that this is the principle of full integration.
In an article published on Tuesday in the Público newspaper on the occasion of International Refugee Day, Ana Catarina Méndez thanks the refugees for their contribution to Portuguese society, which she considers plural and open to difference, “despite some extremist and populist hints that elude civilizational minimums.”
Ana Catarina Mendez recalls that 13 times more refugees arrived in Portugal in the last year than in the last seven years. “Many come from Ukraine fleeing the war; many others come from so many parts of the world, ravaged by endless conflict, hunger, lack of living conditions,” he writes.
According to the Portuguese Council for Refugees (CPR), more than 900 foreign nationals, including 59 unaccompanied minors, have applied for protection in Portugal this year.
In Portugal, writes the minister, “they find peace and hospitality, which allows them to have a job, children in school, integration into society, the response of a strong and supportive welfare state.”
“In a world where individualism, extremism and discrimination are on the rise—weapons that kill bloodlessly, according to Hannah Arendt—human rights must be reaffirmed. Solidarity is the fundamental principle of full integration”, defends.
The Minister recalls the Portuguese history of hospitality: “Portugal has always welcomed, sometimes cautiously and embarrassedly, even in the ominous period of Proud Solitude, which goes against the regime itself.” “Many World War II refugees passed through Lisbon on their way to the US,” he recalls, then points to the courage of Aristides de Souza Mendes, “who issued visas to thousands of women and men and saved their lives.”
“Eighty years have passed. Portugal today is a consolidated democracy that enjoys respect and full rights in the international community. It is a country of solidarity that welcomes those who have chosen it to live,” he adds.
According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), in 2022, the largest number of refugees formed in Syria, Ukraine, Afghanistan, Venezuela, South Sudan and Myanmar, the former Burma.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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