Why Portugal?
Perhaps the question Ann and I have to field the most about our plans (yes, they’re on-going despite the World’s best effort to throw a wrench into the works) is, “Why Portugal?” The answer is generally a fairly long and winding one with no one ultimately prevailing reason. Part chance, part intention, part necessity, part opportunity . . . mostly it became an “after all that, why not?” sort of answer. Well, again there is no one plain reason on why we settled on Portugal, but in yesterday’s news there was another story that makes me feel better about saying, “That’s why!”
I haven’t blogged much this past month or so (would saying I apologize really matter any more?), in part because the Corona Virus (with the tune of “My Sharona” pounding out a beat in the back of my brain) makes getting things done difficult often requiring a multi-staged process, in part because Mummy has been requiring a lot of care the past few weeks (not that we can even see her now), in part because we’ve sold our house and now we’re starting to pack everything, and in part because I’ve worked as much in the past 8 weeks as I did in 12 weeks in previous years, but in my periods of exhaustion or like now, sitting at the breakfast counter while Ann cooks me a delicious breakfast at 5:00 in the morning, I pour through the Portuguese news trying to keep up with things and come across some really interesting tid-bits.
Like the story early last week where vacation rental owners in Lisbon and Porto have organized together to advertise and rent, for free, their apartments to health care workers who were afraid to go home in fear of contaminating their families. A news story came out that they had been sleeping in the hospitals or renting hotels for the night, so people came together to do the right thing and help those who were helping them. Yesterday, a little over a week later, I hear the news saying Air BNB is thinking of doing the same thing here in the US. Hmmm…..
So far (knock on wood), the spread of Corona Virus in Portugal is not like Italy or Spain. Portugal saw the issue quickly and triggered its readiness plan (you know, that thing from the Obama Administration that this one ignored despite Dr. Fauci’s best efforts) and has kept following it as things have escalated. The Portuguese government has been very clear about how to deal with this virus at the national, local and personal level. Information about what type of movement is and is not allowed is easy to obtain and is very clear. And the Portuguese government’s website is very transparent about the numbers it has collected about incidences in Portugal. There’s no confusion about where the hot spots are, how many people have gotten it, how many people have recovered, how many have died and how many they suspect have it in the country.
At times I feel I know more about what’s going on in Portugal than in the United States.
And then, this from an article in Reuters yesterday about Portugal’s response to migrants in this time of crisis. I won’t even try to summarize it:
“LISBON (Reuters) - All foreigners in Portugal with pending applications will be treated as permanent residents from Monday until at least July 1, authorities said on Saturday, to ensure migrants have access to public services during the coronavirus outbreak.
“Applicants including asylum seekers need only provide evidence of an ongoing request to qualify - granting them access to the national health service, welfare benefits, bank accounts, and work and rental contracts.
“‘People should not be deprived of their rights to health and public service just because their application has not yet been processed,” Claudia Veloso, spokeswoman for the Ministry of Internal Affairs, told Reuters. “In these exceptional times, the rights of migrants must be guaranteed.’”
Read that last paragraph again.
Ann and I will admit that one of the reasons that weighed in favor of our decision to move overseas was political. It wasn’t primary, but we cannot deny it was there. At times I’ve felt like I no longer recognize the country I’ve served and risked my life for. The America of the past three years is not the America I know. That quote above embraces everything I’ve believed the United States of America was about - respect for human rights, opportunity for all, rising above adversity with your head held high and your principles intact. I see that everyday with select individuals in America, not so much at the national level or within big blocks of our society.
What I can say is that I recognize that in Portugal, its people and its (and their) response to this crisis. It might have been by sheer accident that we wound up with Portugal, but perhaps I do recognize my country. Just add it to the response, “That’s why!”