Immigrants vital for Portugal’s economy says Portuguese Red Cross boss
Text: Chris Graeme; Photos: ICPT
Poverty, social inequality, and domestic violence is growing in Portugal at an alarming rate according to the new president of the Portuguese Red Cross, António Saraiva who addressed members of the business community at a lunch organised by the International Club of Portugal in Lisbon on Wednesday.
It is a crisis made worse by continuing economic difficulties and the rising cost of living brought on by both the Covid-19 crisis and various geopolitical conflicts around the world.
In fact, the number of demands on the Portuguese Red Cross for support skyrocketed by around 73% in 2023, putting pressure on an already overstretched service, its resources and response capacity.
At the lunch held at the Lisboa Sheraton & Spa at which the Mayor of Loures, Ricardo Jorge Colaço Leão, several members of the board of the Portuguese Red Cross, and the current president of the business association, the Portuguese Industrial Confederation (CIP), Armindo Monteiro were present, António Saraiva not only spoke about the work of the Red Cross in Portugal – work carried out 24 hours a day, seven days a week, all-year-round – but also how the organisation in “challenging times for civilisation” faced and dealt with the consequences of social problems such as inequality that are feeding populism at a time when democracy is under threat.
With its mission to ‘serve humanity and alleviate suffering’ the Red Cross was founded by Jean Henry Dunant, a Swiss businessman in 1863 in Geneva, Switzerland. In Portugal it was José António Marques who on February 11, 1865, organised the Portuguese Commission for Helping Military Patients in Times of War” (Comissão Portuguesa de Socorros a Feridos e Doentes Militares em Tempo de Guerra), from which evolved the Portuguese Red Cross or Cruz Vermelha Portuguesa.
The International Red Cross (IRC), for example, is the only body that has been on the ground in the current Israel-Hamas/Hezbollah conflict.
As an organisation on the ground during such conflicts, as well as natural disasters, the Red Cross is currently operating in over 100 countries and has 18,000 employees worldwide.
In Portugal, the Red Cross has 159 delegations up and down the country from Braga in the north to Vila Real de Santo António in the south, 2,800 staff, 4,000 volunteers, and around 1,800 vehicles.
Then there is the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) founded in 1919 – the world’s largest humanitarian network which encompasses all the Red Cross organisations in the world.
António Saraiva was invited to head the Red Cross in Portugal because of his vast experience in management, associationism, and corporate diplomacy over the many years of an illustrious career; a career which was recognised by the Portuguese State when he was made a Commander of the Order of Infante (one of Portugal’s highest decorations) for his outstanding civic and societal contributions. (He headed the Portuguese Industrial Confederation – CIP between 2010-2023).
However, he admits that when he was invited to lead the Red Cross in Portugal, he hadn’t really grasped the full extent of all the work it carried out, and the magnitude of its importance.
And it’s not just an organisation that operates during disasters – such as the terrible fires that swept the north of Portugal this September, killing 16 including three voluntary fire fighters – it deals with domestic violence cases, helps refugees and the homeless, supports homes for the elderly, creches and kindergartens, among others.
And over the years the Red Cross in Portugal has been called to assist in increasing numbers of cases in a social reality that is vastly different from that of some years ago, particularly in areas such as domestic violence and homelessness because of economic pressures caused by inflation.
“We will always have the homeless; there are some people who don’t want to live under societal rules and are happy to live like that, even if that’s difficult to understand; but there are others, such as refugees who come from a different world; fleeing from general tensions, political or economic, in search of a better life, and we’re here to help them to.
“We can’t treat these people, as we sometimes do. The issue of migration should be seen differently, and we have a civic obligation to help them,” said the Portuguese Red Cross president.
António Saraiva reminded that many of these people were the victims of mafias and traffickers exploiting them only to reach some countries where they are often literally abandoned.
And stressed that Portugal’s economy simply could not survive without the influx of immigrants without which it would grind to a halt.
“Obviously, the State and other organisations such as the Santa Casa de Misericórdia (Portugal’s oldest charitable institution) help, but we’re not going to abandon those who seek our help.
“We work with the government, associations, institutions, and people in general, and educate them about the advantages of immigration. We ourselves have emigrated to other countries to do the manual jobs that at that time their own people didn’t want to do, and often made a considerable and decisive contribution to the economic development of these host countries,” said António Saraiva.
“Today, we receive people from countries that are less economically developed than ours who are looking to rebuild their lives, improve their circumstances and that of their families, many of whom remained in their countries of origin,” added the self-made entrepreneur who started out at the age of 17 working in Lisbon’s shipyards and went on to make his fortune producing kitchen and bathroom taps after buying Metalúrgica Luso-Italiano S.A. in 1997.
And it was important to debunk the myth that immigrants come and steal jobs from the locals, are part of organised crime gangs and put the security of society at risk.
“There are always bad apples in the basket, and we have to be careful and selective about who we let in, but we should never lump people together in that basket and tar them with the same brush and be prejudiced from the start,” stressed António Saraiva.
But to be financially sustainable, especially when it comes to mobilising resources to ensure that the Portuguese Red Cross can continue to offer its continuous support services, it has to draw upon its partnerships with the government, local councils, companies, NGOs, as well as investing in training and increasing the number of volunteers which are all essential for its operations.
“The Red Cross basically relies on donations from the public and the government, some of which goes to maintaining a retirement home for ex-military servicemen, and from financed projects that ensure revenue streams in an effective and ethical manner.”
In fact, service provision is one of the Portuguese Red Cross’s main sources of income and a good example from the protocols and partnerships signed with various public and private entities is a 24-hour telcare network for the sick, elderly, and victims of domestic violence.
Last year alone it catered to 10,563 people with the Red Cross attending to 356,000 calls.
The Portuguese Red Cross also undertakes fund raising campaigns aimed at the general public at large. “These campaigns are vital to get the community involved to increase our donation base,” he said.
It also supports the Portuguese Social Security system because although social services, education and military services fall under the State’s remit, the State has budgetary constraints, and the Red Cross helps in carrying some of these responsibilities.
This kind of support is particularly relevant at a local municipal council level where revenues are never sufficient to cover the number of requests that have risen exponentially,” he concluded.
If you want to donate to support the valuable work undertaken by the Portuguese Red Cross or become a volunteer, you can transfer donations via its NIF (Tax Identification Number 500745749 or visit its website www. https://www.cruzvermelha.pt/
