Alcanena City Council opens this Wednesday, May 1st, in the municipal market, All Come – Local Support Center for the Integration of Migrants (CLAIM), which aims to constitute a “reference axis for safe migration, supervised and regularized”.
Speaking to Lusa, the mayor said that the “inspiring principle” of All Come “is that everyone is welcome to Alcanena, with a view to integration with the local community, equal opportunities and social justice”.
The project, indicated Rui Anastácio, “is therefore based on an ecumenical logic, expanding sociocultural and religious borders and highlighting the need for tolerance, dialogue, coexistence and cooperation between peoples, cultures, churches and religions for full integration ”.
For the mayor, the integration of immigrant communities is a community challenge and Alcanena must be “an example of a welcoming municipality”.
Rui Anastácio recalled the importance of immigrant communities for the economy, but also for regenerating the population, in a municipality that lost 10% of its population in the last decade and which has been receiving more and more people from abroad.
AUDIO | RUI ANASTÁCIO, PRESIDENT CM ALCANENA:
“In the municipality of Alcanena, the evolution of immigration follows the national situation. At CLAIM in Alcanena, the number of consultations increased by 40% between 2021 and 2022 and, in the first quarter of 2024, we already reached 65% of the consultations carried out in the years 2022 and 2023”, the councilor of the Social action.
Of the communities located in Alcanena, “countries of origin such as Brazil, Angola, Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Eastern countries, Venezuela or Morocco stand out”, indicated Marlene Carvalho.
“Alcanena has always welcomed immigrants. A few years ago, there was a significant influx of citizens from Eastern countries, which are currently fully integrated. Nowadays we are witnessing a new wave of migration, with a significant presence of Brazilian, Venezuelan and Indian communities”, stated the councilor, noting that the different communities are mainly looking for work.
In the municipality, the most sought after locations are Alcanena, Vila Moreira and Minde, where there is also “a greater job offer”, he indicated, without having any record of conflict situations or difficulties in integration.
“The biggest challenge is being able to have housing available for so many households arriving in the municipality”, he noted.
The school, in particular, has its integration strategies: “Nowadays, young people are prepared to welcome classmates from different cultures and habits. There is also training in Portuguese as a non-native language and we have also tried to ensure that religious issues do not constitute an obstacle”, declared the mayor.
According to the municipality, the reception project, which encompasses nine axes of action, will focus on All Come, the new service space that aims to “dignify reception and integration”, and where a senior technician – social worker – will be located. – and an operational assistant. There is also a commitment to a “closer relationship” with the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA).
The inauguration of the center includes the II Meeting of Migrant Communities Resident in the Municipality of Alcanena, with a gastronomic and cultural exhibition, promoting integration through culture and traditions.
“Gastronomy, in particular, is an area that easily creates proximity and trusting environments. […] In addition to sharing gastronomy, from 13 different countries, we will have a cultural exhibition prepared by the communities themselves, including a participation of Portuguese culture”, said the councilor.
At a national level, warned Marlene Carvalho, “bureaucratic mechanisms need to be more agile”, such as supervision and inspection in terms of housing, the job market and access to health.
“Responses to municipalities, which are the structures that are in the first line, must be immediate”, he argued, remembering the importance of financing for these actions.
C/LUSA
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