Development & Aid, Europe, Headlines, Human Rights, Migration & Refugees, Population

PORTUGAL: New Campaign Debunks Immigration Myths

Mario de Queiroz

LISBON, Jun 10 2005 (IPS) - "Thank you, Vassily. Immigrant Portugal, Tolerant Portugal." "We are grateful, and so are they." These slogans, accompanied by a picture of a Ukrainian worker, are part of a campaign launched in Portugal to debunk the myth that the arrival of foreigners has a negative impact on the country.

The new campaign was launched Thursday by the High Commissioner for Immigration and Ethnic Minorities (ACIME), through supplements inserted into the country’s major newspapers.

The supplement points out that for centuries, this was a nation of emigrants, which eventually led to the need to take in the 400,000 immigrants legally residing in the country today, "to make Portugal a better country."

ACIME notes that when it comes to the public’s perception of immigration, a number of "truths" have developed based on preconceived and apparently coherent beliefs, "which are nonetheless profoundly misguided," and almost always "serve the purposes of certain interests and ideologies."

The campaign is aimed at tackling some of the myths about immigration – such as the claim that foreign workers "come here to steal our jobs" – through scientific and rigorously interpreted facts, while bearing in mind that "there are 4.5 million Portuguese living abroad."

ACIME was established by decree in 2002, and while it answers to the prime minister, it functions as an independent structure providing support and consultation services to the government with regard to the issues of immigration and ethnic minorities.

Its mission is to ensure the application of anti-discrimination laws, promote the integration of immigrants and minorities, and guarantee the participation of associations representing these sectors in the design of policies to foster integration and combat exclusion.

The number of legal immigrants residing in Portugal rose from 100,000 in 1990 to around 200,000 in 1999. Over the following five years, the immigrant population doubled once again to reach a total of 400,000 in 2004.

According to unofficial estimates, however, there are roughly 610,000 immigrants currently living in the country – both documented and undocumented – out of a total population of 10.2 million.

Official statistics compiled in the countries of the European Union (EU) include only those foreign workers who have up-to-date legal resident status, because to do otherwise "would mean recognising the incompetence of the border police," José Falcao, president of the non-governmental organisation SOS-Racism, told IPS.

Contrary to the claims of ultra-nationalist sectors that foreign workers are "invading" the country, ACIME stressed that "Portugal is far from being one of the countries with the highest percentage of immigrants."

The most recent study by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD, made up of the world’s industrialised nations), released in 2002, places Luxembourg at the top of the list, with immigrants accounting for 37 percent of the country’s population, followed by Switzerland, with 19 percent, and then Germany, Austria and Belgium, with between eight and 10 percent each.

"At that time, 2.1 percent of Portugal’s population was made up by immigrants, and even today, after the accelerated growth of the last few years, which has also taken place in other countries, the proportion has increased to a mere 4.1 percent," the ACIME supplement reports.

Another myth tackled by the new campaign is the purported cause-and-effect relationship between immigration and unemployment, an argument wielded by extreme right-wing political sectors in most industrialised countries.

The OECD "demonstrates precisely the opposite: the highest unemployment rates are found in countries with low proportions of immigrants, while the countries with higher proportions have relatively low unemployment rates," such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland and the United States.

ACIME observes that despite the xenophobic reactions of certain minority sectors, the reception generally encountered by immigrants in Portugal evoked praise from José María Gil Robles of Spain, the EU Human Rights Commissioner in 2003.

"The increasing numbers of foreigners in Portugal, whether from eastern Europe or from other Portuguese-speaking countries, have been absorbed without the emergence of social or racial tensions," noted Gil Robles.

This fact demonstrates "the general openness and tolerance of Portuguese society," and sets "an example for other countries in Europe," he added.

According to ACIME, the significant economic growth experienced in Portugal in the second half of the 1990s and the major public works undertaken between 1998 and 2004 gradually created a demand for a larger supply of labour than the country could provide.

In addition to the Lisbon World Exposition, these years saw the construction of the Vasco da Gama bridge, the longest in Europe, spanning the 17.8-km width of the Tajo River in eastern Lisbon, as well as the 330-km highway from the capital to the southern region of Algarve and the 10 stadiums built to host the 2004 Euro Cup of football.

ACIME emphasises that none of these major projects could have been carried out without the contributions of immigrant workers.

Consequently, "it is important to address the issue from another perspective: Could Portugal do without immigrants in the medium and long term?" The answer, says ACIME, is a categorical "no", and this holds true for the rest of Europe as well.

The EU, along with Switzerland and Norway, is currently facing a demographic crisis, with a significant reduction of the total number of inhabitants and a progressive ageing of the population. According to forecasts, Europe could lose at least 22 million inhabitants by the year 2050.

To illustrate the gravity of this forecast, the ACIME supplement adds that "without immigration, the economically active population (people between the ages of 15 and 64) could shrink by 19 percent by that time."

During the same period, the number of people over 64 will increase from 74 million to 125 million, which means that by 2050, there will be one retired person for every two economically active workers, while the current ratio is one to four, warns ACIME.

This already foreseeable situation is serious enough, and according to Falcao, "it could reach catastrophic proportions if the EU bows to the pressure of the xenophobic right and throws up insurmountable barriers to immigration."

 
Republish | | Print |

Related Tags



books.org