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European Reintegration Networking |
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European Reintegration Networking |
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December 2002
INDE
Av. Frei Miguel Contreiras, 54 - 3º
1700-213 Lisboa
Tel.: (351) 21 843 58 70
Fax: (351) 21 843 58 71
delatour@inde.pt
www.inde.pt
Verfasser/in: Arnaud de la Tour
Some 300.000 people are recognized as legal migrants in Portugal, for a total population of 10 millions. To that figures, should be added a number of illegal migrants estimated between 60.000 and 90.000, and some people with two nationalities, who can be compared, socially and economically, to migrants.
It should be stressed that Portugal itself is still a country of emigration, as more than 2 millions Portuguese leave abroad (in France, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, USA, Canada, Australia, South Africa, Venezuela, Brazil). The most important emigration flow, in the 60’s, is not active anymore, and since a few years lubso-descendents come back to Portugal. Nevertheless, every year several thousands of people, especially from Madeira and Azores Islands, leave the country, and a seasonal emigration is still active, especially towards Switzerland and Germany. Only since 1990, the balance between immigration and emigration is positive on the immigration side.
The most important migrant communities come from the former African colonies (Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea Bissau, Mozambique and São Tomé and Principe), a constant fact since the independence of these colonies. But a very strong flow from Central and Eastern Europe (namely Romania, Ukraine and Moldova) recently arrived in Portugal and, if not yet changing general balance, clearly changed the average profile of emigration. To this new trend, must be added a important migration from Brazil, while this country was traditionally a target country for Portuguese migrants, and a increasing movement of short to middle term immigration, namely from Pakistan and India.
Communities from European Union are usually small and very stable, the British community being slightly different with a large number of retired people choosing to spend their retirement age in the south of Portugal.
These new trends where especially relevant when, in 1999/2000, a large amnesty was proposed to illegal migrants, who were able to obtain a residence authorization during a legalization period. Ukraine was the first country of origin, far before Cape Verde, the traditionally leader of these ranking.
Re-migration, although recognized in the general migration law, is not a very active practice in Portugal. The IOM (International Organization for Migrations) is officially in charge of supporting candidates to a return, but in deed only a few dozens of people do this re-migration through IOM – many more can do it without any official declaration. This “clandestine” re-migration has two reasons: the almost total lack of support for return (only very specific programs, namely for Mozambique, offered funds of support) is not an incentive, and, most of all, the discretion of the return project is an efficient way to keep open the door for coming back to Portugal with a valid working permit, in case the returnee finally decides to change his/her mind.
IOM, the only organization that has active programs for returning, mainly relies on international funding, which characteristics (and target countries) are not often very adapted to specific Portuguese situation. IOM tends to support mainly “qualified” people (with a academic or technical background that may represent a clear advantage for the country of return, and offers more chance for a successful return). Within this context, only Mozambican people represented a significant number of returnees.
Three special opportunities, more detailed later in these document, made possible a larger program for return for people from Guinea Bissau, East Timor and Kosovo.
After general elections in Portugal, in April 2002, a conservative government was elected, and a new migration law is under discussion, that should be voted by Parliament by the end of 2002. A more restrictive proposal than the actual legal framework, the new law, among other points, would especially turn almost impossible the family gathering for legal migrants. This proposal is criticized not only by the left-wing opposition, but also by the Catholic Church.
Very few people apply for asylum in Portugal – and less ever are granted with a status of refugee.
In 2001, less than 200 people where officially registered as asylum seekers. A number that should be compare to the more than 5.000 in Greece or more than 12.000 in Denmark (with a comparable population). Portugal is, in the European Union, the country that accepts less refugees in absolute value, in comparison to its population, or in comparison to its wealth.
Less than 600 people in Portugal actually leave with a status of refugee under the Geneva Convention. Among the asylum seekers, Sierra Leone represents the main country of origin.
The Serviço de Estrangeiros e Fronteiras (SEF, the Boarder Police) is a branch of the Police acting on the behalf of Ministry of Internal Affairs. SEF is in charge of the control at the boarder, delivers residence authorizations, analyses asylum requests, and is eventually in charge for forced repatriation or expulsion.
The Foreign Affairs Ministry may negotiate bilateral agreements with some specific countries for, for instance, allowing study facilities in Portugal for these countries’ citizens, but the SEF with be the implementing body for visa and temporary residence authorization.
The existing possibility to declare a special, temporary protection for humanitarian reasons for all refugees coming from a specific country is a decision made by the Prime Minister. This legal possibility has been used twice, for Kosovo and for Guinea Bissau. For those two special circumstances, several administrations were involved, especially SEF, Social Affairs ministry, and local authorities.
Once officially registered as residents, migrants rely on the mainstream laws, as the working permit usually mentions no limit to the possible activities, or to movements within Portugal. In that way, a legal migrant has, theoretically, the same rights and obligations than Portuguese citizens – in certain conditions, and for certain countries of origin, they may even have the right to participate in local ballots. Many administration officials often deny these rights, on the basis of a racist attitude or the ignorance of the migrant’s rights.
If migrants, in their day-to-day life, rely on the same administration that Portuguese citizens, the only exception is an insertion program, “Acolhe” (“welcome”), which is basically a language course made for legal migrants, and organized by the vocational training institute of the Social Affairs Ministry.
The ACIME – Alto Comissariado para a Integração das Minorias Étnicas (High Commissioner for Ethnic Minorities Integration) is a public body, under the Prime Minister Office, mainly in charge to make proposals to the government, to raise awareness within the public opinion, to produce a knowledge base for decision making. ACIME is not strictly focused on immigration – it works also, for instance, to reduce discrimination against the gipsy community, and is often seen as the anti-racism office of the government.
The Catholic Church, very active in any of the social policies, also play an active role in migration policies – both at the lobbying level and at the direct and personal assistance level. The Church is active through a very high number of organizations, some with a nationwide activity, others with a small local influence, some with specialized competence, others with a wide range of activities.
The recent arrival of Central and Eastern Europe migrants convinced the Church to make a special effort for supporting the organization of Orthodox parishes, and if as an institution the Church makes absolutely no segregation, it seems clear that the individual members of this institution are more available to make an integration effort for these new, white, Christian migrants than for the old, black, animist migrants who came from Africa…
It is important to stress that many institutions have a special status, where the Church and the State share responsibilities. This is the case for the most important social care institution, the “Santa Casa da Misericordia” (Holy House of Mercy), created by the Church five centuries ago, nowadays locally managed by the Church, but with the top management named by the Government, and financed both by the National Lottery and private donations at the Sunday masses…
A Jesuit priest is head of the ACIME at the time this report is written – it is not rare a Catholic priest being choose for official function.
The Catholic Church represents the huge majority of religious commitment for migrants – reflect of its weight in the Portuguese society. But, even with a very small number of followers in Portugal, the Ismaeli Muslim community is very active to support small, local community development projects where migrant play a key role. The Aga Khan Foundation is the operational and financial structure for such activities.
Many NGOs are active in the field of migration policies: some of them because they aim to support the poor, the excluded people, the homeless… and the migrants may often correspond to these characteristics. Others made a more specialized choice to have a specific intervention for migrants or, in some cases, for refugees.
NGOs active for poverty alleviation are very numerous, and cover a wide range of profiles, for the local group to the national level network. They are often linked, directly or not, to the Church. They correspond to a strong Portuguese tradition in the social policies, to allow large room for private initiative, giving to private operators logistical and, often, financial means, and a legal framework.
NGOs active specifically with migrants, or with special activities for migrants, are much more rare. Only one of them, SOS Racismo, is active at national level as an anti-racist and pro-migrant lobby.
Some humanitarians NGOs, like Medicos do Mundo (Doctors of the World), have activities where migrants represent the main target.
During the amnesty process, where more than 70.000 migrants had a chance to get a legal residence permit, many NGOs has been active to support the candidates for gathering the necessary documents, following the administrative process, etc…
More recently, local development associations, especially in the rural areas, began a specific work to facilitate the integration of migrants, through vocational training and support to job placement schemes, and through intercultural education activities (including, among others, language courses for the migrants, and cultural activities for host communities). They often work in close collaboration with the local authorities – which may be an active member of the association in some cases.
The CPR – Conselho Portugues dos Refugiados (Portuguese Council for Refugees) is a NGO specifically dedicated to the refugees, and gained a special recognition when UNHCR closed its office in Portugal and turned the CPR into its informal representative.
The Jesuit Refugee Service, recently established in Portugal, considers migrants in general as refugees, and began an active work to support migrant communities, whatever their legal status. JRS is active with illegal migrants.
INDE – Intercooperação e Desenvolvimento, a NGO active both in Portugal and in international projects, recently developed specific projects to support voluntary return of refugees, and has been active for many years with migrants in shantytowns, especially in Lisbon suburbs.
Except for the Church, whose financing scheme is efficient, most organizations rely exclusively on public funding, and therefore have little room for designing original policies. This point is especially relevant for illegal migrants: while social policies are mainly co-financed through the European Social Fund, it is almost impossible to include illegal migrants within ESF-financed projects.
CPR and INDE, active with refugees, have access to ERF funding. INDE, which is, on Portuguese standards, a large organization, has a more diverse funding scheme and has been able to cross public and private, national and international financing, in order to achieve the design of its projects.
Until ends of 1999, only IOM had a structured voluntary return program, under the umbrella of the international program of the organization. The program, aimed to support the return of qualified professionals, targets those who received (in their country of origin or in Portugal) a professional or academic training, and who have a structured return project.
IOM may offer some counselling (information on living conditions in the country of return), the flight and some pocket money. It may also, trough its international network, facilitate the reintegration in the country of return.
IOM recently open in Lisbon an information centre, very much more accessible than the administrative office in the downtown of Lisbon. The high number of visits of migrants in this centre (7.500 in one year), as well as the effort made to make information available through the Internet, represents in deed more the effort of IOM to support migrants in Portugal rather than a attempt to increase the number of voluntary returns.
INDE is, to date, the only NGO involved in a voluntary return program. This program was set up late 1999, when many refugees from East Timor where trying to find a way to return to their country after the self-determination referendum that led to independence.
The program, mainly financed by ERF, was strictly aimed to East Timor refugees, not allowing other nationalities to participate. Although formally open to candidates from any European country, for logistical reasons only those established in Portugal really participated.
The program includes a strong part of counselling in Portugal, with custom-made training adapted to the personal project, a return ticket (to allow the returnee to change his/her mind and come back – the ticket is valid for one year), a small amount of money, and a “welcome service” in East Timor.
The program is strongly linked to local development projects in East Timor, managed by INDE, and the staff in Timor is actively linked to the program.
As far as we know, no other program for voluntary return exist in Portugal, but of course some people decide to return without any program. In that case, they may be individually supported by a NGO.
IOM is the only organization active in involuntary return programs. Financed by the Portuguese government, the program allows those who where denied asylum, illegal migrants in risk of expulsion, etc…, to be repatriated with dignity. About 1200 people where “beneficiaries” of these program. The benefits are not very much, but the international network of IOM allows some support in the country of return.
Special operations have been organized for the return of people who were included in the temporary protection programs, for Kosovo and Guinea Bissau, and IOM acted mainly as a logistical operator.
International cooperation in Portugal is a very small activity, shared by NGO and public programs. None of these programs, or the NGO projects, have been designed to facilitate the return of migrants.
INDE’s project in East Timor, as mentioned supra, was not designed for returnees – but the experience and approach of INDE allowed synergy and collaboration between a development project and a return project.
Other NGOs share this approach, and would probably make efforts to adapt characteristics of their projects as an answer to an opportunity, but opportunities in that field are not frequent.
It is hoped that some decentralized co-operation projects, a very recent movement in Portugal, may include a more holistic approach.
As only two programs really exist – from IOM and from INDE – it is quite difficult to define “best practises” or models.
Some comments on INDE’s program : only the fact that INDE is active in East Timor, independently of the returnee program, makes sense. A return program without the support in loco would be a soft deportation program.
Is it successful ? In two years, about 120 people went back to their country. They had opportunity to receive training, to get time and support to define a solid personal project. Some of them had the opportunity to go back home, to try, and to finally decide Europe was, at that time, a better place to live.
No external evaluation was made of the program, and only personal inquiries, made by INDE, give elements for an evaluation. Questions were centred on the process (quality of the training, quality of the counselling, etc..), and results were generally very positive. No inquiry has been made to the returnees a few months, or one year, after their return, to ask how they evaluate their quality of life in comparison of what they had in Europe.
As far as we know, no study exist on the impact of the return of the refugees on local economy.
The first recommendation is obvious : Portugal, before thinking to improve conditions of voluntary return, must accept the refugees, and offer migrants more decent conditions of life in the country.
On the side of the support and programs for the countries of origin, OECD has already made most of the comments on Portuguese co-operation policies that suffer a strong lack of coordination between different administrations.
The recent changes in immigration profile, with a higher weight of Central and Eastern Europe, makes more necessary a opening for cooperation agreements with new countries, while Portugal concentrates most of its (small) efforts in its former colonies.
And the support to NGOs in the general financing scheme is still extremely low – almost inexistent, indeed. To give an example, the total amount of funding for NGOs in the Cooperation Institute in one year is currently under the annual turnover of one NGO, INDE.
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