Empathy, Mr. Prime Minister. That is what I wish you this Christmas. Prove that your “no means no” was not a camouflaged and cowardly “yes means yes.”
Mr Prime Minister, try to answer this set of questions honestly and without thinking about whether your answers will attract voters who have voted for the far right.
1. Have you ever been an emigrant and felt what it's like to be treated with contempt for not speaking the language of the country where you are?
2. Have you ever felt that the color of your skin, your hair or your clothes were a reason for someone to move away from you, change seats or cross to the other side of the road?
3. Have you ever lived in a country where being a foreigner made it difficult for you to rent a house, regardless of your income?
4. Have you ever been forced to take on a job that is below your qualifications because you have to deal with bureaucracy and elitism that prevent your value from being recognized?
5. Have you ever felt the anguish of not knowing how to communicate with the people you hand your children over to every day?
6. Have you ever been sick in a country and not known how to seek medical help?
7. Have you ever had to flee, leave everything behind, for fear of being arrested, tortured or murdered just because of your beliefs?
8. Has anyone ever told you to go back to your hometown?
9. Has anyone ever suggested to you that, despite having applied for a job that you got on merit, you were “stealing” the job from those who were born in the country where you are working?
10. Have you ever experienced the difficulty of living in a relationship in which your boyfriend/girlfriend's family does not accept him/her because he/she is a foreigner?
11. Have you ever been stopped by the police for no apparent reason, just because you are a foreigner or because of the color of your skin?
12. Have you ever felt the humiliation of being pushed against a wall just for being on the street where you work honestly?
I anticipate that your answer to these questions will be no. Ask your fellow citizens who were born in Portugal, children of Portuguese parents, and who have had to emigrate over the decades how many of these questions they answer yes to. I, who lived abroad for 5 years, in the privileged position of working at a university, in two countries that, at the time, did not have governments that legitimized racist behavior, can share with you that I answer “yes” to 7 of these questions. Imagine the answer given by our fellow citizens with fewer qualifications and less mastery of a foreign language.
A few more questions, Mr Prime Minister:
13. Do you often walk around Martim Moniz, in Lisbon?
14. Have you ever sat down at Martim Moniz to meet many of the people who like to be there, have a chat, and find out about their origins?
15. Have you ever been there after hours, after midnight?
16. Have you ever been shopping in the stores in Martim Moniz and Rua do Benformoso?
17. Have you seen the end of Ramadan celebrations at Martim Moniz?
I am not anticipating your answers here, but I have a strong intuition. I was lucky enough to live in the area until a few weeks ago and, if your answer to these questions is negative, I can only recommend that you change your routes and try to pass by at any time, to lose your fear, meet the people, to know that they are no different from other people and to be enriched and/or moved by their life stories, go shopping there, to discover new products, new flavors, learn from those who know how to cook things that we do not know. Attend some celebrations. They are beautiful and you learn about others. Racism is fought with knowledge and empathy. But these only develop through proximity. Try to get to know them. Don't be afraid. It will be fine. And, by the way, you don't need to take security. It is safe.
Just a few more questions:
18. Are you aware of the statistics on immigration in Portugal that contradict the perceptions that exist about immigration figures and the alleged relationship between crime and immigration? Have you dedicated any time to studying these figures?
19. Don't you think that it would be your role, as a government official, to disclose the truth about these figures instead of holding ridiculous press conferences to fuel misperceptions and promote security?
20. Are you aware of the principles of proportionality that should be present when maintaining security and justice?
21. Are you aware that perceptions of insecurity have grown due, in large part, to disinformation, heavily sponsored by Chega, and that it is doing nothing more than legitimizing this campaign that deceives the Portuguese?
22. Do you know that you are contributing to polarizing Portuguese society?
23. Do you know that it is easy to start down the path you have embarked on, but that you will lose control because you are siding with fundamentalist savages who will feel legitimized by you in their acts of hatred, xenophobia and racism?
24. Do you know that democracy takes years to achieve, but quickly crumbles and that the path to its end has always involved the identification by “some” of a group of “others” to whom responsibilities are attributed?
25. Do you have any idea how ridiculous, but at the same time embarrassing, a police operation that targets immigrants and only results in the arrest of one Portuguese person is?
Empathy, Mr. Prime Minister. That's what I wish you this Christmas.
Prove that your “no means no” was not a camouflaged and cowardly “yes means yes.”
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