On World Migrant Day, an open letter denounces the normalization of racism and indifference to immigrants in Portugal
A group of immigrants and descendants of foreigners in Portugal warned on Thursday of the public and political agenda in Portugal that aims at those who were not born in the country and for the growth of xenophobia and racism associated with anti-migration discourses.
"The danger is not only in the aggressive words, it is also in the indifference that normalizes xenophobia and racism," write the authors of the open letter, promoted by the Consensus Immigration platform, to mark World Migrants' Day, which is celebrated on Thursday.
"The letter is born of widespread concern about social situations, and more specifically about immigration, which have marked the public agenda here in Portugal. This will of the immigrants is born to make themselves heard", because "there is a lot of noise around this topic", without hearing the people who "live in the skin the problems", said one of the promoters, the Guinean Tcherno Baldé living in Portugal since 2012, where he is a PhD student.
The objective is to promote a collective environment in which "immigrants can bring their stories and their narratives to the public debate" in order to "be taken into account in the definition of public policies".
In the "immigrant charter for a consensus in immigration," the authors argue that this is only possible if there is a recognition of the work of immigrants and "the courage to confront racism and xenophobia, even when they hide in subtle gestures."
They also advocate a "commitment to ensure clear, speedy and human avenues of documentation" and a "real investment in integration" such as "language, housing, social and political participation, recognition of qualifications or cultural mediation" and "the refusal of narratives that pit against each other."