The mayor of Olhão only considers the intervention in the reception of refugees in the municipality to be "fair and logical" if there is "a medium-term plan, designed to provide real help with accommodation, monitoring and integration, as well as a limit temporal".
In a statement sent to the newsrooms, but which takes the form of a letter addressed to the citizens, António Pina says that the municipality is "in solidarity" with the "sad and humiliating situation of refugees", but that, "first of all, we are with the Oyenne!».
According to the statement, at the end of last week, the executive was «faced with an initiative by the Delegation of the Portuguese Red Cross Fuzeta/Moncarapacho, which proposed, with the support of the President of the Parish Council, to use a land for the construction of a crèche to accommodate some of the refugees that the country – through the agreements that this Government has established -, it will receive».
However, the planned location "is in an area of excellence whose framework is intended to be geared towards tourism" and, therefore, was not suitable.
In the meeting that António Pina had with the president of the Portuguese Commission for Refugees, with the president of the Parish Council and with the President of the Delegation of the Red Cross of Fuzeta/Moncarapacho, the mayor informed them «clearly that the Municipality of Olhão is solidary with this scourge and available to find solutions”, but does not renounce to “demand a definitive accompaniment to its complete integration”.
António Pina clarifies that «we are, without a doubt, solidary, but also aware of reality, and we do not want to be just for television or, perhaps, for possible subsidies».
The mayor emphasizes the concern of the lack of a medium-term plan for the integration of refugees and the lack of definition by the Government «on the financing, legal framework conditions, or effective forms of state support so that we can provide the minimum conditions to These people".
According to the same document, "on the part of the Red Cross, if the support is not enough, there will be no interest in leading this process."
The letter to the citizens ends with the sentence: "We are with the refugees, but in the first place we are with the people from Olhao!"
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