The Algarve Situation Report Wednesday 8th February 2023
by Mike Evans
Good day to you all. This week the President of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa was in Olhao and took time out to meet with a young Nepalese Worker who was attacked by a group of young people in the town. The President speaking to Journalists emphasised that Portugal is a country of emigrants and as such we should all work to maintain the harmony of all the different nationalities that are settled in the country.
The President was talking to a class of secondary students and he defended that the Portuguese have “the obligation to better understand” what immigrants feel when they arrive in the country, since Portugal is traditionally a country of emigrants.“We have an obligation to understand better, because other European countries have no tradition of emigration. How is it that we don’t understand what others feel here?”, he asked, days after the attacks on a Nepalese immigrant by a group of young people in that city were made public.
The video shared on social media last Friday shows the immigrant lying on the ground, in a defensive position, trying to protect himself from kicks, punches and sticks inflicted by the aggressors, whose faces are not clearly visible because they are wearing hoods. The case is being investigated by the PSP, which has already identified some of those responsible.
Rejecting the idea that Portugal is a xenophobic country, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa warned, however, of the need for societies to remain vigilant, so that fear and defensive attitudes towards immigration do not lead to xenophobic behaviour.The ageing of European societies has created what I call fear, a reactive, defensive attitude and, therefore, a rejection of difference, and from there to xenophobia is a small step and one has to be attentive to that small step. step because it means less democracy and even less respect for what our experience as a country of emigrants is”, he underlined.
In addition to the repeated attacks, the group also stole the victim’s backpack, who did not file a complaint, while he begs them to stop attacking him and at least return the documents he kept in the backpack, as can be seen in the video.
PSP source said that an investigation was underway to find out who were the perpetrators of the attacks and the theft, who published the video on social networks and the circumstances in which they occurred.
The investigation is also trying to determine how many elements made up the group and the involvement of each of them in the crimes committed.
Being an Immigrant myself in this wonderful country, we should all be mindful of this fact and hope that this instance is an isolated incident and not something that may increase as more and more people see Portugal as a wonderful place to live and bring up their families.
Now to look at some of the other news stories from across the region.
Telecommunications workers on strike on February 9
Telecommunications and audiovisual workers will be on strike next Thursday, the same day that a day of struggle by the CGTP is scheduled , demanding wage increases to face the impact of inflation.
“The CGTP has scheduled a national day of struggle and protest for February 9th. The day of struggle will be carried out at the regional level. The SINTTAV [National Union of Telecommunication and Audiovisual Workers] put a strike notice for most companies in the sector”, indicating, in a statement, the union structure. SINTTAV regretted that the Government and most companies continue the “’saga’ of exploitation” of workers, when they have “less and less purchasing power”.
For the union, the Government has not adopted any measure to prevent the “brutal increase” in prices, which leads to a rise in the price of raw materials, which it classified as a “brazen robbery”.
In the same sense, as he defended, companies are “insensitive” to inflation, keeping the focus on profit. “Throughout the country, workers, pensioners and pensioners feel the rise in the cost of living, the degradation of purchasing power and the attack on their rights, while the profits of large economic groups do not stop increasing”, he pointed out.
On Thursday, as part of the day of struggle, scheduled by the CGTP, meetings and plenaries will take place in Faro, Aveiro, Beja, Braga, Castelo Branco, Coimbra, Évora, Guarda, Leiria, Lisbon, Funchal (Madeira), northern Alentejo , Porto, Santarém, Vila Real, Viseu and Setúbal.
Maritime Police vessel violently rammed by drug traffickers
Two elements of the Maritime Police were injured after the vessel they were on was hit with “violence” by another vessel, off the Algarve coast, in an operation to combat drug trafficking, it was announced today.
During the operation, a first high-speed vessel was detected, with three crew members, suspected of being linked to drug trafficking . AMN), in a statement Meanwhile, “a second high-speed vessel was detected that was dropping several bales of narcotics into the water”, but the crew, upon realising the presence of the authorities, “purposely” rammed one of the Maritime Police vessels.
“The vessel collided with such violence that it passed over it from one side to the other, damaging the Maritime Police vessel, putting the lives of the agents at risk, who, fortunately, escaped with injuries”, he says, adding that, even with “two injured and two others lying in the water”, the Maritime Police managed to react and raise the alarm.
Unsuccessful, the crew of the second vessel fled and the elements of the Maritime Police were rescued and transported, “stable and free of danger”, by a Portuguese Air Force aircraft to a hospital unit, he concludes.
The drug bundles collected in the joint operation by the Maritime Police and the Portuguese Navy will later be handed over to the Judiciary Police, as well as the three men arrested.
According to the Maritime Authority, in the last “two months there has been a greater degree of violence in the reactions of traffickers”, this being the second case involving authorities’ vessels registered in the Algarve in the last two weeks.
At the end of January, a vessel from the Coastal Control Unit (UCC) was damaged during a pursuit of two high-speed vessels, near the island of Armona, in Olhão, in the district of Faro.
According to the authorities, despite not having been injured, the UCC soldiers had to be rescued after the vessel suffered structural damage, and were therefore unable to proceed with the operation.
Algarve fishing boat caught with more than five tons of hashish
A Portuguese fishing boat with more than five tons of hashish on board was intercepted by the Spanish authorities this Wednesday, off the coast of Ayamonte . The four crew members, including the vessel’s boss, of Portuguese nationality, were arrested.
The trawler Praia de Monte Gordo, from Vila Real de Santo António, was sailing about ten miles from the coast when a patrol vessel from the Spanish Customs Surveillance Service intercepted it, according to the local press. The action, which resulted in the detention of the crew, was carried out by the Customs Surveillance Service of the Tax Agency, in the context of patrolling Spanish waters.
The fishing vessel was intercepted by the patrol, as the crew was preparing to transfer the drugs to a speedboat, the Tax Agency announced this Saturday in a statement.
This operation against the international drug trafficking networks that operate off the coast of Huelva began on February 1, when customs surveillance aerial means were observed, 15 miles from Isla Cristina, a pneumatic vessel with powerful engines, which was following without lights. towards the coast.
A “secret pursuit” of the target followed, with air and naval units, and when the boat approached the fishing boat and the “movement” of the crews began, the “Alcatraz” patrol from the Customs Surveillance intervened.
The packages were piled up in the hold of the fishing boat, with the name “Praia de Monte Gordo” and the Portuguese flag. In all, 150 bales of hashish weighing 5.4 tons were seized. TonsThe four people arrested are accused of a crime of smuggling and against public health, according to the EFE agency.
The intercepted boat was taken to the port of Huelva, where an in-depth inspection was carried out, in which 150 seized bales were identified, with a total weight of 5,400 kilos of hashish resin.
The drugs , the vessel and the detainees were placed under the jurisdiction of Criminal Instruction Court number 4 of Ayamonte..
Man dies after being stabbed near mall
A man died on Thursday, February 2, after being beaten and stabbed next to a car that was parked next to Mar Shopping, in Loulé , according to Correio da Manhã.
The victim was found next to the vehicle that had flat tires, located on the side of the road that connects Faro to Loulé, having been transported to the Centro Hospitalar Universitário do Algarve, where he ended up dying. The Judiciary Police suspect that the stabbing is drug related amongst rival gangs drug trafficking and are trying to locate the suspect or suspects.
Man suspected of Two Murders in The Algarve Arrested
A man was arrested by the Judiciary Police during a drug trafficking investigation, but is now suspected of having murdered Josiele Rodrigues and Sandra Andrade, two women who were missing and found lifeless, according to Correio da Manhã.
The suspect has already been identified and heard by the Judiciary Police, but that security force says that there is not enough evidence to place him in preventive custody for the crime of homicide. This man would be an alleged client of Josiele Rodrigues, 25 years old, who was a luxury escort and had been missing in Quarteira since December 6 of last year. Her body was now found in an advanced state of decomposition, burned and with signs of violence, in a bush area in Ourique, Alentejo.
The authorities believe that the crime happened after a meeting that could have gone wrong.
The other woman is Sandra Andrade, 49 years old and a TVDE driver who went missing last year and was found dismembered inside a suitcase in Almancil, in the municipality of Loulé .
The 26-year-old suspect, of Portuguese nationality, was presented to an investigating judge in Faro, on Thursday, February 2, but the magistrate released him with a term of identity and residence. During the searches carried out as part of the drug trafficking investigation, the authorities found an ATM card belonging to one of the missing women.
The suspect had already been sentenced in August 2018 to 20 years in prison for the murder of Tatiana Mestre, who was found dead as a result of asphyxiation and with her body burned.
The man was imprisoned for 20 months and was eventually acquitted by the Court of Appeal of Évora and is now considered a possible serial killer.
And finally to end on a more happy note –
Carnival with revelry and joy throughout the county returns to the Algarve
The municipalities of Albufeira, Loule and Portimao will all be encouraging citizens and residents to join in the Carnival celebrations this year.
In Portimao, With the theme “Sustainability and Environment”, the parade of 14 floats takes to the streets of Portimão with five carnival groups and with two exhibition points, on the 19th and 21st of February between Polidesportivo da Figueira and Mexilhoeira Grande and at riverside area of the county seat. The parades start at 3:30 pm, with a parade through the streets of Alvor also planned.
The Carnival balls are also back, with the first ones taking place from February 17th in the rooms of Boa Esperança Atlético Clube Portimonense, Clube União Portimonense, Sociedade Vencedora Portimonense, Sporting Glória ou Morte Portimonense, Clube Desportivo e Recreativo Pedra Mourinha, Sociedade Recreativa Figueirense, Clube de Instrução e Recreio Mexilhoeirense, Associação Cultural e Recreativa Alvorense 1.º de Novembro, and Associação Cultural e Desportiva da Ladeira do Vau.
As in other years, popular mask contests will also take place, starting at 9.30 pm, on the 18th, 19th and 20th of February at Clube União Portimonense, Glória ou Morte, Sociedade Vencedora Portimonense, Clube Desportivo e Recreativo da Pedra Mourinha and at the Associação Cultural e Recreativa Alvorense 1.º de Novembro.
The final is scheduled for February 21, at the same time, at Sporting Glória ou Morte Portimonense.
Whilst Albufeira is preparing to celebrate Carnival, between the 18th and 21st of February at the county seat and in Paderne , announced the municipality .
The Espaço Multiusos de Albufeira will be the stage for dances on the 18th, 19th and 20th, between 21:00 and 03:00, while on the 21st there will be a matinee from 14:00 to 20:00, with a mask competition for children up to 12 years old. The organisation of the event is the responsibility of the Parish Council of Albufeira and Olhos de Água, with the support of the Albufeira City Council and with the participation of the Humanitarian Association of Volunteer Firefighters of Albufeira, the Sports and Cultural Club of Albufeira, the Sports Club das Areias de São João and the Association for the Support of Exceptional Persons in the Algarve.
From the 19th to the 21st of February, the parish of Paderne will have a corso with a cart and several cars decorated with feathers and coloured paper, with the theme “Revelry Marafada”.
The parade takes place between 2 pm and 6 pm and is organised by Casa do Povo de Paderne in collaboration with the municipality of Albufeira and the Parish Council of Paderne.
Quarteira is filled with joy, music and animation on the 18th, 19th and 21st of February, to host Carnival, this year with the theme “Natureza em Festa”, announced the parish council.
There will be three days of parade that will take place on Avenida Infante de Sagres from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm and will have the beach as a backdrop. The preservation of nature , for a better planet, will be the motto for a great party with nine floats, five carnival groups, three exhibition points, music, colour and lots of entertainment.
Everyone is encouraged to join in with fancy dress or just as you are!
Until the next time. Good Bye.