The Algarve Situation Report Wednesday 21 September 2022
By Mike Evans
Good day to you all. The week has been dominated by the death and funeral of Queen Elizabeth and we have all been fascinated by the amazing scenes of the pomp and ceremony that her death has brought.Here in the Algarve we have seen a couple of thunderstorms and a small amount of rain, nowhere near enough to help alleviate the drought conditions we are still facing. We can but hope this is the start of a prolonged spell of rain that will help to fill up the reservoirs.
Here are the stories that have caught our eye this week across the Algarve.
2 Women Jailed for People Smuggling
The Faro Court sentenced two women to prison terms for the crimes of aiding illegal immigration and recruiting illegal labor, the Foreigners and Borders Service ( SEF ) reported on September 17.
According to a statement from the SEF, the sentence was read on Thursday, the 15th, against two Portuguese women, aged 57 and 39, sentenced to prison terms of three years and nine months and two years and two months, respectively, for the practice of crimes of aiding illegal immigration and recruiting illegal labour.
The crimes investigated by the SEF date back to July 2016, when the two women recruited several citizens of Hindu origin (India, Bangladesh and Pakistan) in the Martim Moniz area of Lisbon (India, Bangladesh and Pakistan) to work for the agricultural company. which they represented, in Famalicão, “promising further assistance in their legalisation, since they were all in an irregular situation in national territory”.
According to the service that controls the Portuguese borders, in September of the same year, one of the defendants transported the citizens to the Algarve, where they were housed in containers on a farm.
The court has now found that citizens were exploited at work, “coming to work between eight and 12 hours a day and seven days a week, not being monetarily compensated for the effect, nor having been paid the agreed amount. or food allowance”.
The SEF statement also states that it has been proven that the defendants “took advantage of the fragility in which these foreign citizens found themselves”.
“The group of judges understood that the defendants knew that by hiring, transporting, housing and benefiting from the work of these foreign citizens, they favoured and facilitated the illegal stay of foreigners in national territory”, concludes the SEF.
Man of 75 Dies on Quarteira Beach
A 75-year-old man died on Saturday, the 17th, on the beach of Quarteira, after going into cardiac arrest, suspecting the authorities that he “felt unwell in the water”, informed the National Maritime Authority ( AMN ).
According to a statement, the victim was “taken out of the water by the lifeguard on duty on the beach, with the support of people, having been promptly assisted by a doctor who was on site, who began resuscitation manoeuvres, until the arrival of the INEM”.
Meanwhile, the Lisbon Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC Lisboa) had received an alert at around 5:30 pm on Saturday informing the presence of a man in cardiorespiratory arrest on the beach of Quarteira, having been “activated immediately.” ” to the site, elements of the local Command of the Maritime Police of Faro, as well as elements of INEM (National Institute of Medical Emergency) and the Portuguese Red Cross.
The maritime authority explains that after several attempts at resuscitation, “it was not possible to reverse the situation”, and the death was declared on the spot by the doctor of the Emergency and Reanimation Medical Vehicle (VMER) of INEM.
The Public Ministry was notified of the occurrence, and the body was later transported by elements of the Portuguese Red Cross to the National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences in Faro .
“The Maritime Police Psychology Office has been activated and is providing support to the victim’s relatives,” the statement said, adding that the Faro Maritime Police Local Command took care of the incident.
Paderne to Host the 1st Festival of Local Culture
The village of Paderne , in Albufeira , will be the first town in the Algarve to host the “Há Festa na Aldeia” initiative, which supports the local community to value its heritage, culture, gastronomy or endogenous products, the organisation said this Monday. fair, 19.
Over two days, on Saturday and Sunday (24 and 25 September), there will be cultural, musical and gastronomic initiatives, with Paderne being the first village in the district of Faro to host the initiative, created 10 years ago in the North by the Tourism Association. de Aldeia, explained the president of Associação In Loco, who accepted the challenge of extending this community action to the south of the country.
“It is not a logic like that of other initiatives, which seek to make the villages tourist, but a way for the community to offer its way of life, its experiences, its knowledge, its gastronomy, as a product and a way to attract visitors, but valuing what each village considers to be most important”, stated Artur Gregório.
Puppets, poets’ gatherings, gastronomic tastings, theatre with an itinerant humorous aspect, folkloric groups, circus parades, fire shows, balls are some of the activities that can be experienced by visitors during the two days of the event, he said.
The president of that local development association explained that the Aldeia Tourism Association already has “more than 60 villages from north to south of the country” and it was with “pleasure” that In Loco joined the partnership, because “it effectively fulfils all sustainable local development goals towards which the association works” for more than 30 years, since 1988.
The initiative is thus “in line with all the work” being done by In Loco in the interior of the Algarve “in the safeguarding and enhancement of heritage, local resources, products, communities and traditions”, allowing “the associations, organisations and local entities themselves organise and cooperate to show them abroad”, he pointed out.
“’Há Festa na Aldeia’ has been very successful in villages in the north before the pandemic, it was again when we resumed activities after the pandemic, it is a very emblematic and very mobilising product, and in the four villages that we are promoting here in the Algarve – Alte, Paderne, Cachopo and in the Serra de São Brás [of Alportel] – it was Paderne who made the product”, he said.In Loco has a partnership with the Câmara de Albufeira, the Parish Council of Paderne and local associations, “who chose another activity that already existed, the Dry Fruit Exhibition as a base, to later be covered with the mantle of the ‘There’s Festa na Aldeia’ and to be given another projection and a refreshed way of presenting the village”, he added.
“During these two days we will have a showcase of the richness, the diversity of culture, heritage, environment and village communities, basically, a celebration of what a village lifestyle is, the which is to live in a village, to share the traditions, knowledge and experience of the village”, he anticipated.
Artur Gregório said that visitors will be able to “be part of this lifestyle and understand how living in a village is clearly a different way of being and being” and “it is something that must be maintained and preserved with pride”.
“Villages are not closed, they are open, what we want is for people from outside to understand the wealth that villages still have and how they can be destinations for visits, tours and even residence and return to the traditional world”, he concluded.
Pleasure Boat Runs Aground at Portimao
A pleasure boat with two crew on board ran aground on the night of Saturday, September 17, on the west pier of the Portimão bar , announced the National Maritime Authority.
The alert was given at 22:15 to the District Command of Relief Operations of Faro and elements of the local Command of the Maritime Police of Portimão, with the Portimão Fire Department, INEM and the Portuguese Red Cross were immediately activated. .
At the scene, elements of the Maritime Police found that there was no source of pollution and that the two crew members had managed to reach land by their own means, with the help of the Portimão Fire Department. The victims were helped by INEM elements and one of them was later transported to a hospital, as he had minor injuries.
The vessel’s owner was notified to present a plan to remove the boat and the local Command of the Maritime Police of Portimão took care of the incident.
VSRA & Tavira Have a New Port Captain
João Afonso Martins is the new Captain of The Port and Commander-in-Chief of the Maritime Police of Vila Real de Santo António and Tavira , announced the National Maritime Authority.
The inauguration took place on Friday, in the Captaincy of Vila Real de Santo António, replacing Commander Rui Vasconcelos de Andrade, chaired by the Deputy Director-General of the Maritime Authority and 2nd Commander-General of the Maritime Police, Contra- Admiral Nuno Noronha Bragança.
The ceremony was also attended by the Head of the Southern Maritime Department and Regional Commander of the Southern Maritime Police, Commander Rocha Pacheco, the Mayor of Tavira, Ana Paula Martins, the Mayor of Castro Marim, Francisco Amaral , representatives of the Municipalities of Vila Real de Santo António, Alcoutim, Mértola and Captains of the Ports of the Southern Maritime Department.
Commander Afonso Martins, during his inauguration speech, stated “total availability and commitment to perform the functions inherent to the positions he will perform”, according to the statement.
Protests Against Silves Cork Factory
The Neighbours of the Factory pressure group was formed two years ago to fight against environmental and health issues caused by the Amorim Cork Factory in Silves, Algarve. Currently the group has 100 members who are all very concerned by the presence of the “chemical Suberin in the smoke emitted from the factory six days a week and the constant noise levels which are higher than the allowed rates. Alongside the pollution caused by the smoke, there is the issue of the fine powder containing PM10 which is being allowed to sit around in piles which is scattered by the wind across a very rural area.”
Elaine Evans from The Neighbours of the Factory group when speaking to The Portugal News, said that they have done multiple tests on the Suberin and noise levels which they say proves that they are above the government limits and that “We have been meeting on a regular basis with members of the Silves Câmara, the CEO of Amorim, a representative from the CDDR as well as a representative from Pestana Golf.”
In a meeting on 1 September, Dr Maxime Sousa Bispo obliged Amorim Factory to adhere to two proposals, with one being “to place all fine dust in sealed containers and dispose of it safely” and the other being to “lower the noise level to meet with the code laid down by the government”.
“This is a big problem for the residents of Silves and is even experienced by those living in Lagoa and Portimão. We cannot sit in our gardens because of the smell and the effect it has on our eyes, nose and throat. Many experience allergies on a daily basis. It gets into our houses and even our washing smells of the smoke.” With Elaine Evans describing her own experience “I have lived in my present house since 1993 and the smoke was not a nuisance, now it is as the factory works long hours 6 days a week.” On the 14 September, the group demonstrated outside the Silves Câmara at the same time as a meeting was taking place, which was organised under the leadership of the Deputy Mayor of Silves, Dr Maxime Sousa Bispo and the Deputy Mayor of CCDR-Algarve, Mr José Pacheco. The meeting was also attended by two representatives from the Neighbours group, representatives from Grupo Pestana, the CEO of Amorim Cork Factory.
When asked about the outcome of the meeting, Elaine Evans told The Portugal News that “This meeting as others before showed Amorim’s lack of respect as they had not done anything about the noise levels, which have been recorded to be above the stated levels and they have decided not to improve the filters until sometime next year. This has happened so many times before, putting the date forward yet again.”