Africa-Press – Cape verde. José Maria Neves, acknowledged this Sunday in Lisbon “some difficulties in integrating” the Cape Verdean community based in Portugal, but considers that “there are good practices and very positive actions that allow for better integration of Cape Verdeans”.
José Maria Neves was speaking to the press before the meeting with around two hundred Cape Verdeans at the Damaia Parish Centre, in the parish of Amadora, on the outskirts of Lisbon, as part of the contacts he is making with the diaspora.
“We have seen a very strong wave of emigration to Portugal in recent months and there are some difficulties in terms of integration. However, overall, in the different municipalities of Portugal, and today we spent the day in Oeiras, integration is very good, housing problems are gradually being resolved. Also in terms of professional integration, because there is training, there is support for education, higher education and the communities are very well integrated”, he stated.
José Maria Neves concludes that “there are good practices and very positive actions that allow for better integration of Cape Verdeans” in Portugal.
As for what he would convey to those waiting for him at the Parish Center, José Maria Neves responded that it is important to reflect on the changes recorded in the first 50 years of independence, which will be completed on July 5th, and to look to the future.
“I see a country with enormous potential, with enormous possibilities for a different Cape Verde in the next 50 years,” he stressed, emphasizing that “the country has changed today, it is different, and the people have changed too. The important thing is to celebrate these gains, but to look to the future. We must now unite the global Cape Verdean nation to accelerate the pace and build a modern, prosperous Cape Verde with opportunities.”
José Maria Neves highlighted the importance of ensuring a greater connection between the diaspora and the country.
“This is important. We need to be able to connect the diaspora more. We have great skills and abilities. The diaspora cannot be limited to financial remittances. We have remittances of ideas and knowledge, but we also have the possibility today, with information technology, of putting this diaspora at the service of the country,” he argued.
“This is a positive message, one of ambition. Cape Verde is already a possible country, so we have to work to build a modern and prosperous country, where everyone can live with dignity,” he added.
Asked to comment on the brain drain from Cape Verde, and anticipating the speech he will make on Monday in Coimbra, at the 36th session of the “Conversas da Casa da Lusofonia”, promoted by the University of Coimbra (UC), José Maria Neves considered that “young people are free to stay and free to leave”.
“The issue is that there has been a massive exodus. With an impact on business, communities, academia and the job market. And we have to analyze this fact,” he acknowledged.
In this sense, he defended the need to create conditions in Cape Verde to have opportunities.
“We have grown. Cape Verde is already a middle-income country, but wages are still low, incomes are low. There are still significant areas of poverty. There are inequalities, there are strong regional asymmetries. So, based on this phenomenon, we need to analyze the impacts and see what measures we can take. We need to agree on new measures to accelerate the country’s modernization process and create opportunities for people to work in Cape Verde,” he highlighted.
The President is in Portugal for his third presidency in the diaspora, from June 1 to 6, to meet with businesspeople, associations and students to strengthen ties, discuss education, health and mobility, after having been in the United States and São Tomé and Príncipe.
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