The difficulty of accessing housing, with landlords charging several months’ rent in advance, and delays in obtaining permits to stay in the country are the issues most faced by Ukrainian refugees in Portugal.
“The first problem is housing. It is a serious problem. Although a lot of housing was initially offered by the private sector, by the municipalities, by the municipalities, we realized that the private sector cannot hold people for long, also because we are facing with a rise in prices, inflation”told Lusa news agency the president of the Association of Ukrainians in Portugal (AUP), Pavlo Sadokha.
Part of the Ukrainians who took refuge in Portugal after the Russian invasion on 24 February returned to Ukraine, as the country managed to liberate some towns and stop the advance of Russian troops at the beginning of the summer.
However, with Russia’s mobilization in recent months, this return has stopped and while there are currently no new refugee flows to Portugal, nothing can confirm that this will not happen again, he acknowledged. “At the moment we are not feeling a new flow of migrants to Portugal, which does not mean that it will not happen, because the situation in Ukraine is not easy and it is possible that new waves will come.”admitted.
In October, Russia stepped up its offensive and launched new massive missile strikes, which destroyed nearly half of Ukraine’s energy system.
The information reaching the association founded in 2003 is that the Ukrainians on the ground are ready to continue resisting the Russian invasion, which will complete a year this month: “They are not showing any desire to take refuge at the moment, which they do not mean that the situation cannot change depending on the development of the war in Ukraine”.
Pavlo Sadokha is positive about the integration process of the first waves of Ukrainians who arrived in Portugal last year, despite the ongoing problems.
What stands out the most is the difficulty of renting a house. Although there is a project to support rentals, “it doesn’t work in all parishes, across the country,” said the association leader.
Refugees also face the requirement of the contract, guarantors and prepayment of rent. “These Ukrainians don’t have it, because they ran out of money and haven’t earned it yet to have some money to put down a deposit”he specified, reporting “serious problems” on the legal and market front.
“They are no longer asking for two rents, as usual. They are asking for three, four, and there were even cases in Coimbra where they asked for an advance of six, seven months’ rent!”illustrated Sadokha, who warned that this is “a value impossible for refugees” and the source of the biggest problem they face in Portugal.
In the hierarchy of difficulties follows, according to the same source, the delay in granting residence permits.
“It’s also what we’ve felt over the past six months for the legal support and for the refugees who ask us for help. There are processes that take three, four months, and in those three, four months people can’t even start working , because they don’t have data yet, nor support from the national health system. It’s a problem that worries us”he underlined.
But there is a “third and serious problem”, in the opinion of the chairman of the AUP: the psychological state of these people, caused by the stress of war and the uncertainty of not knowing whether they will ever be able to return or whether they have to rebuild their professional life in Portugal. “It blocks them,” he assured.
The blockade has emotional and social consequences and hinders the learning of Portuguese, despite the immense offer of existing lessons.
“The initial shock of fleeing Ukraine has passed and now they are faced with the reality of uncertainty about what to do (…). And we even noticed that, for example when learning Portuguese”Pavlo Sadokha told Lusa in an interview, expressing himself “very pleased” with the position of the Portuguese in the face of the conflict.
Even with the decline of the first wave of donations, the Portuguese will continue to mobilize when the situation worsens, as was the case with the attack on Ukraine’s energy system, he assured.
“There were people who came together to send generators and clothes. I am very grateful for the support of the Portuguese. Public opinion is very important to influence the decision of politicians. Without the support of Europe, Ukraine would not be able to do it until now have survived”he declared.
Source: DN
