Number of Angolan and Cape Verdean ‘disappeared’ increases in Portugal, but control is difficult

2023-08-01 16:06:14

According to the most recent data released by the Portuguese authorities, there are almost 200 Angolans and Cape Verdeans who did not show up in the dioceses where they were expected in Portugal for the World Youth Day. At least five Angolan pilgrims have already warned that they do not want to return to their country.

Published on: 08/01/2023 – 16:06

2 min

At least 168 Cape Verdeans and 27 Angolans did not show up to their delegations to participate in the World Youth Day which runs until Sunday, in Lisbon. The Portuguese authorities are trying to identify these people, with the youngest being 19 years old, and point out that they are all in good standing as they benefit from a three-month visa in Portugal and other countries in the Schengen Zone.

“There is a first phase of identifying people, then evaluating the information we have, what are the steps to locate the young people. People have an authorized period, after that phase, they will enter into an irregular situation and then they are subject to the law […] They have authorized stay, we just don’t know where they are”, explained the representative of the Foreigners and Borders Service at a press conference to journalists in Lisbon.

In addition to these pilgrims who did not show up, many of them in Leiria and others in Porto de Mós, there are at least five Angolan citizens who have already expressed their willingness to remain in Portugal to the Portuguese authorities. If these citizens prove that they are threatened in their country of origin, they can apply for refugee status in Portugal or in another country in the Schengen Zone.

The danger of illegal immigration is something that many dioceses in official Portuguese-speaking countries have been warning about. Friar Gilson, who leads the delegation of almost 700 people coming from São Tomé and Príncipe, explained in an interview with RFI that it is difficult to carry out this control, even if surveillance was reinforced and there were several training sessions before leaving.

“We were careful to use some criteria, even to make it difficult for those who, perhaps, might come up with the idea of ​​staying. We try to do that, but you can’t be sure if they’ll come back or not because we don’t know what’s on everyone’s mind. We did our part, we had six months of formation in our diocese, to show people the need to come and return“, he explained.