The first rescue bus that left Olhão on Thursday last week Poland, arrived back yesterday with 46 Ukrainian refugees, most of whom were welcomed by relatives resident here in Portugal.
António Pina, Mayor of Olhão, expressed his satisfaction at the safe arrival of this first group of people from Ukraine, but stressed that this support is “just a drop in the ocean” in the face of the emergency that affects the Ukrainian people.
Speaking to Lusa, António Pina said that, of the 46 people who arrived, 43 will be welcomed by family members and “have all gone” to their destination. The remaining 3 refugees, a mother and two children are " in the care of our social services, in our housing for emergencies, and we will now seek a longer-term solution for this family, as there is already a list of institutions and individuals available to welcome these people”, he said.
The refugees were accompanied on the trip by a nurse and, in partnership with the ABC (Algarve Biomedical Center), they were received by volunteer doctors who made an initial observation, and confirmed everyone was in reasonable health.
The president of the Olhão municipality clarified that, once they arrive in Portugal, it is the Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF) “which is responsible for registering these people and then sharing the data with all other entities, namely the Social Security office, Finanças and the Institute of Employment and Vocational Training.
Today, Wednesday 9th March, the second bus, with 44 people, should arrive back in Olhão.
“On this bus, we will not have any more cases that require the intervention of social action, everyone will be welcomed by family or friends”, said Pina.
“It's just a drop in the ocean of what the needs are, but it's the drop of water with which the municipality and the citizens of Olhão contribute”, António Pina praised.
Original article available in Portuguese at http://postal.pt/
