The Minister of Solidarity and Social Security, Pedro Mota Soares, said today that the survey on the capacity of the social sector to receive refugees will be ready by the end of the month.
The aim is to "focus on the care" of refugees, through "self-contained accommodation" for each family, confirmed Lino Maia, president of the National Confederation of Solidarity Institutions.
Sr Mota Soares had a meeting on Tuesday with leaders of the social sector to evaluate the reception of refugees in Portugal.
"The social sector will take stock of the entire network to deal with handling the connection to school, links to the health sector, training and education," said Mota Soares at the end of a coordination meeting of the social sector in Oporto.
The meeting was attended by the presidents of the National Confederation of Solidarity Institutions, of the Portuguese Mutual Societies Union and of the Misericordia institutions of the Church.
According to the Minister, public services such as the Social Security Institute and the Institute of Employment and Vocational Training are ready to get to work to receive refugees but "it is essential to work with the social sector," because this is the one that "has a network throughout the country which can respond to this issue.
The minister did not say how many refugees Portugal is to receive under the proposed relocation of 120,000 people presented by the European Commission.
Of the more than four million Syrians who have fled their country, nearly half have sought shelter in Turkey, while more than a million are now living in Lebanon and at least 600,000 in Jordan.
Soares said that the matter of numbers for Portugal "is being led by the Ministry of Internal Affairs."
Initially, Portugal was to receive 1,500 refugees but this number has risen proportionally as more enter Europe.
According to an announcement last Wednesday, the president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker had decided that Portugal will receive 3,074 refugees from the 120,000 currently in camps in Europe.
Mota Soares also said that it is essential to accept refugees who can make a contribution to help Portugal "sustain economic growth."
Rui Marques from the Instituto Padre António Vieira which is helping with the planning said that it is essential to settle refugees in local communities to promote their integration rather than put them in shelters which often turn into ghettos with little interaction with the host community."
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres today praised the "reasonable approach" adopted by Portugal to receiving its quote of refugees, which requires the involvement of various sectors of society.
"It may not be the ideal approach, but it's reasonable," said the official, at a press conference in Brussels on the need for countries to undertake the 'effective integration' of refugees.
In his recent trip to Portugal, Guterres noted the creation of the platform that mobilises civil society, the Catholic Church, non-governmental organizations and local authorities to ensure the integration of refugees.
