Escaping Crisis Gets Colonial for Portuguese as Economy Worsens
Sept. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Paulo Almeida gave up waiting for a job at an employment office in Lisbon, crossing the city to join a longer line for a visa to Angola.
“There are no decent jobs in Portugal anymore, it’s only getting worse,” the 28-year-old engineer said as he stood outside the oil-producing African country’s consulate where job- seekers sometimes camp overnight to be first in line.
It’s not only investors who are abandoning countries at the heart of Europe’s debt crisis. More people are leaving Portugal than at any time since the end of the Estado Novo regime in 1974, while Greeks are heading to Australia and the U.S. and the Irish are migrating in numbers not seen since the late 19th century when they were still part of Britain.
With Portugal predicting its economy will remain mired in recession for the next two years and unemployment at the highest since at least 1983, workers and companies are turning to the former Portuguese colonies of Angola, Mozambique and Brazil.
Fourteen of the 20 members of Lisbon’s benchmark PSI20 stock index are either present or planning to set up operations in at least one of the three faster-growing markets. They include Cimpor-Cimentos de Portugal SGPS SA, Portugal’s biggest cement maker, and Mota-Engil SGPS SA, its largest builder.
“When we lost the colonies, people thought Europe would be the solution,” Antonio Barreto, a historian and former Portuguese education minister, said at a meeting with reporters on Sept. 8. “Now we’re in trouble again and people seem to think that the former colonies are the way out of the crisis.”
Wealth Divide
The gap in per-capita gross domestic product between Portugal and the three countries combined is at its narrowest since 1997, according to estimates based on data published by the World Bank.
Canadian Consulate In Athens - News
The Australian embassy is flooded with Greeks applying to emigrate to Australia because the unemployment rate here is well over 25%. My father emigrated to Canada in 1952, when Greece had been completely devastated following World War Two and a civil
In Ireland, emigration rose to the highest since the 19th century in the year through April. Athens-based newspaper Kathimerini said Sept. 15 that Greeks are attracted to countries such as Canada and Australia that have large Greek communities.
The Greek capital of Athens has seen near-daily strikes and protests as the government fights to avoid bankruptcy, and Saturday was no different. Some 2000 rallied outside parliament against a new austerity package being voted upon on Thursday,
The top floor of a central Athenian hotel proved an ideal venue for a conversation with the newly appointed Australian ambassador in Athens, Greek-Australian Jenny Bloomfield. It was a chance to enjoy a rare, calm view of Syntagma Square,
Greek protesters called an anti-austerity rally for Saturday in Athens' Syntagma Square. "What is happening in Greece now is the nightmare awaiting other countries in the future. Solidarity is the people's weapon," the Real Democracy group said in a
Rep. John Lewis Hosts Annual Multicultural Event :: Georgia Politico
Each year, Representative John Lewis promotes the spirit of unity in the 5th district, inviting multicultural organizations to share their food, heritage, traditional dress, dance and music with others in the metropolitan area of Atlanta. This year the event will be held Sun, October 23 from 12:00 to 4:00 p.m. at the Fourth Ward Historic Park, 680 Dallas Street, NE Atlanta. The U.S. State Department will make a special presentation of passport services available in the Atlanta office new passport. A passport is your ticket to the world.
GUEST SPEAKER : Gale McCoy, Director of Atlanta Passport Agency ADDRESS : 680 Dallas Street, NE, Atlanta
Participating Groups Include:
Alliance Francaise D’Atlanta Georgia Tech Turkish Student Assn. American Turkish Friendship Council Goldberg’s Deli Ballet Folklorico “Dance_ando” Honorary Consul General for Turkey Barbados Association of Atlanta Honorary Consul General for the Republic Bosco Cole of Liberia Caribbean Association of Georgia Indian Professionals Network Center for Pan Asian Community Services Iranian American Community City of Atlanta Bureau of Parks and Recreation Istanbul Center Consulate General of Canada Manga African Dance Consulate General of Germany and Goethe-Zentrum Newbreed Filmworks Consulate General of Honduras No Mas Cantina Consulate General of Israel Portal Entertainment Consulate General of Japan Publix Supermarkets Filipino Youth Rock Group – Off the Grid Taipei Economic and Cultural Office Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials Thai and Sushi Georgia Caribbean-American Heritage Coalition U.S.