Lionel Shriver. Now resident in the EU
Because if her house worth of goods is part of a Groupage, it’ll be several weeks before she sees any of it again. And then there are all those Customs declarations and maybe extra charges. Still, she makes sure to tell “Beautiful beaches extend a 15-minute stroll from our new house, roomier than anything we could afford in Britain; from our awaiting back balconies, the sea glistens on the horizon”. Slow moving mass of water nearby? Mosquitoes, anyone?
Then we get that bigotry. “Not to get stuck into Suella Braverman’s whole multiculturalism palaver, but Portugal is still culturally coherent. The population is only 11 million, and most of them are Portuguese. In the London neighbourhood we’re leaving behind, we have not been living among the English”. Would that mean people who are not white? Surprise, surprise!
Yes, 92.5% of those resident in Portugal are Portuguese nationals. But that does not mean they are all white. Before the expiry of the Estado Novo in 1974, the country held doggedly on to its colonies, claiming that they weren’t really colonies, but parts of a Greater Portugal, honestly.
There was also, until 1961, a Portuguese foothold on the Indian sub continent, in the shape, mainly, of Goa. The Indian Government seized Goa in a brief military operation; the Government of António de Oliveira Salazar attempted to invoke the old alliance with Britain, but Perfidious Albion was conflicted, as the former colonial power. So the UK sat on its hands long enough for Goa to fall. Those talking of old alliances should note that well.
Praça do Comércio, Lisbon. With the Barreiro ferry arriving
“I’ve watched with growing horror for 25 years while coal and nuclear power plants have gone offline with no serious reinvestment in reliable energy sources”. What’re you doing moving to Portugal, then? The last coal power plant has ceased generation, and there never was commercial nuclear power. But there is an emphasis on renewables, especially hydro power.
Do go on. “I’ve increasingly had the sensation of living in a country that is falling apart”. Like how, and what? “The NHS is in a state of collapse”. There are continual concerns about the SNS, the Portuguese equivalent. Have another go. “For the last year, the prevalence of strikes has been positively Gallic”. Have I got news for you, Ms S! Strikes, you say. Yes, well.
This year’s rail strikes dragged on, but they’ve all been settled. Doctors and other medics? Still going on. Try again. “With a fierce and worsening housing shortage”. Not moving anywhere near Lisbon, then. And then comes “Although improved weather beckons”. Moving just in time for the weather to break, sorry. Starting later this week. And did I mention bureaucracy?
Just wait until she gets to the till at the local supermarket and the person there asks “Contribuinte?” Getting a Social Security number is its own aptitude test. So is being sent somewhere like Viana do Castelo to pursue the all-important residence permit. And getting a bank account? I’ll have to assume she passed that test. After all that, Bem-Vindo a Portugal.
Hopefully nowhere near Pinhal Novo, mind. There are limits to tolerance.
https://www.patreon.com/Timfenton
5 comments:
Tim, tell her about the Carnation Revolution.......
I didn't know you had moved, Tim. I feel the same way: UK, and England in particular is on a downward spiral. My choice is SE Asia though.
I doubt that she will do all that herself as she will have little people to do that for her
You can see the upcoming article now about how Portugal has gone all multi cultural and woke and is now "lost"
Which leaves the question how long before she moves again.
Wait until she discovers all the old Portuguese colonies in Africa like Mozambique
Never heard of Eusébio then, Lionel?
She once asked whether it should be considered a Good Thing were London to be “overrun” with ғᴏʀᴇɪɢɴs “like me”. To which the obvious answer is “No, we've already got a surplus of home-grown bigots. We certainly don’t need any more.”
From a Shriver piece in The Spectator in 2021 that deserves another airing: "For westerners to passively accept and even abet incursions by foreigners so massive that the native-born are effectively surrendering their territory without a shot fired is biologically perverse."
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