Date: Fri 15-Sep-2000

Portuguese say they were intimidated at meeting

By Rebecca Zuill News Editor

PORTUGUESE long-term residents were threatened and intimidated by individuals -- some of whom were identified as militant trade unionists -- at a meeting called to discuss issues affecting this section of Bermuda's population.

Distressed by the impression given by the media that last week's Government-sponsored meeting had been an orderly one, a group of eight long-term residents spoke to the Mid-Ocean News this week to set the record straight.

They said most long-term residents were too frightened to speak out at the Number One Shed meeting, as anybody who put forward the view of the long-term residents was heckled and jeered. While describing the scene during the interview, all eight were upset, and one woman was in tears. They felt so intimidated by the situation they all asked not to be identified.

Some of the remarks were extremely threatening, said one man. ``One person said: `You've dirtied my home for 30 years, now I want it cleaned out'.''

The atmosphere was tense, said another. ``Anytime anybody said anything for us, there were threatening sounds.''

And another man said there was a call that long-term residents should be ``shipped out''. He explained he had attended Central School, Northlands and Churchill School.

``I was 11 when I came here,'' he said. ``I have applied twice for status and been turned down twice.''

It was ``very discouraging'', said a woman who remains a long-term resident despite the fact her children were granted Bermuda status.

``It hurt me, it upset me, it made me angry. I couldn't sleep that night.''

The meeting was packed, with more than 100 people standing and 350 sitting, said one person.

``There were a lot of union workers there,'' said one long-term resident.

Another person said: ``We were completely intimidated -- we were treated like trash.''

The long-term residents feel they are being blamed for the problems faced by Bermuda's youth.

An older long-term resident said: ``I believe if young people have no jobs they have to blame somebody.

``Now they're blaming us for no houses, no jobs. But if there's gang violence, it's not our fault. But they blame us. It's racist.''

A second mother in the group said a lady ``who had been hurt very much by white people'' talked about slavery. ``But that's got nothing to do with us,'' she said.

``My father worked in a hotel for more than 30 years, and was a member of the union, and paid his union dues, and look what they have done to us.

``Many hotel workers were union members -- many had a choice and chose to pay their dues to the union. We are the ones who pay the wages of the union officials. We have been treated very unfairly and inhumanly,'' she charged.

The eight, all but one of whom were born in the Azores and were brought here as children, said they now faced the spectre of separation from their own families and returning to a land they barely knew, where they had no friends and an uncertain future. At the same time, they are now facing hostility and resentment here in Bermuda, the country they have long considered home. One man born in the Azores said the situation was a political one which had been bandied about between the United Bermuda Party and the Progressive Labour Party for the last 30 years.

This group had no patience with the political parties, one man saying that although the PLP was not in power for the past 30 years, it was well aware of the situation and had done nothing to support the victims of the UBP immigration policy.

``They knew what we were going though. They are as much to blame as the UBP,''

he said. A mature Portuguese man who has lived here for more than 30 years said: ``Portuguese people feel like we are being sacrificed. In the short term, that's how we see it. I do want to thank Opposition Leader Pamela Gordon for speaking out at the meeting and saying it was who you knew and not who you were that determined whether or not you got status.''

The older man explained he had applied for status four times and had appealed twice. The answer from the Minister of Immigration was invariably a polite ``no''. However, his brother, who worked for an employer with some influence in the community, had been successful. The eight long-term residents pointed out that the Azorean community are good citizens, attending church, working for their children's schools and parent-teacher associations.

A grandmother with Bermudian grandchildren said she and her husband could move to the Azores and live comfortably there, but that would mean leaving their family. ``I'd rather not have any money, and be with my children,'' she said.

``They have nasty nicknames for us in the Azores. We have no friends, no family there. We came here with our parents, and it is so unfair.''

The long term-residents the Mid-Ocean News spoke to all had close relatives who had been granted status, and one pointed to the case of John Jefferis, former general manager of Elbow Beach Hotel, who had been in Bermuda for just 12 years when he was granted status. ``I've been here twice as long. I'm a gardener and they are big-time people, so he got his status. After 21 years, why would anyone think we were not good enough? My wife and daughter have worked hard for charities, but in the end people say we are nothing here.''

The working mother said: ``Our reputation is that we send all our money back home but that is not true -- it's a better investment to keep our money here.  People think we are getting the best of Bermuda. But we are here, we have roots here and we love Bermuda,'' she said.

Another working mother said: ``We have children with status.''

The group pointed to the economic boost people of Portuguese descent have brought to Bermuda.

``I know from experience a lot of business owners are of Portuguese descent,''

said one long-term resident. ``They came here 30 or 40 years ago and became Bermudian. They own their own businesses and these people do employ Bermudians. I can name so many.

``We contribute to the economy -- and if we had the freedom here, we could contribute even more to the economy,'' she said.

And if all the long-term residents were to leave tomorrow, this group believes the economy would suffer.

``I don't have to guess what would happen -- about four or five years ago a lot of people did have to go back when their work permits were not renewed.  There was a depression in the economy because there was not as much money in circulation. Everybody felt it.''

She pointed out many successful local businesses were founded and many continued to be run by people of Portuguese descent.

The most senior of the long term-residents said: ``Where are all these big business people? Why don't they speak for us? They are supposed to say something. We work honestly, we make time.''

A second man commented: ``They are afraid that if we get status we won't work for them any more, and they will lose the best of us.''

One of the mothers said that many people in this situation came here as children. ``It's not our fault -- I blame immigration, and now what are we going to do with our own kids?''

The prospect of returning to the Azores for these long-term residents was alarming, they said.

``We have no family and no friends to go back to,'' they said. ``For our children it would mean a change of language -- they speak only English, and they will feel out of place.''

ONE long-term resident said her family visited the Azores this summer. She said although she had struggled to feel at home, she had not succeeded.  ``They didn't make me feel welcome. They feel we have come from paradise, but we

have to live in fear and they treat us like dirt. I tried so hard to feel at home when I went to the Azores this summer, but I didn't. My kids hated it.''

Ironically, the standard of living in the Azores has improved dramatically since these long-term residents left the island chain.

All the long-term residents we spoke to said they wanted status for the security it offered. One woman with grandchildren here said: ``I feel, after I've been in Bermuda for 30 years, what is the difference if I get Bermuda status now? I am going to go on doing what I do now. I want Bermuda status because I don't want to be separated from my kids.''

Another woman said her son had blamed her for the situation he now found himself in. ``He said to me: `Why do you let me grow up in this country that I can't call mine'?''

Another described the impact of the legislation which allowed children born before 1989 to seek Bermuda status. ``My daughter does have Bermuda status, but my son does not. Do I go home and leave my daughter here, but take my son back?''

Whether or not they should send their children to college is another dilemma facing long-term residents.

The group said sending a child to college while living in such uncertain circumstances was an enormous risk most people could not afford to take. If their parents were sent home, they woould not be able to afford to pay for their children to complete their education and, at the same time, they jeopardised their own retirement. ``Suppose we have to go back? These nest eggs are to go towards our retirement. We don't know how to manage -- it's hard for the parents and kids.''

As far as the Azorean population is concerned, it is unlikely there will be more people coming from the Atlantic island group, particularly for long-term employment.

``Years ago it was a better life here. When we came here, in the Azores there was no electricity or toilets in our houses. Now, life in Azores -- they have a good time,'' said a long-term resident.

There was an indication from Labour & Home Affairs Minister Paula Cox that long-term residents may need to wait until the island has made a decision about Independence before the question of their status is finally decided.

``It's a red herring,'' scoffed one man. ``We're tired of waiting -- we've been waiting all of our lives.''