What is fueling the growing negative feelings against immigrants?

I will start by listing the main factors in the overall increasing dissatisfaction of the Madeiran people. Most of these have been highlighted in the local press, particularly during the current election campaign to elect a national government (that ends in elections on Sunday 18th May). Most have been campaign highlights of the extreme right party ‘Chega’ by the candidate Fransisco Gomes.

  1. Housing and accommodation availability and pricing. Both purchasing pricing and rental costs have escalated hugely over the last 10 years. Combined with the generally low incomes of the Madeiran population, the situation is very complicated. I have have spent some time today researching the subject history and future prospects, and it is the outcome of several market factors, including higher immigrant purchasing power. This is a clear number one on the list, and I will return at a later date to provide more background.
  2. Growing inflation for all basic needs, and almost all other areas, including construction costs for new accommodation.
  3. The strain that immigration is putting on government provided services. Particularly those in the health service, education, and social security.
  4. The employment of immigrants in precious jobs opportunities. This allegedly leading to increasing emigration of Madeirans to find work away from home. Also there is a wide perception that high immigration puts a downward pressure on wage structures for local people.
  5. The impact of immigration (and growing tourism) on the environment and way of life.
  6. Increasing levels of crime, and more serious crime problems, such as drug trafficking.
  7. The attempts of immigrants to impose their own culture and traditions on the the island, interfering with and spoiling those that have existed during decades or centuries.

There are more, but these are the ones that I intend to discuss in future blogs.

So what is the purpose of “Healing Madeira”?

I should have started this blog years ago, at least 5 years ago, but I lived in hope that someone in a position of authority in Madeira, would foresee what would happen with growing immigration.

In Portugal continental the situation is almost identical, but of course with a population of around 10 million the scale the actual numbers are much greater with around 1.8 million immigrants in a stable or waiting acceptance situation.

Nobody really did anything significant in anticipation however, except make a mess of the immigration laws and their enforcement.

Portugal is not the first country to find itself in this position within Europe. Spain in particular has been targeted by foreigners as an alternative place to live, or to buy a second home. But island locations seem to boast a special charm that attracts tourists and immigrants, often converting the first into the second.

I will take a brief look at these Spanish locations, as their existence is far more advanced than the situation of the Island of Madeira. However as the legal immigration is just a part of the overall migration picture, comparisons may be unreliable. I am referring of course mainly to immigration from the African continent, where immigrants hope to obtain an asylum seeker status, or some other status that allows them to remain in Spain (or Europe).

I don’t have the resources to obtain most of the information I need, except through Artificial Intelligence. That may not always be entirely correct of course, so I will welcome feedback and quality information from other sources, especially through this blog comments section. I am not looking for day to day experiences, just longer term experiences, trends, official expectations etc.

If you have friends or colleagues that might be interested in this subject matter of immigration and integration, any recommendations for this blog will be greatly appreciated.

The longer term objective will be to create a harmonious island community of Madeirans and mixed immigrant origins.

Thank you for joining me on this journey to heal Madeira.

Castle Madeira

My abstract vision of the Island of Madeira, as it is becoming. The madeiran people defending the island from hostile visitors. Immigrants are not welcomed generally, and are isolated from the local population. Tourists are tolerated because of the essential revenue they bring, but even so acceptance is diminishing as over tourism is creating its own problems in society and on the island generally.