José Cesário, who was speaking to journalists at the end of a visit in which he met with groups of the largest Portuguese communities in African countries, namely South Africa (Pretoria, Cape Town and Johannesburg), Mozambique (Maputo) and Angola (Luanda), noted that this is one of the main concerns of those living in Mozambique in the face of post-electoral conflicts.

“There are a lot of people returning to Portugal. This is noticeable, particularly in Mozambique. It’s not exactly because of situations of poverty, it’s more because of the concern they have,” he highlighted.

The Secretary of State added that the objective of his visit was to demonstrate, in practice, the closeness between Portugal and the communities and to assess what adjustments were necessary in terms of services and the response to situations of poverty and more serious cases, especially in Mozambique, “where there were serious problems with victims of situations of violence, assaults, etc.”

In this case, he highlighted, “there is widespread concern”, because, despite liking Mozambique, the people who work and live there expressed “fear”.

José Cesário, who met with Portuguese people who were victims of robberies during the demonstrations and who saw their property destroyed, reiterated that the situations “are being closely monitored” by the embassy, ​​with procedures that will be defined on a case-by-case basis.

“Now, there is, in fact, a widespread feeling of concern and they ask us to be very present so that Portugal does not stop being present there, from the point of view of the political-diplomatic relationship with the country,” he said.

Regarding poverty issues, they are more evident in South Africa, he said, also pointing out cases of loneliness, especially among older citizens, estimating that, in Johannesburg alone, around 200 people, many of whom previously lived in Portuguese neighbourhoods, are in homes or day centres.