Publication
Sílvia Leiria Viegas publishes interview on the integration of refugees in Portugal
The interview with Alexander Kpatue Kweh, conducted by Sílvia Leiria Viegas under the title “Refugees and Inclusion Spaces”, is part of the third and final volume of the dossier African Cities: Cities, Races, and Emergencies in Africa and the Diaspora, published in December 2023 as part of the scientific journal LAJE – linked to the research group ¡DALE!, Decolonizing Latin America and its Spaces (@decolonizar), UFBA (Brazil). The editorial is by Céline Veríssimo, João Soares Pena, and Murad Jorge Mussi Vaz.
The interview addresses the theme of refugee integration in Portugal, especially in recent years, particularly in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area.
Alexander Kpatue Kweh is originally from Liberia and a naturalized Portuguese citizen, currently serving as the leader of the Union of Refugees in Portugal (UREP) and coordinator of the Refugee Forum Portugal.
In this interview, Alexander Kpatue Kweh discusses issues related to public responses to refugee reception in Portugal and their impacts on daily life, taking into account the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic. The right to housing and the political strategy of territorial deconcentration for refugees under European and international programs, as well as the prospects for an inclusive future, were some of the topics discussed.
This work is the result of participatory and collaborative action research conducted by Sílvia Leiria Viegas at the Refugee Forum Portugal since 2019. The knowledge gained now contributes to the ongoing project “Refugee Research for (Post)COVID-19. National Measures and Local Actions in the Algarve: A Digital Tour for Access to Adequate Housing and Living Conditions”, which Sílvia Leiria Viegas is developing at the Research Center for Arts and Communication, University of Algarve, funded by FCT (2021.03008.CEECIND).
The interview is available for reading here.
Esta publicação também está disponível em: Portuguese (Portugal)