Secretary-General António Guterres heralded the opening of a new museum in central Portugal on Friday which honours the extraordinary life of a man who showed “immense bravery” helping thousands of refugees escape the Nazi regime during World War Two “Aristides de Sousa Mendes was a beacon of courage, compassion, and conviction in a world of total moral collapse,” said Mr. Guterres in a video message to inaugurate the Aristides de Sousa Mendes Museum in the town of Carregal do Sal Aristides de Sousa Mendes was a Portuguese diplomat based in Bordeaux who defied his own Government’s orders to stamp passports and visas that allowed thousands to flee on to Portugal A Portuguese visa allowed them safe passage through Spain the infamous Portuguese ‘Circular 14’ directive instructed diplomats to deny safe haven to refugees and other stateless persons who could not return home As the Nazis quickly approached the Bordeaux consulate where Mendes was working he faced a stark choice between following orders or saving lives He chose the latter, declaring “I would rather stand with God against Man than with Man against God.” Mendes established a rapid system to stamp and sign passports and issue thousands of lifesaving visas in June 1940 “His legacy is lives saved and lives lived – including a young girl who would become the mother of my own Spokesperson at the United Nations,” said the UN chief who served as Prime Minister of Portugal between 1995 and 2002 Portuguese dictator António de Oliveira Salazar – who ruled the country for forty years up to 1968 - expelled him from the diplomatic corps without any pension the magnitude and bravery of his actions have been gradually recognised “This museum – in his ancestral home – is a critical part of those efforts,” Mr The inauguration of the museum comes at a “vital time,” as the number of people forced to flee their homes has reached a record high and “hatred and intolerance are rife,” Mr “We are at risk of forgetting our shared humanity,” he emphasised Guterres is calling on people everywhere to be inspired by the memory of Mr “Let us commit to defend human rights and dignity for all and hate whenever and wherever they appear,” the Secretary-General said.  In remembrance of the victims of the Holocaust UN Secretary-General António Guterres issued a call for global unity against the rise of hate and division cautioning that intolerance is proliferating rapidly and that no society is exempt from its reach Historic audio recordings covering the recent history of Somalia are being preserved for future generations thanks to UN support A team of astronomers from the UK is exploring what might be described as the first astronomical observing tool potentially used by humans around 4,000 BC The view towards the east from the Carregal do Sal megalithic cluster at dawn at the end of April around 4,000 BC as reconstructed using a Digital Elevation Model and Stellarium the ‘mountain range of the star.’ Image credit: Fabio Silva The team, led by Dr. Fabio Silva of the University of Wales Trinity Saint David narrow entrance passages to Iberian megalithic tombs from the Middle Neolithic period may have enhanced what early human cultures could see in the night sky The team’s idea is to investigate how a simple aperture affects the observation of slightly fainter stars The scientists focus their study on passage graves which are a type of megalithic tomb composed of a chamber of large interlocking stones and a long narrow entrance These spaces are thought to have been sacred and the sites may have been used for rites of passage where the initiate would spend the night inside the tomb with no natural light apart from that shining down the narrow entrance lined with the remains of the tribe’s ancestors These structures could therefore have been the first astronomical tools to support the watching of the skies “It is quite a surprise that no one has thoroughly investigated how for example the color of the night sky impacts on what can be seen with the naked eye,” said co-author Kieran Simcox, from Nottingham Trent University can see stars given sky brightness and color Photographs of the megalithic cluster of Carregal do Sal: (a) Dolmen da Orca a typical dolmenic structure in western Iberia; (b) view of the passage and entrance while standing within the dolmens’ chamber: the ‘window of visibility;’ (c) Orca de Santo Tisco a dolmen with a much smaller passage or corridor The scientists intend to apply these ideas to the case of passage graves, such as the 6,000 year old Seven-Stone Antas in Portugal and Spain “The orientations of the tombs may be in alignment with Aldebaran the brightest star in the constellation of Taurus,” Dr “To accurately time the first appearance of this star in the season it is vital to be able to detect stars during twilight.” “The first sighting in the year of a star after its long absence from the night sky might have been used as a seasonal marker and could indicate for example the start of a migration to summer grazing grounds,” the astronomers said “The timing of this could have been seen as secret knowledge or foresight only obtained after a night spent in contact with the ancestors in the depths of a passage grave since the star may not have been observable from outside.” the astronomers suggest it could actually have been the result of the ability of the human eye to spot stars in such twilight conditions given the small entrance passages of the tombs Dr. Silva and his colleagues presented their results today at the National Astronomy Meeting 2016 in Nottingham Arising and Laying Hidden Stars: their celestial dynamics and role in Neolithic Iberian Cosmology Portugal his honoring former diplomat Aristides de Sousa Mendes following a resolution approved by the Portuguese Parliament without the transfer of his remains from his birthplace in Carregal do Sal is a memorial resting place where national heroes and public personalities are buried issued visas that saved thousands of people from the Holocaust disobeying the orders of António de Oliveira Salazar known as “Circular 14” ordering Portuguese consulates to “refuse visas to foreigners of undefined stateless persons and Jews expelled from the countries of their nationality or from which they came.” Aristides de Sousa Mendes was recalled to Lisbon on July 8 who had loyally served as a diplomat for 32 years he was forced into retirement and disbarred from practicing law Aristides died a pauper in the Franciscan Hospital in Lisbon Aristides de Sousa Mendes received in 1966 the title of “Righteous Among the Nations” awarded by Yad Vashem (Holocaust Memorial) to non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during World War II The recipient of many honors and awards, on June 17, 2020, during his General Audience, Pope Francis marked the “Day of Conscience,” inspired by the deeds of Sousa Mendes by appealing that freedom of conscience be respected always and everywhere the US Senate passed a resolution on March 3 his bust was unveiled inside Portugal’s Parliament chamber In the United States he is represented by the Sousa Mendes Foundation Its aim is to educate the world about his good work with the mission to raising funds for the creation of a Sousa Mendes Museum and Human Rights Center in Portugal and sponsoring US-based projects that perpetuate his legacy.  **Report a correction or typo to editor@portuguese-american-journal.com We are committed to upholding our journalistic standards This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page Cosmos » Archaeology Bill Condie is a science journalist based in Adelaide Megalithic tombs could have been designed as ingenious tools to observe the faintest stars – effectively telescopes without lenses – astronomers in Britain suggest narrow entrance passageways of so-called passage graves The focus of 13 of the tombs in Carregal do Sal the brightest star in the constellation of Taurus The researchers suggest that this could be for ceremonial purposes it is vital to be able to detect stars during twilight,” said Fabio Silva of the University of Wales Trinity Saint David some of which are present inside similar passage graves could and have been interpreted as red stars Aldebaran would have risen between 18 and 27 April and appear from within all of the entrance passages of the tombs The team presented the study at the National Astronomy Meeting in Nottingham The researchers said they believed the initiate in the ceremonies would spend the night inside the tomb with no natural light apart from that shining down the narrow entrance “It is quite a surprise that no one has thoroughly investigated how for example the colour of the night sky impacts on what can be seen with the naked eye,” Kieran Simcox from Nottingham Trent University and a leader of the project said at the house that belonged to the diplomat will start a five-day visit to various sites related to the life of Sousa Mendes and the lives of Jewish refugees in Portugal during the War has prepared a special art installation at the site inspired by the events being celebrated The international event was co-organized by the Aristides de Sousa Mendes Foundation from the United States the French National Commission in Honor of Aristides de Sousa Mendes and the Anonymous Just and Persecuted During the Nazi Period (AJPN) aiming to honor the memory of Aristides de Sousa Mendes (1885-1954) who issued Portuguese visas of safe conduct to over 30,000 at-risk refugees Sousa Mendes issued visas without regard to nationality or religion The operation has been described by the Holocaust scholar Yehuda Bauer as “perhaps the largest rescue action by a single individual during the Holocaust.” He issued the visas against the Portuguese government orders for which he was recalled and subjected to disciplinary action after being dismissed from is diplomatic post Sousa Mendes died destitute and in obscurity Sousa Mendes was named “Righteous Among the Nations” by the State of Israel The Portuguese Parliament recognized him posthumously with the rank of Ambassador Aristides the Sousa Mendes >> Jewish Virtual Library >> Wikipedia >> but never thought to share until today… I entered this story in a competition and won a partial scholarship to attend a literary conference in Lisbon my parents and I took a 10 hour flight from Florida to mainland Portugal to join my family in Carregal do Sal (district of Viseu) A few days after we got settled into our summer abode we joined our extended family in one of their busy afternoon meal preparation scrambles after working all morning in their ancestral farm my Portuguese relatives like to gather together for lunch to talk about what they did all morning where are the pine cones?) and “Estou  a acender o fogo já!” (I’m lighting the fire already!) filled the air while my dad and cousins lit two pine cones and a few charcoal bits under a meat grill top which had been suspended above the cement patio floor by two metal prongs we were roasting and feasting on sardinhas its taste was so unappetizing that after that day their salty The minute I learned what was on the menu that afternoon watching the men in my family prepare the sardines was a sight to see and thus I was entertained watching the spectacle They all took turns flipping the sardines with such ease licking the sides of the sardines until their skin was flaky In the house of my cousin we were staying with the outside walls lay adjacent to the houses on either side there is a path that connects the house to my uncle’s which is obscured by the houses behind ours and by fruit trees from my neighbor’s farm a patio lies between the house and my uncle’s house Those steps have been tread upon by many relatives and were probably only comfortable for my deceased grandmother whose dainty feet carried her up and down on those sweltering evenings decades ago when she would hand wash her garments on the wash board and hang them to dry outside her window It was in the patio that the men congregated to roast their tasty sea treasures their conversations based on how well the fish were biting and how tall the children had gotten the Portuguese culture has been generally known as one that relishes in the art of fishing and preparing seafood boys are aware that at some point in their lives they will fish for a meal much like our ancestors did thousands of years ago the boys are taken on long fishing trips with their fathers whose scales glitter in the sun like a million silver coins when they are pulled from the murky depths where they lurk prefer staying indoors and making bread than being sprayed by the salty waves inside a small It was indeed this task that my aunts were performing that afternoon in a hidden room designed to be a summer kitchen The whole scene was rather comical; a pear shaped clay oven which was tall enough to reach the ceiling was spewing wispy white smoke while my aunts square chunks of traditional corn bread (made from the corn they had grown that season) “Já acabaram as sardinhas filha?” (Did they finish the sardines already daughter?) was my greeting as I entered the door from Aunt Margarida My aunts all went back to baking their bread sharing stories of their morning and of breakfast as they molded the dough Their conversations were a flutter of Portuguese full of tidbits and gossip they had heard that day As they pressed the golden-brown corn cubes together my older female cousin Dulce sat stirring deep cauldrons full of boiling potatoes that would later be drizzled with oil to accompany the sardines Every now and then she would push her haphazard curls out of her face The salty smell of the greasy sardines drifted into the kitchen a sign that the salting of the sardines was taking place and that they would be done soon I darted out of the kitchen and up the cement steps into the top floor of my uncle’s house my grandmother used to spend quite a lot of time From the top floor a kitchen door led me to the final bit of the cement path which wraps around the top of the house like an old unprotected stone path that once wound around a castle tower After working my way well around the outside of the top floor the cement path stopped suddenly and I found myself suspended several feet above the patio my legs dangling above the activity involved in preparing the sardinhas crying out occasionally when the bread had burnt or when a gust of wind filled the fire with life showering the sardines with orange and yellow sparks the three adjacent houses on the end of the street Rua da Estação (literally meaning “Road of the Station” because there is an abandoned train station at the end of our street) have been part of our family history relatives and Portuguese people have been born and his siblings were all born in the big house to the right of the one we were staying in while my older male cousins grew up in the house to the left the house we were staying in was once an abandoned kitchen that belonged to my grandmother but my father and his brothers knocked it down to build a small breezy home where family members come and go I sat on the cement ledge and watched the sun hide behind the top floor of the house Avosinha (grandma) Herminia died years ago from Alzheimer’s disease Many of my relatives tell me I remind them of her whenever we get the chance to visit Portugal and see them My grandmother put love into all her meals She loved having the family together for meals when the love she put into her food would nourish the souls of her family and the food itself would help her family members grow stronger onde foste?” (Lenita [my childhood nickname] where did you go?) I ran back around the path down the steps and made a flying leap onto the patio ruffled my hair and playfully pulled me by my collar into the kitchen under the steps They passed each other dishes of food and began loading their plates with the fruits of their labor I saw the beautiful faces of my Portuguese relatives with dark eyebrows and brown or hazel eyes looked back They all knew what was coming in a few seconds where a single sardine lay staring at me with its dead All of my relatives watched me with curiosity and humor as a piece of the flesh was sliced from the sardine and exhibited on a fork in front of my nose I carefully put the sardine in my mouth and found much to the satisfaction of my family members that it was not as disgusting as I had imagined it would be they let me light the pine cones and charcoal Or the fact that I had helped prepare the salad (Portuguese style It could have even been the after-lunch dessert which consisted of fresh fruit that we had picked earlier that had been cleverly cut up and served with fruit juice for a cool treat I learned that while food may be prepared with a multitude of spices the sardinhas didn’t make me want to retch and I had enjoyed the presence of my family preparing a meal together Surrounded by the love of my relatives and the harmony of our family so long as we had an interesting conversation going It was for this reason that my grandmother put so much effort into her meals Her tradition was one that I one day will be proud to carry on what’s true is that I tried to proudly eat a sardine not too long ago at a Portuguese-American restaurant here in the U.S. Os leitores são a força e a vida dos jornais. Contamos com o seu apoio, assine Os leitores são a força e a vida do PÚBLICO Os 20 postos em funcionamento têm capacidade para atender 4 mil imigrantes por dia A maioria dos centros funciona em colaboração com as câmaras municipais Os artigos da equipa do PÚBLICO Brasil são escritos na variante da língua portuguesa usada no Brasil.Acesso gratuito: descarregue a aplicação PÚBLICO Brasil em Android ou iOS A Agência para a Integração, Migrações e Asilo (AIMA) tem neste momento capacidade de atender 4 mil imigrantes por dia na sua força-tarefa (Estrutura de Missão) para tentar resolver casos pendentes temos 20 localizações no país (para atendimento de imigrantes) sendo os centros de Lisboa e do Porto os de maior expressão em articulação com as câmaras municipais postos que hoje já têm capacidade de atender 4 mil pessoas por dia” afirmou o ministro do Conselho da Presidência do Conselho de Ministros Ele ressaltou que houve um esforço muito grande do governo para ampliar o atendimento aos imigrantes. “Nós quadruplicamos, em quatro ou cinco meses, a capacidade de resposta do Estado”, frisou. O primeiro centro de atendimento da força-tarefa da AIMA foi aberto em 9 de setembro Atribuindo a responsabilidade da situação à “mais uma herança pesada” do governo do Partido Socialista Amaro admitiu que os atrasos desrespeitam os imigrantes “Essas pessoas têm a vida suspensa estão numa situação indigna porque o Estado não lhes responde” Há imigrantes esperando para obter a autorização de residência em Portugal por mais de dois anos Os postos de atendimento da força tarefa abertos mais recentemente são os de Celorico da Beira além do centro de atendimento do Porto o maior da região Norte de Portugal Esses se juntam às agências de Almeida além de ser necessária a instalação de equipamento com protocolos de segurança pois são colhidos dados biométricos dos imigrantes é preciso formar o pessoal para o trabalho O atendimento nos centros e nos postos é feito apenas para pessoas com marcação Mas são frequentes casos de imigrantes que se dirigem aos locais da força-tarefa sem ter hora marcada e nenhum consegue ter seu caso resolvido Outro problema que tem ocorrido é o de pessoas que faltam ao atendimento marcado A AIMA já emitiu um comunicado solicitando às pessoas com agendamento que compareçam na hora prevista evita-se que fique capacidade ociosa enquanto muitos imigrantes esperam ser chamados Não existe um levantamento de quantas pessoas entre as que fazem parte dos 400 mil imigrantes que estão com processo parado que teriam abandonado o país e desistido do processo de regularização Com uma assinatura PÚBLICO tem acesso ilimitado a todos os conteúdos e cancela quando quiser Escolha um dos seguintes tópicos para criar um grupo no Fórum Público tornar-se-à administrador e será responsável pela moderação desse grupo Os jornalistas do PÚBLICO poderão sempre intervir Saiba mais sobre o Fórum Público receberá um email sempre que forem feitas novas publicações neste grupo de discussão Estes são os autores e tópicos que escolheu seguir Pode activar ou desactivar as notificações Receba notificações quando publicamos um texto deste autor ou sobre os temas deste artigo