The parish of Nossa Senhora do Amparo in Mexilhoeira Grande has received a family of Syrian refugees who left Aleppo two years ago and managed finally to cross the sea to Greece where they have been in a holding camp ever since.
The family now has been housed by the parish in an apartment with a kitchenette, two bedrooms and a bathroom and the community pastor says the family can stay there for a couple of years while they get settled.
Throughout their flight and dangerous sea journey the family members have managed to stay together and comprise a 30-year-old father, 22-year-old mother and two children: a boy of one and a girl of four.
In July this year, the parish priest was the first voice in the Catholic Church Algarve, and one of the first nationally, to express willingness to accept refugees and to arrange for their care and settlement.
The Jesuits say they are waiting to take in two or three families and two more are expected to arrive in Mexilhoeira Grande shortly.
One of the parish priests, Fr Luís Amaral, said in his Sunday service that he much regretted the delay of over a year before refugee families were able to come to Portugal, blaming the "bureaucracy of European governments."
The Syrian family comes from Aleppo, a city controlled by the rebels which is under fierce attack.
They fled for their lives from Syria and travelled through Turkey and then over the sea to Greece where they have remained until processing and checks has been completed and they flown to Portugal.
Fr Luís Amaral explained that the goal is to integrate the family into Portuguese society, "The idea is for them to stay here for one or two transitional years, learn the language, find work, and hope the situation in Syria improves," adding that to help this process a team has been established in the parish which includes a teacher of Portuguese.
Yesterday in Lagos, the Bishop of the Algarve welcomed this "pleasant news," sending a message to the new arrivals,
"I'm sure you'll find in this parish what you have long been searching for, a place of peace and quiet where you can live as a family and find a better future," said D. Manuel Quintas.
