Tue Sep 24, 4:57 PM General Read 375 times
Rotterdam – Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb has received the country’s highest award, the Cape Verdean government, 1st degree altruistic merit medalHe received the award for his tireless efforts for both the Cape Verdean community in Rotterdam and for Cape Verde itself.
Rotterdammers from the Cape Verdean community had organized a farewell program for Aboutaleb yesterday. He was addressed by the Consul General Cape Verde in Rotterdam, Gregorio Semedo, the ambassador of Cape Verde in Brussels, José Filomeno Monteiro and the Minister of Communities and Sea, Jorge Santos. They mentioned, among other things, the Rotterdam vaccination mission to Cape Verde during the Covid pandemic, which Mayor Aboutaleb personally committed to.
Read more below the photo.
Aboulance for Cape Verde. Photo: Municipality of Rotterdam
Aboulance
After the event, Mayor Aboutaleb donated his Aboulance to Cape Verde, a now decommissioned ambulance from the Rotterdam-Rijnmond Ambulance Service that he received when he left the Safety Region. The ambulance is in excellent condition and will thus get a nice second life.
Cape Verdean community
The Heemraadsplein in Rotterdam-West has a second, Cape Verdean name: Quebrod Squarewhich means something like ‘the square of the poor wretches’. In Rotterdam, and especially West and Delfshaven, lives the largest Cape Verdean community in the Netherlands, over 20,000 people. Rotterdam is sometimes called the tenth island of Cape Verde.
