Creator of a solidarity network promoted by 200 Brazilian women who supported hundreds of compatriots during the confinement generated by the pandemic in Portugal, Ana Paula Costa is concerned about the situation of many compatriots: “There is a lot of unemployment, and, for example, in restoration, those who managed to stay lost some income because of the fall [provocada pela pandemia]. They switched to part-time. Others [mulheres] they even lost their jobs and some chose to return to Brazil “.
At the same time, the leader of Casa do Brasil in Lisbon notes “an increase in vulnerability at work, because people need jobs and are willing to receive any salary” and that discrimination “has grown a lot”, through social networks.
“Xenophobic speeches against Brazilian women in Portugal grew, (…) a discourse that has always existed, stereotyped about Brazilian women, linked to their bodies and sexuality”, but which has now worsened, he considered.
Ana Paula Costa recalled that during the pandemic there was “a period of fake news in relation to the covid-19. A certain idea spread on social networks that the covid was brought to Portugal through immigrants “.
The social pressure and emotional and mental stability of many immigrants were a concern that the Geni platform (the collective of Brazilian women that Ana Paula Costa is part of) felt in support of their compatriots during their confinement.
“Women went into despair and, as the financial issue influences mental health a lot, and many of them had children, income to pay and other bills, so the pandemic brought a lot of anxiety (…) and depression crisis”, he stressed.
The solidarity network, identifying that this was the first problem to arise with the pandemic, “managed to bring together psychologists, who worked here in Portugal and had registration, to be able to assist these women on a voluntary basis,” he said.
And as psychological problems arose due to financial reasons and the loss of work, the network created a second group, that of social support, which “had lawyers who guided women on the rights they had with the changes in the rules of Security support. Social, with the new rules of dismissals, with rules of termination and termination of contracts “, he indicated.
In this second group of social support, there was another front, the one that helped with food and that, in a first phase, began to direct women who asked for this type of help to the food bank.
“We started to organize among ourselves to be able to help these women financially and ended up sending some monetary aid. We were able to collect from the women in the group and we raised around 400 euros and we managed this way until the women were able to get an answer from the bank”, told, besides giving basic baskets.
After the confinement, the solidarity network ended, but it continued to support the 232 women who signed up to ask for help and has another group, that of job support, which helps women to look for a new job, where they live.
A book to be published in November
After the confinement, this group of Brazilian women felt the need to report all their experiences.
“We are in the process of writing a book, which we are going to deliver in November, talking about how this whole solidarity network process went, how it was for us and what we felt most latent during this period,” he said.
The chapters of the book are being written by psychologists and other people who helped in the support, and only the last one will have reports of women who participated in the solidarity network, “being helped and offering help”, he said.
The 200 women who helped compatriots in situations of vulnerability already had Whatsapp groups, Facebook groups, mainly for work-related issues.
“If during the confinement the support was more psychological and social, in the lack of definition women ‘s requests are for employment support”, said Ana Paula Costa.
For this reason, the platform created a group to support them in writing the letter of motivation and organizing the curriculum.
The cities from which the platform received the most support requests in this area were Lisbon, Porto and Braga, said Ana Paula Costa in an interview with Lusa. But the women who were part of the aid group were also spread across the country, from Madeira to the Algarve.
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