Dear Friends,
Last weekend I drove from Barcelona to Portugal. I left on Saturday afternoon and stopped over in Burgos. On Sunday morning I wanted to visit the city, specially its famous cathedral, where I hadn't been for many years. To my big surprise, visitors to the cathedral were charged a 5,00 € ticket just to get in. When I complained, saying that it was the first time that I heard that the Church charged an entrance fee to God's House, I was informed that if I wanted to pray or attend the Mass, I could go through the back door and it was for free. Indeed it was, but then those that go this way get into a very restricted, backside part of the temple. From there you can see nothing of its beauty.
* * * * *
In Spain, every taxpayer, when filling the tax return, has to opt whether he wants that 0,7% of his taxes goes to the Catholic Church or not. Only the Roman Church is financed this way. Those that decide not to favour the Church do not get their money back. Although it seems reasonable, this is a highly flawed system: first, because it does discriminate against other faiths; second because the Church argues that they need more money than the taxpayers decide it should receive. Every single government, from left or right, has so far overruled the taxpayers' decision and granted more money to the Church than it would otherwise normally be entitled to.
* * * * *
I understand that the maintenance of monuments like Burgos’s Cathedral does cost money. I also see that there is a business case in charging visitors an entrance fee. However, it did shock me. Other temples in other places have more subtle ways to ask visitors to contribute to their running costs: they sell candles, charge a fee to climb the towers, or visit the caves, organise guided tours and so on. An entrance fee to come inside a church sounds almost like a heresy. On top of it, the Catholic Church already gets a lot more money than we, Spanish taxpayers, would like them to, and they use it in a way that many disagree.
* * * * *
Having all this in mind, I decided not to visit Burgos’ Cathedral. I know my decision made no difference and was not noticed. Nevertheless, I was not willing to help finance an organisation that, in Spain, many times acts against my values and beliefs. More important, I was not willing to support the idea that common people should pay to be allowed into a temple, whatever the faith.
Wish you a nice week.
Maurício
Wednesday, 29 July 2009
Sunday, 5 July 2009
TAWOMG - Leaving Oporto
Dear Friends,
I am spendin
g this weekend in Oporto. I left the city three weeks ago, after five months working in a project for a local company. It was a great opportunity to come back to the place where I lived sixteen years ago. A lot has changed in the meantime and I think Porto and Portugal improved a lot in the two decades since I visited Lisbon for the first time.
* * * * *
It is not only Portugal that has changed a lot, Europe has. People my age and older certainly remember that up to the early nineties there were border controls all over Europe and every time we wanted to cross them we were subject to passport and customs control. Each country had its currency and even for a coffee we had to exchange money. The infra structure in places like Portugal or Spain were not as good as they are today. It is amazing how different - and better - the European Union is compared to twenty years ago.
* * * * *
During the last months I have read a lot about Portuguese history, old and recent events. One thing that shocks is how the colonial wars in Mozambique and Angola traumatised the nation and how disastrous decolonisation was. The independence of the former colonies resulted in half a million people having to abandon their homes and leave behind what in some cases was the only life and country they had ever known. Most lost all their possessions. They were not welcome back in Portugal and were discriminated as "retornados". Their absence accelerated the economic collapse of the former colonies and local people that remained in Angola and Mozambique suffered the atrocities of almost three decades of civil war. It was very difficult to make it worse and nevertheless people that were responsible for it, like Mário Soares, dare to say that it was an "exemplary decolonisation". Do they mean an example how not to do it?
* * * * *
It is also amazing that in Brazil most of the population, of any age, knows very little or absolutely nothing about all this. How could we be so unaware of this disaster? Even more so considering that many people immigrated to Brazil when they left Africa.
* * * * *
Reading about Portuguese history and being physically here, it is easy to understand why the Portuguese soul is focused overseas. The powerful presence of the Atlantic coast reminds us that we are at the west end of Europe. Beyond Portugal there is only the ocean and the new world. Then come the cultural and family ties with Brazil and Africa, not to mention Asia. It is not so surprising that after so many years of economic stagnation, thousands of people are doing business or even immigrating to Africa or Brazil, in search of new opportunities. It goes with the Portuguese DNA. If you have ever witnessed the sunset from the Portuguese coast, you certainly have felt this attraction for the unknown, for whatever lies behind the horizon. That is a call that during centuries has made this country and people take the chances and go abroad. Will it ever change?
* * * * *
When I left Porto I to
ok with me the memories of the good things that I left behind: the charms of "Casa do Poema", the guesthouse where I lived; the Douro river and its picturesque riverside; the weekend lunches at Cafeína, one of my preferred restaurants in town (good food, very friendly service, nice ambience); above all, the friendliness of the people from the north.
* * * * *
My new assignment as interim manager is in Alvaiázere, a small town in the centre of the country. I am lodging in Tomar. Once upon a time Tomar was the roman city Nabantia and in the 12th century it was granted a fief to the Order of the Knights Templar. It is very beautiful, but also small. It is worth a weekend visit, but then you have seen all that is to be seen. I suspect that while in Alvaiázere/Tomar I will take the opportunity to visit other places in Portugal during the weekends. The more I get to know the country, the more I feel attached to it. I am glad I am enjoying a lot more being here than the first time in 1993.
Wish you a nice week,
Maurício
I am spendin
g this weekend in Oporto. I left the city three weeks ago, after five months working in a project for a local company. It was a great opportunity to come back to the place where I lived sixteen years ago. A lot has changed in the meantime and I think Porto and Portugal improved a lot in the two decades since I visited Lisbon for the first time.* * * * *
It is not only Portugal that has changed a lot, Europe has. People my age and older certainly remember that up to the early nineties there were border controls all over Europe and every time we wanted to cross them we were subject to passport and customs control. Each country had its currency and even for a coffee we had to exchange money. The infra structure in places like Portugal or Spain were not as good as they are today. It is amazing how different - and better - the European Union is compared to twenty years ago.
* * * * *
During the last months I have read a lot about Portuguese history, old and recent events. One thing that shocks is how the colonial wars in Mozambique and Angola traumatised the nation and how disastrous decolonisation was. The independence of the former colonies resulted in half a million people having to abandon their homes and leave behind what in some cases was the only life and country they had ever known. Most lost all their possessions. They were not welcome back in Portugal and were discriminated as "retornados". Their absence accelerated the economic collapse of the former colonies and local people that remained in Angola and Mozambique suffered the atrocities of almost three decades of civil war. It was very difficult to make it worse and nevertheless people that were responsible for it, like Mário Soares, dare to say that it was an "exemplary decolonisation". Do they mean an example how not to do it?
* * * * *
It is also amazing that in Brazil most of the population, of any age, knows very little or absolutely nothing about all this. How could we be so unaware of this disaster? Even more so considering that many people immigrated to Brazil when they left Africa.
* * * * *
Reading about Portuguese history and being physically here, it is easy to understand why the Portuguese soul is focused overseas. The powerful presence of the Atlantic coast reminds us that we are at the west end of Europe. Beyond Portugal there is only the ocean and the new world. Then come the cultural and family ties with Brazil and Africa, not to mention Asia. It is not so surprising that after so many years of economic stagnation, thousands of people are doing business or even immigrating to Africa or Brazil, in search of new opportunities. It goes with the Portuguese DNA. If you have ever witnessed the sunset from the Portuguese coast, you certainly have felt this attraction for the unknown, for whatever lies behind the horizon. That is a call that during centuries has made this country and people take the chances and go abroad. Will it ever change?
* * * * *
When I left Porto I to
ok with me the memories of the good things that I left behind: the charms of "Casa do Poema", the guesthouse where I lived; the Douro river and its picturesque riverside; the weekend lunches at Cafeína, one of my preferred restaurants in town (good food, very friendly service, nice ambience); above all, the friendliness of the people from the north.* * * * *
My new assignment as interim manager is in Alvaiázere, a small town in the centre of the country. I am lodging in Tomar. Once upon a time Tomar was the roman city Nabantia and in the 12th century it was granted a fief to the Order of the Knights Templar. It is very beautiful, but also small. It is worth a weekend visit, but then you have seen all that is to be seen. I suspect that while in Alvaiázere/Tomar I will take the opportunity to visit other places in Portugal during the weekends. The more I get to know the country, the more I feel attached to it. I am glad I am enjoying a lot more being here than the first time in 1993.
Wish you a nice week,
Maurício
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