For such a small country like Portugal is, winning the European Champions football title and right after the Eurovision Song Contest is proof that we know how to do things, we mean business. When given the adequate tools, we deliver. However, this is a tale to be told to the outsiders who visit our country, be it as tourists or mere web-surfers wanting to know more about the rectangular piece of terrain in the Iberian Peninsula some imbeciles still believe belongs to Spain. Portugal - A country so famous for the cheap sense of happiness, peacefulness, freedom, sun, beaches, and Summer festivals.
It's good to see the country recognised for its merits, it's even better to see big rich countries astonished by the incredible potential the Portuguese are showing on the different areas of our modern society. We are resourceful, very capable, flexible, versatile, intelligent and adaptable people.
And even though I consider that we played terrible bad football when we won the recent European title, or that winning the EuroVision Song Contest should be a matter of shame for any participating country, rather than this poetic flood of star-status travesty nothingness intensely breathed by all involved... Being a pain in the ass of other bigger nations (embedded with an egocentric self-awareness) in a very positive and peaceful manner, is a victory on its own.
Winning such 'tough' battles when the country is going through levels of austerity since even before austerity was a fancy proposal as response to the world economic crisis... it's a statement of quality, a statement of intention, an incredible stamp of warranty that with the Portuguese employee and implemented humane employment warranties, all is going to be OK.
Now think about this:
ONE in each FOUR Portuguese citizens survives with an average of €322 a month [1] - a fourth of the country's population. And for those preparing the guns of supposed common sense that shoot bullets of "yeah but it's a cheap country", I defy any of said claimers to go and live in Portugal for the same money. Pay rent, pay health bills, pay scholar bills, eat, drink and invest in your kids' education and safety. If you do it you are definitely a resilient son-of-a-gun.
If you think that the rest of the crew has got some good money and this 'paraphrased' fraction of our society are the unprivileged ones, here's another amazing piece of stats: the average money a Portuguese citizen manages monthly is €731!!!
Add to that a real unemployment rate of 15.8% in 2013 [2] (twice as much as in the UK for the same time period) and you have a nice picture that no one really debates publicly outside of Portugal these days. Why should they, though?
So when my friends complain that I do not celebrate our victories, that does not correspond to the truth. I celebrate every single one of these as if they were mine, personally. But I am positive that what Portugal needs is a €Vision and not so much the EuroVision.
[1] Survey on Living Conditions and Income, Instituto Nacional de Estatistica, 2016, [https://www.ine.pt/xportal/xmain?xpid=INE&xpgid=ine_destaques&DESTAQUESdest_boui=281091354&DESTAQUESmodo=2], last visited on the 15th of June 2017, last updated on the 16th of May 2017.
[2] Eurostat: Real unemployment double than the official rate, The European Sting, [https://europeansting.com/2014/01/21/eurostat-real-unemployment-double-than-the-official-rate/], last visited on the 15th of June 2017, last updated on the 21st of January 2014.
1st Post image from Global News.
2nd Post image from D+C Development and Cooperation.
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