Is Portugal Going to Die, Mummy?

The columnist Inês Teotónia Pereira, in Saturday’s paper recounts a conversation she had with her children at the kitchen table. “Don’t be silly” scoffs the older brother, “Countries don’t die... except maybe Libya..” he adds. Writes Ms Pereira, we know that we’ve arrived in a crisis when even the youngest of our children become politically aware at an early age, realising what it means when the IVA (VAT) goes up and puzzling over the departure of the Prime Minister. “Will Mr Socrates give all the money back that he took? What if the people elect him again? [older brother] “Oh, he won’t come back. He’s tired of being Prime minister. He wants to do something else.”

I found the column interesting with its insights into a child’s eye view of what’s going on in our country at present. In her blog she has an interesting piece which I thought I would try and translate and include here

The Tragedy of Portugal

retold for children

in the style of H C Andersen

The fridge is almost empty, there’s nothing in the freezer

and the sell-by date on the yoghurts expires in June.

The parents, always irresponsible, never paying the electricity

or the water, have fled, leaving piles of unpaid bills.

The children are home alone. They know the neighbours

will only help them if they promise to spend the rest of their lives

working for them, carrying out the rubbish, cleaning the steps,

doing the shopping and washing the cars. The ladies from the

Social Security could arrive at any moment to take them to an

orphanage, but the children don’t want to call for help,

because the parents had told them never to talk to strangers.

And the food runs out in June.

Time, then, for the Portuguese to give up hope? No. Time rather to call on God and find in Him the true source of all hope. The devastating Lisbon Earthquake of 1755 shattered faith throughout Europe in a good God, who has prepared for us the best of all possible worlds (Voltaire). Perhaps these seismic shockwaves in the economy of the 21st Century will bring us here in the south west corner, and indeed the rest of Europe, back to a realisation that our lives and our economies are ultimately in the hands of a God who sees and knows, and who is above all, compassionate and loving to all He has made.

http://aummetrodochao.blogs.sapo.pt/231738.html