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As I wrote these words last Saturday, more than 5,000 hectares of forest on Madeira have been burned in ten days. Madeira is not a dance. Madeira is not fireworks. Madeira is not offshore. Madeira is not an international cruise port.
Madeira has not been ruled by a political party for fifty years. Madeira is not a carnival parade where millions of euros are spent. Madeira is a national territory with forested mountains that are considered a world heritage site. Madeira is an autonomous region that receives millions of euros in funding from the African continent. Madeira is burning and the wind has rewarded the people by not letting the flames spread to dozens of houses and hydroelectric power stations.
At the time of the fire, the president of the regional government was bathing in Porto Santo, enjoying an undeserved holiday and said: “Everything is calm and under control”. Miguel Albuquerque does not have the political seriousness and ability to govern Madeira. For decades, experts have been saying that forest organization and management are necessary, but nothing has been done. The fires continue to devour the natural heritage and terrify the people who have not slept for a week. Only when Miguel Albuquerque learned that the situation was very serious did he take off his swimsuit and go to the incompetent people in charge of the civil protection of the region. Miguel Albuquerque, since he came to power, never realized that he had to ask the central government at least for five helicopters and an Air Canada plane for Madeira.
The crime against nature is obvious, one of the best experts in forestry science said on television that “Miguel Albuquerque is not educated in the protection of the environment and its population. The biggest problem is not what he said when he stressed that the fire did not cause any casualties or destroyed houses. The president of the Madeira government does not know what will happen to the inhabitants of the island, because there is no vegetation in the mountains and when winter comes, the heavy rains will be unstoppable and could cause massive catastrophic floods.” This is a great fact for someone who prefers the beaches of Porto Santo to sitting in his office and asking the mainland government for two Air Canada planes and more helicopters when the fire breaks out. You can’t come up with such an excuse: in the event of forest fires, the continent needs these air resources. Why? Because if the continent had been the target of serious forest fires, Spain would have immediately asked for two Air Canada, as now the Madeira fires have begun to cause tragic concerns.
The fire on Madeira, which has been uncontrolled for 10 days, is now under control thanks to the Spanish airline Air Canada, but Madeira officials have not provided any insight into when the fire will be extinguished.
Even at the European level, the Madeira fires have been addressed, with the President of the European Commission expressing confusion and concern about such a large-scale fire. For years, residents have constantly pointed out the culpability and irresponsibility of the regional government in managing the forests of some classified and unique trees, which will no longer appear in the Madeira mountains in twenty years. On the continent, several politicians have already made a lot of criticisms of the Minister of the Interior and the Madeira government, even proposing a parliamentary hearing to hold accountable for the poor response to such a serious tragedy.
Another fact that shocked the Portuguese was the behavior of the President of the Republic. Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who travels everywhere for the occasional little thing, also prefers to enjoy the warm waters of the beaches in the Algarve like a fish, instead of immediately going to Madeira and expressing his solidarity and observation for the people of Madeira. The fires on the spot could have claimed dozens of lives. Marcelo talks and talks, as they say, but he is unconvincing … To make his image even lower, he finally told reporters that he would go to Madeira when the fires are over. And just like that, no one knows when the fires will end. Oh, Portugal, Portugal …
PS – As we finish writing this chronicle, the fire in Ponta do Sol has worsened and residents are in a panic because their homes are in danger of being hit.
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