Migrants given new home in wildfires-hit Portuguese town

LISBON, 27 Sept. - (ANA)  - A group of migrants rescued from the Mediterranean in July by charity ship Aquarius have a new home in Fundao, a small Portuguese town badly hit by wildfires last year, the government said.

Fundao, about 260 km (162 miles) north of the capital Lisbon, has close to 30,000 inhabitants. In August 2017 a wildfire destroyed thousands of hectares in and around the town.

The group of 19 migrants from Eritrea, Nigeria, Yemen and Sudan had arrived in the town and would now go through an employment course, involving classes in Portuguese.

“The arrival of this group of migrants is a result of Portugal’s commitment to solidarity and European cooperation on migrants,” a government statement said.

Portugal on Tuesday joined with Spain, France and Germany in taking in migrants from Aquarius’ second mission, with Portugal agreeing to open its doors to 10 of the 58 migrants on board. - (ANA) -

AB/ANA/27 September 2018 - - -