Three dozen Angolan patients undergoing treatment in Portugal on Monday complained of starvation due to delays in support, which led the owner of the pensions where they live to cut the only meal they receive, and demanded explanations from the embassy.
“We are hungry”, “hunger continues, we could die” and “we want our money” are phrases that could be read on the boards which the demonstrators showed in front of the Angolan Embassy in Lisbon today.
They came to Portugal to undergo treatments that are not available in Angola, with the Angolan State paying their expenses, but they complain of irregular payments and, more recently, in delays of one year.
The 150 or so patients who are staying at two pensions in Lisbon – Pensão Luanda and Pensão Alvalade – from the same owner received until just over a month ago a daily meal which, for many, was the only one they ate.
However, as several protesters told Lusa, the accumulation of debt led the owner to cut off this meal, further aggravating the plight of these patients who, given their pathologies, need quality and regular food.
These Angolans do not complain about the owner of the pensions, quite the contrary, because they understand that there are many debts and that he also has expenses.
In one of the posters held by the demonstrators one could read “thank you, pension owner, for the love of your neighbor”.
They now fear that the next step will be to run out of water and electricity if the Angolan state does not make its commitments.
