Portugal keeps doors open to Afghan refugees, in spite of Ukrainian influx

According to minister Mariana Vieira da Silva, work on rescuing Afghan citizens since the country was retaken by the Taliban “has not stopped”, albeit the process is much more complex in terms of travel arrangements and bureaucracy than the situation with citizens of Ukraine. Talking to journalists in the context of the presentation of a national plan against racism, she said a new group of eight Afghans arrived in Portugal last weekend. It is simply that the logistics of processing requests for protection takes much longer than the temporary structures created to help Ukrainians fleeing from what is the same landmass, and much closer to Portugal than Afghanistan.