The President of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, remarked on Saturday that “this country of fires is not always properly understood by the other part of the same country,” while praising the role of the personnel combatting the fires affecting Portugal, as well as the assistance from local communities.
“There is a country, this country of fires, that is not always properly understood by the other part of the same country, which is all of us. […] In the metropolises and cities, fire is something else, and it is difficult to understand the drama of small villages,” stated the President to the press.
Speaking at the funeral of the 65-year-old man who died in an accident with a tracked machine on Tuesday while aiding fire-fighting efforts in Mirandela, Rebelo de Sousa also highlighted the exceptional role played by local communities.
“More than offering consolation, it is about expressing gratitude [to] all those who served Civil Protection, throughout this very, very, very exhausting and strenuous continuous month. The populations have been exceptional,” he said.
He reiterated: “Many emigrants came, particularly from Europe, to spend the summer with their compatriots and families, and there was this joint effort from the forces fighting the fire with great dedication and heroism and from the population.”
[News in development]
