Young Active Citizens in the Europe

Highschool Serpa

Ana AragãoAndreia SebastiãoDaniela MontesJoão Raposo

Biology e Geology

“I don’t think it’s right because they take care of everything, dismiss people and keep everything for them… They bring Spanish employees, and give work only to a few Portuguese, and bring their wives who are really nice. The olive trees are of a different species and they are already producing olive oil.”

Maria Batista, 74 years old

“I don’t think its right and I also don’t think its wrong! Now are many olive plantation, people tell that the bosses are better”

Maria da Ascensão, 66 years old

“I don’t like see them around here, they should invest in other things. They are taking off work at Portuguese, they have Spanish and Ukrainians employees, but they don’t give work to many Portuguese. There are more olive trees and of different species. I’ve Already worked with them and I didn’t liked, they are more demanding and they pay worse.”

Edna Silva, 23 years old

“Now there are more ranks of work than it was with cereal productions , It's the Portuguese workers that don’t care about work.” João de Carvalho, 76 years old

“It is better for the nature because it avoid the desertification, but the olive trees are still small and don’t give good olive. But in the future when olive trees became bigger there will be more jobs. About ten years ago there were nothing of this, there were only cereals.”

José Baião, 57 years old

“They are the owners of the area! They are the ones who give the orders, the masters in command. They work hard and for now they give work, but there is still much land for sowing. I don’t thing they should give up the cereals plantation.”

João Manuel, 80 years old

“They have changed everything for better. Many farm houses were abandoned, now they are all in the active again. They don’t give many jobs because they use many machines.”

Beatriz, 34 anos

“Now there are only vine and olive plantations, in the past there was only wasted field. The Spanish people have better conditions than ours, they don’t need so many redtape, their government make it easier for them.” Anonym

“Portuguese people don’t do anything. They just buy the olives to the Spanish people. The surroundings of Baleizão belongs to them. It makes no difference to anyone, they employ local people, but we wish that the owners were also local people.” Maria Gertrudes, 66 years old and Maria José, 63 years old

“The Portuguese thought that it wouldn’t give anything, but the Spanish have made a good use of all this.” Maria Teodora, 65 years old

“I think their coming here is right, because it helps to develop the economy of our country. It values the products, the oil and the olive are a symbol of our area.”

Manuel Cordeiro, 56 years old