Madeira News Blog

(22nd July). ‘Santa Cruz Relocation In Building Without Licence’. The council (câmara) has moved a family into a building that has no licence for habitation. The family, that lost their home in a large rockfall last October, were moved to a T2 apartment in the building, and their monthly rent of €450 has been paid by Santa Cruz Câmara. The building, situated near the fire station, doesn’t have a licence because a neighbour obtained an injunction at the time of construction two years ago, on the grounds that that they had lost their privacy. However, it is not the only apartment rented there, and the building is operating as though the court injunction doesn’t exist. The building is supplied with electricity, water, and has a mailing address, things that normally can only be set-up after the habitation licence has been issued. The co-owner of the building, a local businessman refused to deal with the matter ‘before the elections’, and his lawyer, said the building was completed before the injunction was imposed, and argues in defence of the situation in legal terms.

Government launches within days a tender competition for high-speed networks in the Azores and Madeira – Minister wants Portugal "with a single speed". This is a national project, that aims to equip all of Portugal with new generation communication networks, all to the same standard. 1.5 million homes on the continent are already equipped. "Portugal will be the first country in the world to meet all the conditions for the country, being fully integrated with new generation networks", said the Secretary of Communications, Paulo Campos.

‘Two New Cases Of Gripe A On Madeira – The victims both originated from the UK’. The H1N1 swine flue virus has been detected in a 10 year old child, and a 25 year old, who are now patients in the Hospital dos Marmeleiros, but in clinically good shape. All 3 cases here so far have arrived from the UK.

‘Suspect Makes ‘Black List’ – Alleged kidnapper leaves a series of disputes, and people on Porto Santo sleeping with a gun at the bedside’. With the ringleader at large, people close to the victim feel unsafe. The population of Porto Santo are recovering slowly from the shock of the kidnapping and murder of the businessman Guilherme Alves, but those close to the man admit to sleeping with a gun at the bedside, living in tension. Those who knew the kidnapper, José Martins know a man with aggressive instincts who doesn’t "think on the means to achieve his objectives", and that he is someone from whom one "could expect the worst". Having gone bankrupt, he wrote a long list of names of those he considered responsible on a large plaque, and put it next to a tombstone, but the name of his first victim wasn’t actually on the list. The extensive list included however, the names of several companies in different sectors of the construction industry, businessmen, engineers, public institutions, and some individuals. Martins was known to have recently spent time on Porto Santo, and he also married a girl in Brazil and was able afterwards to obtain dual nationality. Brazil does not extradite nationals.

‘José Martins Was Candidate For The PS’. The alleged killer was a member of the socialist party here, and stood for election and fulfilled a term in Ponta Delgada. Lots of stories coming out of the woodwork now, but can’t cover them all.

‘Second Suspect Detained For Kidnapping Of The Porto Santo Businessman – A man aged 32 was arrested in Funchal’. The arrest of the foreign national was made on Monday following police investigations into the kidnapping and murder. The ringleader of the gang is still on the run and being sought by Interpol.

There is another story about another businessman who went to the site of the murder in Camacha, in order to discuss business with the ringleader of the kidnap gang. 

‘Murder In Curral Results In 18 years In Jail’. The 50 year old victim who lived in Vereda da Achada, Curral das Freiras (Valley of the Nuns) was attacked with a sickle and a knife last June by his drunken neighbour, after a dispute about land. The 24 year old man admitted his crime in the court in Funchal.

This is an artists impression of the new 15,000 square metre gardens to be created in Amparo (west of Funchal) as mentioned here a few days ago. Funchal council will go out to tender for the work, which should be finished within a year. The new garden will have various features, such as an outdoor cafe and terrace, a children’s playground, a pond, and plants of different species from different geographical areas. The area will be enclosed so it can be closed at night.

In the same article as one of the kidnap stories, rather curiously the Diário decided to publish the numbers of immigrants legally resident here, and I thought it might be of interest. In total there are 7,201 foreigners living here (2008) : Brazil (1255); United Kingdom (899), Venezuela (836), Ukraine (736), Germany (430), Romania (377), Moldova (200), Italy (195) and China (181).

(21st July). Today’s main news headline and photo. The picture shows a chain across a rough road leading to seemingly nowhere. ‘Plan Was Foreseeing More Kidnaps – A small group of individuals will have been motivated with by a plan to kidnap several people, including a Madeiran engineer and contractors. An attempted murder at Cabo Girão in May would have been punishment for the quitting of one of the group members. The first kidnapping, that put an end to Guilherme Alves, hastened events. Interpol already have the responsibility to trace a suspect’. A group of four men began, between March and May, planning the kidnappings of businessmen in Madeira with the aim of demanding ransoms. It seems that the justice police were alerted to the gang, when they tried to kill one of their own members in Cabo Girão with gunshots to the head, but the man miraculously survived, but suffered memory loss. The police could do nothing further without proof, but they did tie kidnapping to the case, but couldn’t act in time to save the businessman from Porto Santo. 

‘Police Issues Arrest Warrant For The Murder of Guilherme Alves – Business man of 45 years will have fled to Brazil’. Interpol has received the request from the Portuguese police to locate and detain the man accused of the kidnapping and murder of the businessman from Porto Santo. The man on the run, from the construction sector, is said to be called José Martins.

‘Only 15% Of The Houses On Madeira Are Rented – Madeira has a high rate of ownership’. The market has started to move again due to changes in the access to credit through the banks. The repayments to the bank can be expensive, but for now, the Madeirans prefer a mortgage to paying rent to a landlord. Data on the housing sector here reveals that just 15.6% of residential buildings are occupied by tenants, and ownership at 84% is higher than the national average of 74%. The figure are revealed by IHM, a housing investment company here, and show that the rental sector is currently weak. In 2007 the tax declarations to IRS said that 3,298 families were paying rent, yet according to the last census (2001) there were 72,000 families on Madeira. The article also mentions a sort of ‘black market’, where premises are rented out without the correct licences. Tax avoidance is also a motive, as there are also plenty of properties to rent ‘on word of mouth’, where no rental agreements exist.

The reopening ceremony of the landmark church at Campanário is set for Friday, also the day of the parish, with the Bishop of Funchal attending the ceremony. The ceremony is set for 7pm, followed later by musical entertainment, and with fireworks to close.

‘Enjoy The Sun In The Shade For Protection – The nationwide campaign will also be run on Madeira’. The initiative is promoted by the Portuguese Association For Skin Cancer (APCC) in collaboration with the Directorate General of Health (DGS), and aims to increase the awareness of the general population to take precautions with sun exposure in the country, on the beach or in the pool, whether in leisure or through working outdoors. Besides posters, several information leaflets on avoiding sunburn and skin cancer and diagnosis are also available.

This is the new image to be used for a campaign of awareness and education for the population of Madeira in respect of the mosquito ‘Aedes Aegypti’. The campaign will have several fronts, and is the responsibility of the regional health service IASAÚDE. "We are vigilant and we fight for this cause" said a spokesman, pointing out that the whole community, without exception, must come together for this purpose. The female of the species is the one that bites us humans, hence the catchphrase "She’s Out There Somewhere". All hope of eradicating the species that arrived on Madeira 4 years ago have now disappeared, and now the task is to control it, particularly as it is a potential carrier of dengue disease.

This hole appeared on a public footpath in Estreito de Câmara de Lobos over a year ago, and it has been reported to the council several times. A person who was partially blind has now fallen in it and suffered several injuries. It seems if it doesn’t grab the headlines, for the council, and / or for the PSD, then it’s not worth bothering with. Well it’s got headlines now.

In politics : ‘Left Block Denounce Pressure On Candidates In The Council Elections – Cases in Porto Santo, Machico, and Santana’. The Left Block (BE) party coordinator says that he will start criminal proceedings against those who overstep the mark. Firstly it was the socialists (PS-M) to complain, and now the BE. The BE coordinator says the problem is mainly for candidates in the local elections, who are subjected to "threats and pressures", just for taking on the candidacy. The accusations are levelled against the social democrats. Typically the problems do not come from the presidents of the councils, more the second line troops or local chiefs, who hide their actions but leave a clear message, often with the aim of dissuading candidates from standing for the BE. No surprises there I suppose, but as the BE is a ‘no hoper’ party, I don’t really understand why the PSD-M would bother to make the effort, but there again I don’t really understand what would make someone want to be be a candidate for a ‘no hoper’ in the first place.

‘Protest In The Assembly Against TAP & SATA’. The social democrats, PSD-M, delivered a proposal for a vote of protest yesterday in the Legislative Assembly of Madeira. At issue is the reintroduction of fuel surcharges on flights between Madeira and Portugal, due to recent price rises in the purchase of aviation fuel. The charge has been reintroduced at €4 per journey. The PSD-M consider it "inappropriate given an island reality", and is a barrier to the people here when it is necessary to increase the mobility of citizens.

The wheat threshing demonstration in Prazeres yesterday. The tradition continued despite the overnight rain.

(20th July). Today’s main news headline : ‘Hotels Close Restaurants – The low in the prices in good hotels and promotional flights are not managing to bring in tourists in satisfactory numbers. There are already hotels who have taken their restaurants out of service’. A nice picture accompanies the story with two tourists sat on a Funchal promenade, the relevance perhaps being that they are the only two tourists in sight? A second headline says that it is the hotels with more stars that are feeling the impact more of the reducing purchasing power of tourists. It’s a silly article based on unfounded and unrealistic principles. The fact is that for most tourists here the purchasing power has not reduced and it is quite likely in many cases the opposite is true, but there is a reluctance to spend, due to a lack of confidence, partly due to media rubbish like this article. Couple that with the blatant overpricing of hotel restaurants generally, particularly up towards the 5 star hotels, then isn’t the problem and solution blatantly obvious. Why is it that so many people know the price of the ingredients they are eating, and have some idea of what it costs to make and serve the meal, and yet are prepared to pay a very high price for a good standard restaurant … because they can.

The main photo today just shows a picture of a of fir tree, which I believe is in the abandoned brick factory where the murder occurred : ‘Kidnapping: Neighbours Of The Scene Of The Tragedy Still In A State Of Shock’. Yesterday it was about Porto Santo being in shock, and today the article talks of the neighbours of the abandoned factory in Vale Paraíso in Camacha. The site is pretty much deserted, and 250 metres from the road, and so the kidnappers had unnoticed access. There is some lack of clarity in the number of arrests made initially, but four are mentioned, but the suspected ringleader of the plot, a contractor aged around 45, is known to have flown to Lisbon on Friday morning, and efforts are being made to trace him. It seems that this man actually knew his victim, and had brought a business from him but had failed to pay.
I was pretty shocked when I heard the news yesterday, but the Diário didn’t give the story top billing, and readers comments on the blog yesterday focused on the Madeira Mandolin Orchestra. Of course this is just a blog and no nobody has any obligations whatsoever, but do people feel that they have no right to comment on such a horrible crime, as there must have been others shocked by the event? Or maybe people from outside of Madeira are just hardened to such events?

‘Third Ferry In Funchal Port – The ship visits Madeira because the transport of all the cars etc. for the Rally Vinho Madeira is the responsibility of Armas’. The ‘Volcán de Tauce’, a vessel built in 1995, also property of Naviera Armas, that normally travels direct between Portimão and the Canary Islands, will be used to deliver everything for the Madeira Wine Rally, given that it is too much for the ‘Volcán de Tijarafe’ to manage on top of its normal load. It is programmed to arrive Sunday evening.

‘Loss Of Values Is Hitting the Madeirans – The Canon Of Sé Cathedral refers to the murder of the Porto Santo businessman in his sermon’. He used the murder to illustrate the loss of values in society here. "The devil is entering a corner of heaven" he said (or something like that).

‘Jehovah’s Witnesses congress to be held at the stadium of Nacional – ‘Be vigilant’ is the theme to be addressed’. It starts next Friday at the Choupana, and there are around 1,200 active members on Madeira and Porto Santo, and about 1,500 people in total are expected to attend the event. The group believe that we are nearing the end of things as they are, through biblical prophecies.

‘The thunderstorms, rain and hailstones surprised those in the high zones – Hail during a Summer night surprised many people’. Storms and rain happen, but hailstones are a rare occurrence this time of year. Very early Sunday morning many people awoke with the sounds of ice hitting their roofs, with some pieces quite large. Even the Meteorological Office didn’t predict that.

The Diário runs a short article suggesting that people try camping to avoid the financial crises and Gripe A, something that in the past has not really appealed to the Madeirans. It says that as long as people clean up and respect the camping rules, it is a cheap alternative for taking holidays.

In sports news the headline is ‘Victory In The First Day Of The Stage – Baba scores the goal that defeats Merelinense’, with a picture of a game involving Marítimo.

(19th July). This story originated in the Jornal da Madeira, so I can’t vouch for it’s accuracy : ‘Amparo Will Have A Garden Of 15 Thousand Square Metres’. The new garden will be called the ‘Jardim Público do Amparo’, and (the project) will be presented on Wednesday by the President of Funchal Council. The facilities will include a children’s area, and a cafeteria, and the gardens will form part of the urbanisation project for Amparo, which is a huge area over on the far west side of Funchal. The floral theme of the gardens will be international, with species from all over the world, with South America, Australia, and Madagascar getting specific mentions.

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PHOTO : Martinho, the unwanted Husky, has found sanctuary in Germany.

Placing unwanted dogs and cats in good homes with new owners is a vital part of the work undertaken by the staff of SPAD (the local Society for the Protection of Domestic Animals). This year, however, Veterinary Doctor Carolina Margarido of SPAD has noticed a worrying increase in the number of dogs being returned to the Society after adoption by local families. She explains: "There are many reasons why dogs (and the problem predominantly affects canines) lose their homes after being with their owners for a short time. In the case of 12 Huskies, which are now enjoying new lives in a German sanctuary, set up especially for the breed, they just did not fit into the Madeiran way of life. The climate did not suit them; as working dogs, inactivity bored them and often they barked a lot and got up to mischief, such as destroying garden flowers. Their ‘stand-offish’ natures often disappointed their owners, too, if they had been expecting their Huskies to be affectionate pets. Consequently, many Huskies were abandoned on our streets"

Carolina gives the example of Martinho, a beautiful, two-year-old Husky. He was found dumped in a stream with a broken rib and other less serious injuries. Rescued by firemen, he was taken to SPAD, where he was treated and he quickly recovered from his ordeal. Recently, he was accompanied to Germany by Thelma Brown of the local charity, SOS Animal, and he has now settled happily in the Sanctuary with the other Huskies from Madeira.
Contribution from Sheila Toney … thank you.