Column: Andrade On Azores, Bermuda & More
[Opinion column written by José Andrade]
In 2021, the House of the Azores of Bermuda added a third important date to its recent but eventful history.
Founded on 10 March 2015, it officially inaugurated its headquarters on 4 November 2019 and, thanks to the major refurbishment work carried out in the meantime, now offers the Azorean community a community center that honors it and makes it proud.
On 19 September 2021, one phase came to an end, and another began.
This date marked the end of a project that was developed in an exemplary way, with the involvement of the community and the personal commitment of the directors, members, volunteers and sponsors of House of the Azores itself.
It also opened up the possibility of hosting a wide variety of activities that can contribute to the growing dynamism of our community.
Bermuda had to have a House of the Azores, as it does now.
First of all, for historical reasons.
This archipelago has been the third major destination for systematic Azorean emigration since 1850, after Brazil and the United States, and before Hawaii and Canada.
In the last six decades alone, from 1960 to 2020, 8,722 Azoreans have officially emigrated to Bermuda, mostly from the island of São Miguel.
They emigrated through employment contracts that are processed between the Department of Immigration of the Government of Bermuda and the Regional Directorate for Communities of the Government of the Azores, under the bilateral agreement for the employment of Portuguese nationals.
It’s a good agreement for both parties.
On the one hand, Azoreans will find opportunities here to improve their living conditions, often as part of a family reunion.
On the other hand, Bermuda gains an important contribution of skilled labor, with honorable and hard-working persons who dignify the good name of the Azorean people.
But the House of the Azores in Bermuda is justified, above all, for community reasons.
Azoreans are the most representated immigrant community in Bermuda, in proportion to the resident population, and Portuguese is therefore the second most widely spoken language.
It is even estimated that almost a quarter of Bermuda’s population are Azoreans or descendants of Azoreans.
This is a source of pride for the Azores and a responsibility for the community.
Azoreans can and must integrate and assert themselves more and more, not only in social and cultural life, but also in the economic and political life of their host society.
The House of the Azores in Bermuda contributes to this recognition.
And the community center it now has will help to involve, energize, promote and affirm this community in this society.
In the Azores, we do not forget those who have left. They are, of course, an integral part of the Azorean community, which is unique and universal.
The inherent spirit of “Azoreanness” in all of us demonstrates that the Azores are more than just the nine islands in the middle of the Atlantic.
They are more than that.
They exist beyond physical space and are a state of mind that permeates the entire world.
We therefore have a new vision for Azorean communities scattered around the world.
Our work with emigrants must be redefined and adapted to the circumstances of the new times in which we live.
We cannot limit ourselves to the market for nostalgia, which we naturally want to continue to value.
But taking advantage of and boosting the various economic, cultural and political potential that the different locations of Azorean emigration can have for the Azores archipelago is, above all, a way of deepening the relationship of proximity and promoting dynamics aimed at mutual economic and social development.
All this comes at the same time as the 175th anniversary of Portuguese emigration to Bermuda, mainly from the Azores, which will be celebrated in 2024.
The first documented migratory movement to these British North American islands dates back to 1849, thus sharing the Azorean heart with the United States and Canada.
Bermuda is a group of 150 small Atlantic islands and islets in the Caribbean region, with just over 66,000 inhabitants spread over 53 square kilometers.
Bermuda is a British overseas territory governed by a 1968 constitution that guarantees autonomy to the local government in matters of domestic policy, but which depends on the metropole in matters of defense and foreign policy.
Its capital is Hamilton, and it is also where Bermuda’s House of the Azores is based and where the large Azorean community, traditionally associated with gardening and construction, lives and works.
Financial services and tourism are the main activities of these islands, whose per capita income is one of the highest in the world, also thanks to the contribution of Azorean immigrants.
- José Andrade., Regional Director for Communities of the Government of the Autonomous Region of the Azores. Based on a text from the Author’s book Transatlantic – Migrations of the Azores [2023]
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