"There is a before and after 2017," said Oliveira do Hospital President José Francisco Rolo. " It was a watershed in our lives." (Photo from Folha do Centro)
A double mural in Oliveira do Hospital, Coimbra District, the hardest hit municipality of the Great Fire of October 2017, pays homage to its 13 dead and the devastation of 98 percent of its territory.
It is painted on two sides of the Volunteer Firefighters School for Infants and Cadets. One side depicts the horror of the flames while attacked by a lone firefighter, while the other, which can be seen from the bus station, illustrates hope and rebirth, like a phoenix rising from the ashes, as a young girl hands a firefighter a flower in the foreground of a calm forest.
In a few days, the Great Fire burned a total of 418,087 hectares (1,033,115 acres), and 190,090 hectares (469,722 acres), or nearly half, was forest, reported SAPO24 (October 30, 2017), in the districts of Castelo Branco, Coimbra, Guarda and Viseu.
Aside from the 50 who lost their lives, nearly 70 suffered injuries, and 1,500 houses and more than 500 businesses were totally or partially destroyed, reported Sábado (June 14, 2018).
The Youth Association of Volunteer Firefighters, winners of a youth contest and about 10,000 euros, created the idea of the 320-square meter (1,050 square feet) homage, reported A Comerca de Arganil (July 11). A cadet of 14 to 16 would have been 7 to 9 at the time of the fire, which clearly has branded itself onto the collective memory.
Mafalda M. Gonçalves, an artist who specializes in murals and lives in Lisbon, breathed life into the young volunteers' idea. Gonçalves received a bachelor's degree in Drawing from the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Lisbon in 2017 and also did post-graduate Painting there, according to her website. Writer Lucinda Maria, of Oliveira do Hospital, was a teacher for 32 years, reported Divulga Escritor. She wrote the two poems on the mural.
EMERGIR DAS CINZAS EMERGE FROM THE ASHES
Na mão de uma criança, brilha In the hand of a child, shines
A luz da esperança, um lampejo The light of hope, a glimmer
Da perfume e alegria: uma flor! That gives perfume and joy: a flower!
Emergiu das cinzas, como filha Emerged from ashes, like a daughter
Do caos, mas é simbolo do ensejo Of chaos, but a symbol of opportunity
De ver a nossa terra volter à cor! To see our land return to color!
Por Lucinda Maria
"We want to perpetuate the memory of what happened," said Marco Mota and Helder Costa, president and vice president, respectively, of the Youth Association, moments before the inauguration ceremony on Sunday, July 7, according to A Comerca de Arganil.
"It was a very dramatic day. We initially started work in Lousã. But things changed, and we returned to our municipality. When we arrived, we saw a devastating image. We, the firefighters, almost lost our courage. We left here with a green municipality and, when we arrived, it was completely destroyed."
Oliveira do Hospital President José Francisco Rolo said: "As president, I am extremely grateful for this mobilizing force and this civic gesture by the young people of the Oliveira do Hospital Volunteer Firefighters. Thank you from the bottom of my heart."
"There is a before and after 2017," he said, according to Correia da Beira Serra (July 8). "It was a watershed in our lives. Official reports state that 98 percent of the area of the municipality of Oliveira do Hospital was severely affected. There were 13 fatalities; many suffered psychological after-effects. It was a tough day that marked our lives.
"It taught us a civic lesson The members of the Youth Association remember those who were on the frontline fighting the flames, and it is good that they did. They remember the day with a sense of responsibility, with confidence and with a child, who represents the future, offering a flower, which represents life, to a firefighter, a symbol of people's protection. This also symbolizes the rebirth of the municipality."
"The municipality and the county changed. People today are more aware of the circumstances of risk and danger. This has had a major impact on our lives. . . . It is important that a mark be left in the community in the form of an institutional memorial," said President Rolo, according to A Comerca de Arganil.
José Carlos Alexandrino, who was president of Oliveira do Hospital during the Great Fire, also attended the ceremony, reported Folha do Centro (July 8). He recalled what was one of the most difficult moments in his political life: being alongside a mother who, too, saw her son, still young, pass on that fateful first day.
At the end of the ceremony, relatives of the deceased released 13 white balloons in memory of their loved ones.
In a story about the Great Fire's fifth anniversary, Expresso (October 14, 2022) wrote:
"After the tragedy of Pedrógão Grande, it was not expected that another would follow, almost as deadly, more extensive in territory, more severe in material losses.
"It only took four months.
"On October 15, 2017, in a single day, the flames multiplied into 914 ignitions."
FORAM HORAS DE TRAGEDIA THERE WERE HOURS OF TRAGEDY
As chamas entraram no concelho! The flames entered the municipality!
Num ímpeto demoníaco e cruel . . . With a demonic and cruel impetus . . .
Vorazes e implacáveis, sem solução. . . Voracious and relentless, with no end. . .
Destruírem tudos, o novo e o velho, They destroyed everything, the new and the old . . .
O verde tornou-se negro e o fel The green turned black and the bile
Da impotência colou-se ao coração! Of impotence stuck to the heart!
Por Lucinda Maria
The Oliveira do Hospital Volunteer Firefighters School, which is the site of the mural, teaches those between 6 and 17 years old. Founded in 2012, it involves young people in safe firefighting-related activities; motivates youth to exercise citizenship responsibility; instills in the young the rewards of volunteer work, and is an environment where children can learn, while having fun, what to do in emergency situations, according to the Humanitarian Association of Volunteer Firefighters of Oliveira do Hospital website.
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