The President of the Legislative Assembly of the Autonomous Region of the Azores (ALRAA), Luís Garcia, today expressed his “full solidarity” with the inhabitants of the island of Maui in Hawaii, expressing his deep sorrow for the victims of the fires that broke out in that North American state.
“We know that these phenomena have a devastating impact on people’s lives, both socially, economically, and emotionally, leaving indelible marks on their history and their communities,” said the President of the Azorean Parliament in a letter of condolence sent today to the Governor of Hawaii, Josh Green.
In the letter, the President of the Legislative Assembly extends his solidarity to the institutions and entities involved in fighting the fires, “trying to provide the necessary and possible support to minimize the risks associated with situations like this.”
From Tribuna das Ilhas Newspaper
The President of the Government also sent a letter to the Governor of Hawaii.
“Dear Governor Green,
On behalf of the Government of the Autonomous Region of the Azores, I come to express our most profound sorrow for the dozens of victims of the violent forest fires on your islands and our heartfelt solidarity with the fraternal people of the archipelago of Hawai’i on these days of distress and suffering.
The Azores and Hawai’i have had a historical and institutional history of recognized complicity. The official emigration from our islands in the Atlantic to your islands in the Pacific, albeit discontinued already, started in 1878 and commemorates 145 years of identity affinities that honor us greatly. Furthermore, in 1982, the then-President of the Government of the Azores, João Bosco Mota Amaral, and the then-Governor of the State of Hawai’i, George R. Ariyoshi, declared the Azores and Hawai’i sister states, pursuant to the respective parliaments’ deliberations.
That is why, despite the geographical distance, we feel so close.
And for this reason, in these difficult times, we suffer with your grief.
I hope the situation will end soon without further material prejudice or human losses. I express the Autonomous Region of the Azores’ readiness for the solidary collaboration you may find appropriate.
Yours sincerely,
The President of the Government
José Manuel Bolieiro
From the Presidency of the Government of the Azores
Novidades - The Islands and the Diaspora 