On the unconditional love of the informal caregiver
English Translation: "At that table, he would gather us And happily tell us what he did that morning And in his eyes there was so much brightness That more than his son, I became his fan […] Now there's only one table left in the room And today nobody talks about his mandolin anymore At that table, he's missing And the longing for him is hurting me” Nelson Gonçalves Portuguese society bases a large part of its response to dependency and old age on a silent, almost invisible pillar: the informal caregiver. In most cases, this caregiver is a close family member, almost always a child, who provides daily, continuous, and demanding care, often at the expense of their professional, personal, and emotional life. Despite the formal recognition of this role, the system continues to function as if this care were an inexhaustible resource: always available, naturally assured, and morally obligatory. This expectation is reflected in Portuguese legislation, which establishes a le...