Obama’s Island Vacation is Brazilian Land of Oppourtunity

When she landed on the island of Martha’s Vineyard one morning in July 2001, Flávia Cardoso, a Brazilian, could not believe she was living in one of the most famous resorts on the east coast of America, where former President Bill Clinton, filmmaker Spike Lee and the Kennedy family, among others, spend the summer. This select group was joined by President Barack Obama and his family, who arrived on Sunday, August 23 for a week’s vacation.

Flávia moved to the island off the coast of Massachusetts at age 19, following her husband Mark Anthony, who arrived at Martha’s Vineyard seven years earlier when the two were just dating. The couple joined Mark’s brother, sister, cousins and relatives, all from the small town of Mantenópolis, Espírito Santo.

“Martha’s Vineyard is quiet and calm, a place where you sleep with the house and car unlocked and are provided safety, health, and education. It is a place of the first world,” said the Espírito Santo native on the phone with G1 while watching her children, Nicole and Jonathan, who were both born on the island, swimming in the pool.

Asked what attracts so many Brazilians there, she responded without hesitation, “The well-paid labor. They [the islanders] pay well for the work you do and pay annually. Therefore, nine of ten employees are Brazilian. The cost of living is high, everything is very expensive, but you are paid well. There are homes here worth more than $15 million. It is the land of the rich and we are taking advantage of it,” she jokes.

She worked as a house painter with her husband who is a carpenter, but five years ago she started working in child care. According to the British journal Financial Times, there are about 3,000 Brazilians like them living on the island, attracted by good salaries.

The number is significant considering there are approximately 15,000 inhabitants of the island, which reaches 100,000 in the summer. To get an idea of the Brazilian presence on Martha’s Vineyard, in 2007, of the total babies born in the island, one-third were children of Brazilian mothers, according to the Financial Times.

But unlike Obama and other famous people who frequent the island in summer, the lives of Brazilians are not easy. They must work hard to stay in a place where the cost of living is 57 percent higher than the average in the United States. To supplement the family income, Flavia and her sister also decorate for children’s parties.

The family takes a few weeks vacation each year and travels to Boston or Florida, where her Brazilian sister lives. During the summer, however, overcrowding on the island makes life hard for residents. “During that time, we save money to pay for our car to cross on the ferry or we go on foot and rent a car on the other side,” she says.

Spending the summer outside the island is a good opportunity for the residents. According to Flávia, many rent their homes for up to $40,000 dollars per week. “Where I live today, we rent, we leave and rent for the season, and make money because it is a good location.”

Besides the crowded summer, Flavia says dealing with the changing seasons is another difficulty of adapting to the island. The temperature in summer can reach 40°C and in winter only 10°C. “We have to enjoy the summer a little because when summer is over we will stay indoors for six months due to the cold,” she says.

It is a 40-minute drive from the main entrance of the island, Vineyard Haven, where Flávia lives, to Oak Bluffs, the property where the Obama family will vacation. According to Flávia, a large group of Brazilians are preparing a reception for the president. “We hope he will reform immigration law. The island has a lot of illegal Brazilians,” she says.

Since announcing his holiday on the resort seven months after taking office, the president has faced criticism. The spokesman for the White House, Robert Gibbs, said that even while relaxing with his family, Obama will keep his commitment to health reform, a major priority of his administration. Amid the intense campaign to adopt health care reform and the growing economic crisis, according to the website Politico.com, anti-war protests are promised during the president’s vacation.

Obama himself said he believed the public is not upset with him for vacationing with his family despite the economic crisis. “I think everyday about the problems Americans face. Do people think that because of these problems I should not spend a little time with my daughters? I don’t believe that is what Americans think.” he said in a recent TV interview with CBS.

As for Brazilians who live on the island, who for a few days will live close to the president of the world’s most influential country, Flávia Cardoso believes they will not see Obama. “Many famous people come here but we do not know it. My mother saw Bill Clinton when he was here in 2003. We know they are here, but they are hard to see.”