Fed-up Portuguese families are leaving the Island in the face of abuse directed towards them during recent meetings on Long Term Residents, claims community spokesman Robert Pires.

But he urged them to stand firm and said a fundraising campaign by the Coalition on Long Term Residents would help fund possible legal battles and lobbying of Bermuda's Government as well as those abroad.

He said UK Foreign Office Minister Baroness Scotland had been alerted to the plight of the Bermuda's Portuguese community, but Bermuda's Home Affairs Minister Paula Cox was refusing to meet the Coalition.

In an open letter to the Portuguese People of Bermuda Mr. Pires said: "The Coalition on Long Term Residents is saddened to learn of Portuguese families who, because of the abuse directed at the Portuguese during the course of the Government-sponsored public forums on Long Term Residents, have decided to leave Bermuda.'' And businessman and Portuguese activist Eddie DeMello said people who had lived in Bermuda for 20 to 30 years had lost heart over Government indifference over the last six or seven years.

He said: "It's really sad. Those people feel neglected and left out. They cannot buy a home, they can't get into business.

"They are told to go home and I guess they just take it from there.

"They say if that's what they feel, we are going to go.'' He said he helped up to 16 families a year pack up and go -- some to the Azores while others were trying their luck in America and Canada.

Mr. Pires said in his letter: "Many Bermudians, black and white, PLP and non-PLP, have expressed their shock and horror at the vitriol and abuse that was directed at Long Term Residents (LTRs) generally and the Portuguese people specifically during the course of these meetings.

"The Minister herself expressed pleasure with respect to the conduct and outcome of these meetings.

"The general posture of the Government was that the forums provided a healthy opportunity for Bermudians to vent their anger.'' Long-term residents And Mr. Pires accused the Minister of ignoring her responsibilities under the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

"The Covenant says that `any advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence shall be prohibited by law'.

"The Government by sponsoring these forums became responsible for the conduct of these meetings.

"To the extent that the rights or reputations of others were violated and to the extent that vitriol was directed toward any individual or groups of people on the basis of race or ethnicity, the Government generally and the Minister specifically abrogated its and her responsibilities under this Covenant.'' He said the Government's had talked about "two Bermudas'' but had then reinforced such a split by denying "political rights to Long Term Residents of 20, 30 and 40 years -- irrespective of their contribution to the community and irrespective of the fact that many have Bermudian children and grandchildren.

"`It perplexes us that the Minister then contradicts herself by proposing a Bermuda with a hierarchy of rights.

"Born Bermudians with parents or grandparents who have never been granted the economic rights of owning property or owning their own businesses, are themselves economically handicapped and are perpetually relegated to the position of always starting from behind relative to other Bermudians.'' He said children of families awaiting status were being denied educational advantages.

"Until these children reach the age of 18 and are formally granted Bermuda status, they are ineligible to acquire scholarships.

"This may not be a problem for the Bermudian children of expatriate workers in the international business sector but it is a problem for the 50 percent-plus blue collar and lower level white collar workers who earn a living at the lower earning end of Bermuda's employment spectrum.

"Not only are these children of working class families unable to receive scholarships by virtue of having not yet been granted Bermuda status but they are denied the right to gain employment so they may somehow finance their education.

"These people will continue to suffer in the new Bermuda which the Minister proposes.'' He claimed the Government was loathe to grant citizenship to LTRs because the great majority were white and thought unlikely to back the Government in its move toward independence.

Currently the Government is considering offering greater rights short of citizenship after launching a discussion paper last year which led to the controversial public forums on the issue.

Mr. Pires said: "We have been advised that the British Government is looking very closely at how the Bermuda Government deals with its Long Term Residents and that any move to independence must coincide with the granting of citizenship to these people.

"`We of the Coalition sympathise with the Portuguese Long Term Residents who have decided to leave. We say to them, in no way do you deserve the abuse that has been directed toward you.'' He said the Coalition would: Raise money to fund operating expenses; Meet with the Governor and Baroness Scotland to raise concerns regarding Government's handling of the Long Term Resident issue; Lobby Governments who have a vested concern with respect to the treatment of Bermuda's Long Term Residents; Build support for Long Term Residents within the local community; and Secure legal representation should the matter require attention in the courts, both here and in the United Kingdom.

Last night Home Affairs Minister Paula Cox was not available for comment.