On March 9, 2020, before the coronavirus attacked Portugal and closed all schools down, I had the opportunity to speak at the Oeiras International School near Lisbon. Mrs. Linda Patient, head of the Humanities department, welcomed me warmly to the school as did the principal, Mr. Steve Lewis. I gave presentations to Grade 6 and 7 students of A Cage Without Bars and was delighted with the intriguing questions the students asked.
As of this writing, there have been over 10,000 cases of coronavirus in Portugal and over 250 deaths. My heart goes out to the warm and generous people of Portugal, and to everyone affected by this devastating plague. I hope that we will soon see the light at the end of the tunnel.