"The 2000 Exiled Jewish Children" was filmed in Portugal, but also in the known destination of those young victims five centuries ago, São Tomé. To make possible the filming of beautiful landscapes and Caucasian children in the island, the Oporto Jewish community had the help of someone truly special. Gil Rodrigues de Carvalho is a Portuguese police's prominent leader of Jewish descent and a recognized supporter of the State of Israel and its fight against antisemitism around the world. A Master in law and a lover of the history of Portugal, he served in the Portuguese Polícia Judiciária for forty years and solved many cases of violent crime that shocked the country. In addition, he collaborated in Mossad investigations years ago, commanding specialized units of that united Portuguese police which he was also director in the North and Center of Portugal.

In recent years, Carvalho is giving a training courses to the Polícia Judiciária of São Tomé and Príncipe. In 2024, he became involved in the production of the film "The 2000 kidnapped jewish children" at the request of the Jewish Community of Oporto.

The PJN spoke to him.

PJN – What did you think of the film on which you so kindly collaborated?

I really liked the result. Both the content and the quality of the sound and image are quite well done. The reactions I received were very positive. Many people asked me if the story corresponded to reality, which demonstrates the lack of knowledge about this chapter of history, both of Portugal and of São Tomé.

PJN - Was it easy to find striking landscapes and Caucasian children on the island to be able to participate in the film? Are they children of local families?

The island offers numerous striking landscapes, and we had the support of a local guide, who knows the territory well and was tireless in accompanying the production and directing team of the film. As for the children, from the first contact with parents of students from Portuguese schools it was easy to get their participation. They are not the children of local families, but of foreigners who work in São Tomé and Príncipe.

PJN - The film is available on Youtube and has already been seen in movie theaters in Israel, America, Spain, London and Portugal. In São Tomé, is the film known?

São Tomé does not have movie theaters. I believe that the local media have not yet become aware of the film. For now, people's contact with the film results mainly from sharing it, by me and by some friends who collaborated indirectly in the production. One thing is certain, sooner or later the film will spread throughout the island, because in general, when someone sees it, they are perplexed, shocked, show surprise and admiration, and make very positive comments.

PJN - Are there still fevers, injuries, deaths and diseases associated with mosquitoes and wild animals, such as snakes and others?

In São Tomé and Príncipe there are no wild animals at present. There is only talk of the "black snake", which is very rare and there are no episodes that have attacked people. Malaria once had significant outbreaks, but today it is quickly diagnosed with rapid tests and treated effectively. The health authorities act immediately in the risk areas with disinfection campaigns, and the population receives mosquito nets for protection. Regarding skin lesions, these have been progressively addressed with the support of international cooperation. In the most serious cases, there is medical evacuation to Portugal.

PJN - What are the strengths of São Tomé five centuries later?

The remains of the old Roças show that, before independence, São Tomé and Príncipe was a colony with strong development, with schools, hospitals and advanced industry, sometimes more than in some areas of mainland Portugal. After decolonization, the lack of technical and administrative staff caused disorganization and degradation in several areas, the effects of which are still felt. Still, São Tomé has many strengths. I highlight the enormous natural wealth of the country: fertile soils, unique biodiversity, scenic beauty and a tourist potential that is still little explored. In 2025, UNESCO declared São Tomé and Príncipe as the first country in the world with its entire territory classified as a Biosphere Reserve, a recognition that reinforces the extraordinary conditions for investing in sustainable development.

PJN - Does São Tomé, once a "Jewish island", have a future?

Yes, I believe that São Tomé and Príncipe will be able to follow a path of solid and sustainable development, but this depends on consistent investments in fundamental areas such as education, nutrition for poor children, strengthening basic health care, and justice.

PJN - What does Justice need?

It is necessary to create an effective and reliable system, which strengthens the confidence of the population and investors. It is a rule for all countries. Foreign investment depends on the trust that the State deserves. An impartial and effective justice system is required.

"The 2000 Kidnapped Jewish Children" film

The events referred to in the film occurred in 1493, when about 2000 Jewish children of Spanish origin up to the age of eight were torn from the arms of their parents, converted to Catholicism, and sent by boat to the island of São Tomé, 7500 km away. This was a penalty for the parents of these children. They had arrived in Portugal after the expulsion from Spain in 1492, and had been unable to satisfy the king's desire to make hospitality profitable. Anyone who did not pay the required tribute to the monarch or was in Portugal clandestinely, became the property of the Crown.

The island of São Tomé was a volcano with a massive shroud, enveloped in a dense fog that produced thunder and lightning. It was a place unfit for colonization, due to the poisonous vapors, unhealthiness, absence of civilization, intensity of the heat, high fevers, and danger from the animals that inhabited it. In the Jewish world it was called ‘I HaTaninim’, the "Island of Crocodiles", because it was said to be inhabited by huge crocodiles that swallowed people alive. The beauty of nature turned into a nightmare when those animals were looking for prey.

Dressed in coarse cloth, like slaves, the docile children embarked together with criminals who were given a chance of survival in São Tomé. This was a dangerous voyage, lasting more than a month, which had never been undertaken by experienced sailors from other nations. Most of the children, suffering nightmares and loneliness, succumbed during the long journey and their bodies were thrown into the sea. They suffered from strong swells, seasickness, scorching sun, freezing nights, sleeping in the open, physical punishment, lice, cockroaches, rats, poor diet, dehydration, disease, and dirt.

The children who survived the voyage were thrown into a human experiment. São Tomé, then an inhospitable place, was to be their grave. They would never go back to freedom or return to the arms of their grieving parents. Miraculously, there were survivors among those unfortunate children. They survived the rigors of the journey and the dangers of their new home. They were fruitful, multiplied, and the island became rich in sugar, wines, meat and cheeses.

In the following centuries, São Tomé had a strong presence of Jewish businessmen in the inter-continental trade and plantation owners involved in the exportation of the sugar cane and the sugar industry to Brazil, a country where many of the descendants of those exiled Jewish children are supposed to have emigrated.

Today, São Tomé is an island that perhaps does not have the visibility it deserves. Gil Rodrigues de Carvalho believes in a bright future for what was once the only Jewish island in human history.