The EU's foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini has announced millions in financial aid to help Colombia deal with an influx of Venezuelan migrants. More than 4 million Venezuelans have fled in recent years.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/F. Vergara
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The European Union has said it will give €30 million ($33 million) to Colombia to help the Latin American country deal with an influx of Venezuelan migrants.
More than 4 million people have left Venezuela in recent years, up from 695,000 in late 2015, according to the United Nations. Many have chosen neighboring Colombia as their new home following hardship in their homeland. A lack of food and medicine, a crumbling economy and political instability under Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro have all contributed to the exodus.
"I'm pleased to announce new help of €30 million for the identification of migrants and their socioeconomic integration," EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said during a joint press conference with Colombian President Ivan Duque in Bogota on Thursday.
"We support these efforts by the government and local authorities to offer employment, entrepreneurship and dignified housing for refugees, migrants, returned people and also receiver communities."
Looking for 'negotiated political solution'
Duque, meanwhile, announced that a meeting will take place in Brussels next month on international cooperation after what he described as "the biggest migration crisis that Latin America has suffered in its recent history."
The EU and Colombia are seeking a "negotiated political solution" leading to "free and credible" presidential elections in Venezuela, Mogherini said.
Colombia's Maicao is infamous for its drug and people smuggling, violence and sexual exploitation. Venezuelan refugees living on the streets are an easy target. But a UNHCR-run reception center is offering a way out.
Image: DW/Eline van Nes
Waiting in line
Venezuelan migrants wait in line to have their registration number and details checked before receiving their lunch. The UN's World Food Program serves food three times a day.
Image: DW/Eline van Nes
Hanging out to dry
Rows of tents provided by the UNCHR for the refugees line the reception center in Maicao, providing as much comfort as is possible in these circumstances.
Image: DW/Eline van Nes
Looking for a way out
The recently inaugurated reception center in Maicao in the La Guajira region — a collaboration between the UNHCR, the UN's refugee agency and the Colombian authorities — is the first of its kind in Colombia. Local and national government agencies called on the UNHCR for aid because of the steady influx of Venezuelan migrants and refugees crossing the border into Maicao.
Image: DW/Eline van Nes
Lack of purpose
Domingo Antonio Fernandez Lopez, a 72-year-old former journalist and professor, used to hear about and see refugees in the news, but never thought he would end up in a shelter as well. Having worked most of his life, he now feels useless. Every morning he gets up, waits to have breakfast, and waters the area near the entrance of his tent because the dust is affecting his lungs and eyes.
Image: DW/Eline van Nes
Hoping for a better life
Rusmari Luna Pereira brought a bracelet with her from Venezuela her mother made for her for the trip. She had to leave with her children because she couldn’t provide for them anymore. She said some people in Venezuela give their children to other families, others abandoned them on the streets. She said she found those stories hard to believe but now understands how desperate some of them are.
Image: DW/Eline van Nes
Dreaming of home
Rosmery Castillo left Venezuela a month ago with two of her children and left a third with her brother. She was a nurse in Valencia but her minimum wage was wiped out by high inflation, leaving her with almost nothing to buy food. She plans to return to Venezuela as soon as the situation improves to be with her mother and grandmother, who she had to leave behind.
Image: DW/Eline van Nes
Sharing the will to survive
Rosmery Castillo (34, left) and Vanesa Añez Añez (19) did not know each other when they both arrived at the UNHCR reception center at the same time. They were placed in a tent to share.
Image: DW/Eline van Nes
A helping hand
A Colombian Red Cross clinic at the reception center caters to health issues the migrants and refugees may suffer from such as lung problems caused by the dust from the La Guajira Desert.
Image: DW/Eline van Nes
Solidarity and understanding
Xenophobia is always hovering in the background, but La Guajira has a historical connection with Maracaibo in Venezuela. Many people from La Guajira moved to Venezuela during the Colombian FARC conflict. There is solidarity among people of both sides. There are also many IDPs in Colombia, who understand what it is like for the Venezuelans to be in this predicament.
Image: DW/Eline van Nes
Taking the legal route
The official crossing between Colombia and Venezuela is marked by a few fences and soldiers standing guard. There is one official way to cross between Colombia and Venezuela, but some 150 illegal shortcuts, many of which end right in front of the official crossing.
