Venezuelan migrants left stranded at Ecuador's border
August 29, 2019
Ecuador's new visa restrictions left Venezuelans marooned at the border. Colombia's government criticized Quito's decision, saying it could boost human trafficking and put migrants at risk.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/D. Ochoa
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Venezuelan migrants left stranded by a new rule that bars them from entering Ecuador without a visa were still lingering at the country's border on Wednesday.
"We will stay and we will fight to get in, whatever it takes!" one migrant told news agency EFE, as many camped out on the Colombian side of the border, assisted by the Red Cross and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).
More than 11,000 Venezuelans left Colombia via the Rumichaca border bridge towards Ecuador over the weekend, in an attempt to enter the country before new visa requirements went into force.
Hundreds of migrants who did not make it when the policy went into effect on Monday blocked traffic on the bridge in protest, Colombian media reported.
Colombian police were dispatched to the border to keep control of the situation and to help move migrants into nearby shelters.
According to the new rules, Venezuelans seeking to go to Ecuador will need to apply for a visa, a process that requires a valid passport, a consulate interview and a $50 (€45) fee.
"Please, President Lenin… there are sick children, pregnant women, elderly people, and people with disabilities here," a migrant woman said to EFE, in a desperate plea to Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno.
Colombia blasts Ecuador
Colombia sharply criticized Ecuador's decision. "The requirement for documents or visas will not prevent Venezuelans from continuing to leave their country to survive," Colombian Foreign Minister Holmes Trujillo said.
"The passage of migrants through unauthorized areas, the so-called 'shortcuts,' boosts crime and human trafficking, putting people at risk," he stressed.
"It also stops the state from identifying the population that is entering, meaning migration figures are not known with certainty and necessary policies cannot be implemented to tend to that population," Holmes Trujillo added.
Despite absorbing the largest number of Venezuelan migrants and refugees, with more than 1.4 million arrivals, Colombia has not yet chosen to impose visa requirements — unlike Panama, Honduras, Guatemala, Chile, Peru and Ecuador.
Some 320,000 Venezuelans have settled in Ecuador and the government expects the figure to increase to nearly half a million by the end of the year.
Ecuador defended its policy on Tuesday, saying their new visa measures exuded "extreme solidarity" towards migrants.
Venezuela's economic collapse
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Foreign Relations Minister Jose Valencia said his government had expected the swell of migrants at the border, but he was confident that things would "return to normal" over time.
A global problem
In an interview with news agency dpa, Yukiko Iriyama, the UNHCR deputy representative in Colombia, called for countries to share responsibility for the refugee intake, while sounding an alarm about the vulnerability of migrants.
"People are arriving in more vulnerable states and conditions, requiring more humanitarian support," Iriyama said.
"The magnitude of the problem is no longer regional, it is becoming global," she added. "We are appealing for wider international responsibility-sharing," Iriyama said.
According to UNHCR, Latin America and the Caribbean currently host 80% of the 4.3 million Venezuelan migrants and refugees who have fled as a result of deep economic and political crises plaguing the country.
After Colombia, Peru holds the largest number of Venezuelan migrants with about 853,400. Some 288,200 are in Chile, 178,600 have fled to Brazil and 145,000 to Argentina.
jcg/ng (EFE, dpa)
Venezuelans find refuge, solidarity in Colombia
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.
