VENEZUELANS IN COLOMBIA

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 VENEZUELANS IN COLOMBIA

VENEZUELANS
IN COLOMBIA:
understanding the implications of the
migrants crisis in Maicao (La Guajira)

By
Jair Eduardo Restrepo Pineda and
Juliana Jaramillo Jaramillo

Under the direction of:

Manuela Torres
Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean,
Sayara International

2018

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 Venezuelan migrant child takes refuge in the municipal
Catholic Church facilities.

Maicao, La Guajira, Colombia, October,2018.

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 VENEZUELANS IN COLOMBIA

Acknowledgements

Sayara International thanks the academic, research and administrative team of Corporación
Universitaria Minuto de Dios (UNIMINUTO) for its effort and collaboration to carry out the
study. More specifically, the authors, Juliana Jaramillo and Jair Eduardo Restrepo for their
rigorous work in the methodology design and information analysis, as well as Armando
Rhenals Coronado, Danys Alberth Aguirre Ocampo, for participation in data collection in
the field.

Sayara also thanks the migration expert Gisela P. Zapata for her role in ensuring data and
analysis quality control of this final report.

Likewise, Sayara also would like to thank the Venezuelan migrants and refugees that agreed
to share their stories for the aim of this research. We’re also appreciative to Maicao’s local
community, representatives of the local government and non-governmental organization
for facilitating access to key information which contributed to the development of a
comprehensive analysis of the local community and how its coping with the influx of
migrants and refugees.

Finally, Sayara thanks Exovera and its management and technical team, for its collaboration
on the South American media monitoring, by providing access to their artificial intelligence
platform as well as the 30 days of detailed media monitoring analysis.

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 Venezuelan artisans weave wallets with Bolivars bills.

Maicao, La Guajira, Colombia, October 2018.

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 VENEZUELANS IN COLOMBIA

Abstract
The complex social, economic, and political situation currently faced by the Bolivarian
Republic of Venezuela has engendered an unprecedented humanitarian crisis, leading
over three million people – roughly 10% of the entire population – to flee the country
since 2014. About 80% of these Venezuelan migrants and refugees have headed to
neighboring countries in Latin America, making this the largest human displacement
in the region’s recent history. More than one million of those fleeing have crossed the
border into Colombia, a country without a significant history of immigration. Nonetheless,
the Colombian government, along with various international organizations, have
implemented a series of actions aimed at mitigating the humanitarian crisis and aiding
the socioeconomic integration of migrants into society.

This report presents the results of a pilot study on the implications of the Venezuelan
migration crisis in Maicao (La Guajira), the Colombian municipally that has been most
affected by the migrant flow due to its geographical and sociocultural proximity to
Venezuela. To this end, the report explores the response of governmental and non-
governmental actors involved in the management of the humanitarian crisis, identifying
migrants’ needs, attitudes, and experiences. It also assesses the perceptions and attitudes
of Colombians to the influx of Venezuelan migrants.

The research is based on a mixed methods approach, including an analysis of normative

and quantitative-qualitative data and interviews with key actors and Venezuelan migrants
living in the city of Maicao. Our findings suggest that although Colombia has been
internationally recognized for its solidarity and diligent response to the Venezuelan influx,
gaps still exist. These gaps exist particularly within the scope of adequate socio-economic
inclusion and effective delivery of aid, as well as in the realm of social marginalization
and social cohesion between host and migrant communities. Over time, this could be
exacerbated, as has been seen in other fragile countries, such as Lebanon and Jordan,
after having experienced similar shocks .

We highlight the importance of strengthening coordinated and collaborative work between

the Colombian State and non-governmental organizations such that their humanitarian
aid initiatives have greater scope and lasting impact, and such that they are aimed at
developing well-articulated employability programs for migrants.

Given the socioeconomic anxiety of host communities that tends to accompany large
migrant influxes, which was evidenced in this report at a local level more than at a national
level, we also recommend that public policies, programs and actions implemented
by governmental and non-governmental actors be focused on the most vulnerable
populations within the host society, including not only migrants but also those local
socioeconomic groups that face similar risks of social marginalization. The perception that
migrants “take jobs” and public resources or increase crime rates often arises after a host-
migrant “honeymoon” period comes to an end. An inclusive socio-economic development
policy is crucial in addressing some of the preexisting development gaps in Colombia, as
well as in helping to mitigate the tensions within local host communities because of the
allocation of public and private resources to a foreign population.

By Gisela P. Zapata, Migration Expert and Collabo ator.

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 VENEZUELANS IN COLOMBIA

CONTENT

Introduction
13 4. Profile of
Venezuelan migrants in
Maicao: Experiences,
31
needs and expectations

15
Sex, age and sexual orientation...............31
1. Colombia: Nationality and ethnicity..........................32
Migration profile Marital status and household structure
in Colombia..............................................33
Educational level of migrants...................33
Migration to Colombia.............................34
Permanence in Colombia and

18
immigration status...................................38
2. Bilateral crisis, mass Housing and access to basic services.......40
Health and access to medical services.....41
migration, and Employment and income.........................41
response by the Experiences of discrimination and
Colombian state violation of rights.....................................45
Needs, humanitarian aid and social

26
support.....................................................46
3. Migration of Expectations regarding the immigration
Venezuelans in a process.....................................................48
border municipality:
Maicao as

51
a case study
5. Humanitarian
response to the
Migration Crisis

International funding...............................52

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 56 110
6. Presence of 11. Regional Media
humanitarian actors in Analysis: South
Maicao American Media
Narratives About
Governmental actors...............................56 Venezuelan Migration
Limitations in aiding the migrant
population................................................58 Regional Findings...................................113
Non-governmental actors........................59 County overview....................................116
Strategic alliances....................................61 Brazil..........................................................116
Chile...........................................................118
Colombia....................................................119

63
Ecuador......................................................121
Perú...........................................................122
7. Attitudes and
Results (Data Tables)..............................124
Perception of Local Methodology..........................................126
Actors and Local About Exovera........................................127
Community on the
Migration Crisis in
Maicao
Perceptions of the local
institutional actors...................................63
Perceptions of the local community
leaders.....................................................64

75
8. Conclusions

78
9. Research
Methodology

Ethical considerations..............................78

104
10. References

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 VENEZUELANS IN COLOMBIA

FIGURES
Figure 1. Venezuelan migration flow in the region..................................................................................21
Figure 2. Map of the Colombian-Venezuelan peninsular region.............................................................26
Figure 3. Venezuelan migrants and refugees in Colombia (October 2018).............................................28
Figure 4. Gender and age of participants.................................................................................................32
Figure 5. Sexual identity of participants..................................................................................................32
Figure 6. Educational level of participants...............................................................................................33
Figure 7. Reasons for migrating reported by participants........................................................................34
Figure 8. Entry to Colombia from Venezuela...........................................................................................36
Figure 9. Length of stay of participants in Colombia..............................................................................38
Figure 10. Migration status of participants..............................................................................................39
Figure 11. Reasons for not having regularized the immigration status in Colombia...............................39
Figure 12. Reasons for unemployment reported by participants............................................................42
Figure 13. Employment of participants by sector....................................................................................43
Figure 14. Sources of income for maintenance.......................................................................................43
Figure 15. Discrimination and rights violations experienced by participants..........................................45
Figure 16. Main needs of participants.....................................................................................................46
Figure 17. Aid received from public or private organizations..................................................................47
Figure 18. Humanitarian activities according to intervention areas........................................................52

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 TABLES
Table 1. Migration status of ezuelans in Colombia (September 2018)...................................................22
Table 2. Chronology of the bilateral crisis and response from the Colombian government
(2014-2018)............................................................................................................................................24
Table 3. Organizations in La Guajira and number of activities (September 2018)..................................51
Table 4. Profile of governmental organizations developing programs and services for Venezuelan
migrants in Maicao..................................................................................................................................56
Table 5. Key partners of governmental organizations..............................................................................58
Table 6. Profile of non-governmental organizations developing programs and services for
Venezuelans migrants in Maicao.............................................................................................................59
Table 7. Percent (%) of Articles by Immigration Narrative by Country & Total......................................124
Table 8. Number (#) of Articles by Immigration Narrative by Country & Total .....................................125

ANNEXES
Annex 1. Residency permits granted to Venezuelan migrants by Latin American countries...................82
Annex 2. Incidence of poverty in Colombia departments.......................................................................83
Annex 3. Unemployment and underemployment rates in Colombia departments................................84
Annex 4. Presence of armed groups in the border area with Venezuela................................................85
Annex 5. Narratives of Venezuelan migrants...........................................................................................86
Annex 6. Humanitarian projects to attend the population affected by the Venezuelan crisis
in Maicao and other municipalities (2017 - 2019)..................................................................................98
Annex 7. National and international organizations of the Inter-agency Group on Mixed
Migration Flows.....................................................................................................................................100
Annex 8. Venezuela Regional Crisis Complex Emergency USAID...........................................................101
Annex 9. Venezuela Regional Crisis Fact Sheet #6 -09-30-2018.............................................................102

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 VENEZUELANS IN COLOMBIA

INTRODUCTION
The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela faces a complex economic and political situation
that has engendered a humanitarian crisis, leading over 3 million people to emigrate
from the country in a short period of time. According to the International Organization
for Migration, the number of Venezuelan migrants rose from over 697,000 in 2015 to the
current estimate of 3 million (IOM, 2018). Around 366,000 have applied for refugee status
in host countries (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees [UNHCR], 2018a).
Globally, this crisis has been compared to the refugee crisis in Syria, where civil war has
displaced over 6.3 million people (UNHCR, 2018b). Although the underlying reasons
for migration differ between the two countries, the Venezuelan case is a salient one,
accounting for the second largest number of citizens who have been forced to migrate.

Colombia, sharing 2,219 kilometers of border territory with Venezuela, has become the
main destination for Venezuelan migrants. According to official estimates, there were
1,032,016 Venezuelans living in Colombian territory by September 2018. To this figure must
be added the 250,000 Colombians who have returned from Venezuela. For any state, such
mass migration would pose huge social, economic and political challenges that could not
be adequately addressed without the support of the international community. Thus, both
the Colombian government and various international organizations have implemented
short-, medium- and long-term strategies aimed at mitigating the humanitarian crisis.

This report presents the main results of a study which sought to understand the implications
of the Venezuelan migration crisis in Maicao (La Guajira), a Colombian municipality
highly affected by the migrant flow, due to its geographical and sociocultural proximity
to Venezuela. To this end, this report addresses the response of governmental and non-
governmental humanitarian actors involved in the management of the migration crisis,
identifying migrant needs, attitudes and experiences with humanitarian aid programs,
and finally, assessing Colombian perceptions and attitudes with respect to Venezuelan
migrants. The research applied a mixed methodology including a literature review,
fieldwork, comprising 29 interviews with key sources and 174 migrant surveys, as well
as three focus group discussions and five personal narratives from Venezuelan migrants.
Data collection, systematization, and analysis was conducted between September and
December 2018.

The main purpose of this report is to inform local, national, and international agents
of the current and future consequences of the refugee crisis, thereby assisting in the
implementation of effective programs and policies to address the needs of both migrants
and host communities.

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 Migrants are setting up ad-hoc street shops to sell a variety
Venezuelan products throughout the downtown area of Maicao.

Maicao, La Guajira, Colombia, October 2018.

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 VENEZUELANS IN COLOMBIA

1
COLOMBIA:
MIGRATION PROFILE

Colombia is an emerging economy with an estimated population of 45.5 million and was
the third Latin American country (after Mexico and Chile) to join the Organization for
Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Nonetheless, Colombia continues to
face major challenges including poverty and social inequality, tackling drug trafficking by
criminal groups, and consolidating the 2016 peace process with the ex-guerrilla FARC
and the still active ELN guerrilla group.

Notably, Colombia is not a country accustomed to immigration. Historically, it has not

been characterized as having an open or receptive immigration policy, and its net
migration has often been negative. This is in contrast to other countries in the region
such as Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay and Perú, which, after independence,
received large numbers of immigrants from Europe and other continents. For much of
the 19th and 20th centuries, the conservative ruling class claimed that migration
control was required in order to prevent the ‘racial degeneration’ of the Colombian
population (Aya, Carvajal & Téllez, 2010; Gómez, 2009; Tovar, 2001). Thus, the policies
in place were motivated primarily by eugenic and economic concerns and favored the
attraction of white North Americans and Europeans with the aim of ‘improving the
physical and moral ethnic conditions’ of the country (Mejía, 2011, 2012).

Official statistics suggest that, as of 2005, there were 107,617 foreigners residing in
Colombia (0.26% of the country’s population of 42 million), and between 2 - 2.3 million
Colombians – around 5% of the country’s population –, were living and working abroad
(DANE, 2005; Mejía, 2012; World Bank, 2011). Although the reasons for leaving
the Colombia cited by emigrant households are fundamentally of an economic nature
(Mejía, 2012), it is clear that there is a tenuous line between forced and voluntary
migration in Colombia, due to the enormous social, economic and political impact
that the internal conflict has had at the micro, meso, and macro levels.

Venezuela has invariably been an important part of Colombia’s migration, accounting

for 64% of the population of foreigners residing in the country in 2005 (a total of
68,874 individuals), as well as being the third largest host of Colombian emigrants
(617,364, or 18.5% of the total) after the United States and Spain1 (Mejía, 2012). During
this period, the large migration of Colombians into Venezuela can be explained by three
factors. The first was proximity, both geographical – due to their long-shared land
border –, and cultural – due to their common origin as Spanish territories, shared
language, and the prevalence of Catholicism. A second factor was the labor and
economic opportunities created by the oil bonanza in Venezuela, which attracted a large

1. Similar figures were released by the 2011 census conducted by the National Statistics Institute of Venezuela (2014),
which registered 721,791 Colombian residents in the country (70% of all foreigners in Venezuela).

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 number of Colombians from all socioeconomic strata, especially in the 1970s and 1980s
(Álvarez de Flores, 2004)2. Finally, the third factor was the Colombian armed conflict
involving the state, guerrilla and paramilitaries, which engendered a large-scale forced
displacement of Colombians both internally and externally (Álvarez de Flores, 2009) . In
short, the close links between the two countries go beyond their geographical proximity
and a shared economic and sociocultural past as part of Bolivar’s Gran Colombia unity
project in the XIX century.

In this context, the development of Colombia’s migration policy has historically

been rather meager; although, in recent years efforts have been made towards the
attention and protection of the diaspora and their incorporation into the national
polity (Zapata, 2011). Among these efforts, it is worth mentioning Law 1465 from 2011,
which regulates the National Migration System, Law 1565 from 2012, which
promotes the return of Colombians residing abroad, and Decree 1067 from 2015,
which regulates the entry of foreign nationals into the Colombian territory. In
addition, attempts at articulating a comprehensive migration policy were made in
2009 with the passing of the Integral Migration Policy (PIM) (CONPES document 3603),
which sought to articulate the different government strategies to foster the
development of the Colombian population residing abroad and the foreign population
residing in the country (Consejo Nacional de Política Económica y Social [CONPES],
2009). However, a combination of lack of funds and political will has resulted in a lack
of implementation of these laws, and therefore the current migration policy
continues to be characterized by fragmentation, legal ambiguity and a lack of
articulation with other relevant national policies (Castro and Milkes, 2018).

In this context, the recent arrival of large flows of migrants and refugees from
Venezuelan caught the government by surprise, as they were without a comprehensive
migration policy in place to deal with this unprecedented phenomenon. In this sense,
the government’s response has been reactive and, as will be illustrated in the following
section, structured around a patchwork of emergency measures and decrees.

2. According to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (2017), Colombia hosts the second largest number of victims
of internal displacements caused by conflict and violence, a total of 6,509,000 against 6,784,000 from Syria.

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 VENEZUELANS IN COLOMBIA

Venezuelan Wayúu indigenous woman crossing into Colombia in

the presence of Migration Colombia officials.

Paraguachón, Maicao, La Guajira, Colombia, October 2018.

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 2 BILATERAL CRISIS, MASS MIGRATION,
AND RESPONSE BY THE COLOMBIAN STATE

Although Bogotá and Caracas have historically maintained friendly bilateral relations,
tensions between the two countries arouse in the early 2000s during the presidencies
of Hugo Chávez and Álvaro Uribe. Evidence (The New York Times, August 2nd 2009) that
Venezuela was providing aid and support to Colombian rebel groups, such as FARC and
the ELN, were couched in denial by the Venezuelan government, which countered with
accusations that the Colombian government was collaborating with the United States
in seeking to destabilize and ultimately overthrow the Chávez regime (Revista Semana,
November 7th 2008).

In 2014, the Colombian government strengthened its presence at the Venezuelan border
by increasing immigration control posts from three to seven. The posts are located in
five of the seven departments along the border: La Guajira, Norte de Santander, Arauca,
Vichada, and Guainía. This increased institutional presence was a result of two main
factors. First, since 2011 the Colombian government has implemented various measures
in its migration policy, including the creation of “Migration Colombia,” the country’s unit
under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is responsible for migration
management (Ciurlo, 2015). The second factor was the deteriorating diplomatic
relations between the two nations, especially during 2014 and 2015 when Venezuela
blamed Colombia for their economic crisis. Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela’s sitting
president since 2013, accused the Colombian government of allowing Venezuelan
goods to be smuggled into Colombia. These goods could then be sold at higher prices
due to currency exchange rates, resulting in a shortage of goods in Venezuela. Maduro
also condemned the Colombian government for neglecting the presence of paramilitary
groups and drug traffickers settled along the border, which he alleged led to a rise in
crime and insecurity (see Annex 4). Furthermore, Maduro frequently stated that
Colombia was part of an international ultra-right conspiracy to destabilize the
Venezuelan socialist government (Pacheco Ríos, 2016; Sánchez Urribarí, 2016; Smilde &
Pantoulas, 2016).

In this context, the Maduro government ordered the night closure of border
crossings with Colombia in August 2014. A year later, on August 19th, Maduro ordered
the unilateral closure of the border for three days after an alleged assault of Colombian
paramilitaries against members of the Venezuelan armed forces. These measures were
followed by the full closure of the border and the subsequent expulsion and
deportation of Colombian residents in Venezuela at the end of August 2015 (Migration
Colombia, 2017). According to official figures, 1,950 Colombians had been deported or
expelled as of October 2015, while another 22,342 voluntarily returned to Colombia
(Migration Colombia, 2017; United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs [OCHA], 2015).

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 VENEZUELANS IN COLOMBIA

In August 2016, the Venezuelan government reopened the border after Colombia
agreed to take measures to better secure the migratory flow between the two countries.
Colombia proposed the creation of a travel document, originally called the Migration
Card for Border Transit (MCBT) and later called the Border Mobility Card (BMC), which is
to be presented at immigration posts. This document allowed Venezuelans living near
the border to enter Colombia for a short period of time with limitations on travel
beyond border regions. The MCBT or BMC was valid from August 13th, 2016 until
February 8th, 2018 when the government decided to suspend its issuance due to
“problems with counterfeit documents […] and the need to create safer and
longer-term migration mechanisms” (CONPES, 2018). During that time 1,624,915
cards were issued. On the November 27, 2018, the government reintroduced the BMC.
According to the Director of Migration Colombia, this was meant to “prevent
Venezuelan citizens from making their way into Colombia through unregulated trails,
risking their lives and exposing themselves to abuse and hazards” (Migration Colombia,
2018b).

The reopening of the border in August 2016 had a strong impact on both countries. The
first weekend approximately 127,000 Venezuelan residents migrated into the
country (Migration Colombia, 2016). The Colombian media widely covered the mass
inflow of people crossing the border and later returning to Venezuela with food,
medicine, toiletries, and other essentials. A survey by the Colombian government and
IOM showed that 52% of those who crossed the border did so to purchase basic items,
17% to visit family, and 14% to work (Ministry of Foreign Relations and IOM, 2016).

The further deterioration of the political, social, and economic conditions in Venezuela
deepened the humanitarian crisis and increased the number of people seeking
to emigrate permanently.3 Multiple sources pointed to Colombia as their main
destination (World Bank, 2018; European Parliament, 2018; IOM, 2018). In 2017, IOM
(2018) reported 1,642,442 Venezuelans residing abroad, 600,000 of whom were in
Colombia. The United States hosted the second largest number of migrants, with a total
of 290,224. By October 2018, the number of migrants globally rose to over three million,
with 1,032,016 of these residing in Colombia (Inter-Agency Group on Mixed
Migration Flows [GIFMM], 2018; Migration Colombia, 2018a). In addition to this, over
250,000 Colombians had returned to their home country from Venezuela (World Bank,
2018; UNHCR, 2018c). Further, official sources estimated that over 700,000
Venezuelan citizens have crossed the Colombian border into neighboring countries in
the region (CONPES, 2018).

Given the scale of the migration flow, the government of Colombia, like other
governments of the region, created a myriad of legal non-asylum4 mechanisms to grant
either temporary or permanent residence permits, employment, and humanitarian visas
to Venezuelan migrants (see Annex 1). In July 2017, the Colombian government created
the Permiso Especial de Permanencia (PEP), or Special Stay Permit (SSP), which
allows Venezuelans to remain in the country for up to two years, enroll in legal
activities (e.g. to study or work), and to access the same institutional services

3. According to a statement of the European Parliament (2018), it is estimated that 87% of the Venezuelan population
lives in poverty, and 61.2% in extreme poverty.

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 Figure 1.
Venezuelan migration flow in the region

LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN REGIONAL INTERAGENCY

COORDINATION PLATFORM
Stocks of Venezuelan population in the region FOR REGUGEES AND MIGRANTS FROM VENEZUELA
As 31 October 2018

2.4M 3.0M
Approx. Venezuelan Total approx.
39.5K refugees and migrants in Venezuelan refugees and
Mexico
Mexico (2018)
Havana
\ Latin America and migrants in the world
Cuba
Dominican
the Caribbean
Mexico city
\ Republic Puerto 28.5K
Rico
Jamaica Haiti Santo\ Dominican Republic
Belice Domingo
Guatemala
Honduras
16K
\ \ Aruba
\
El Salvador Nicaragua Atlantic Ocean
25K \
ç Caracas
26K
Costa Rica
San Jose P \ ç Curacao
Costa \
Rica \ P
94K Panamá ç
ç Venezuela
ç
Georgetown 40K
ç \
Panama Medellin P
ç Guyana \
Paramaribo
Trinidad and Tobago
Bogota
\ Suriname \ Cayenne
1.0M ç
French
Colombia Colombia
ç
Guyana 36.4K
ç Guyana
Quito \ ç

221K Ecuador 85K

Ecuador Brazil
ç
ç ç

506K
Peru Peru
Brazil
ç ç
\ Lima

5K \ Brasilia
La Paz \ Bolivia
Bolivia
ç
ç
Pacific Ocean

Paraguay

108K Asuncion \
ç 0.5K
Chile Paraguay
ç

Uruguay
Santiago\
ç P
Mendoza ç 8.5K
\
Buenos Aires \ Montevideo Uruguay
Legend Chile
Argentina
!^ Capital City
P Point of interest 130K
Land border point
ç
Fluvial border point
Argentina
ç
Main land flow
Secondary land flow
Fluvial flow
Air flow
Suspended air flow
Sources: Migration points - governments of
Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and
Trinidad and Tobago. The migration flows data
come from public information, official websites
and secondary sources.

The boundaries and names shown and the designations used in this map do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the United Nations.
Creation date: 31 October 2018 Created by: OCHA-ROLAC

Source: IOM and UNHCR, October 2018

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 VENEZUELANS IN COLOMBIA

(education and health) available to Colombian nationals5 (see Table 2). To obtain a SSP
(or PEP), the individual had to 1) be in Colombian territory as of July 28, 2017; 2) have
entered the country with a passport via an official checkpoint; 3) have no criminal
record, and; 4) have no expulsion or deportation order pending. The SSP was issued,
free of charge, through the Internet, until October 31, 2017 (Resolution 5797, 2017).

The SSP (or PEP) has been deployed three times: July 2017 (regularizing 68,875
migrants); February 2018 (111,708 migrants); and August 2018 (442,462 until December
2018). As of September 2018, the total population of Venezuelan migrants in Colombia,
both regular and irregular, was as follows:

Table 1.
Migration status of Venezuelans in Colombia
(September 2018)

Status Total

Regular 573.502
In the process of regularization 240.416
Irregular: exceed the time of stay granted 137.718
Irregular: entry by unauthorized place 80.380
Total 1.032.016

In addition to these important legal instruments, the Colombian government has

taken other measures to address the large flow of migrants, including the provision of
humanitarian aid and enforced security and control along the border area. It has also
created a special high-level Border Management unit to coordinate action on the migration
crisis on a national and international level and the Grupo Especial Migratorio (GEM) or
Migration Special Group (Gobierno de Colombia, 2018). As a result of these efforts, the
European Parliament noted in a 2018 joint motion resolution that “[Colombian] national
and local authorities are working in a commendable way to grant the enjoyment of basic
human rights, such as primary education and basic health services, to those fleeing
Venezuela, regardless of their status” (p. 6).

4. Another option for Venezuelans fleeing their country would be applying for asylum/refugee protection. In Colombia,
however, the vast majority of Venezuelans are not recognized as such because, according to the government, they do not
meet the criteria established by the 1951 Refugee Convention, i.e. demonstrating threats to life, liberty and security. Rather,
‘they are considered economic migrants, as their main motivation is to seek better economic conditions for them and their
families’ (World Bank, 2018, p. 52). According to UNHCR (2018a), by June 2018, an around 2,057 Venezuelans had applied
for asylum in Colombia but only 281 had been recognized as such. However, UNHCR has systematically defended that Ven-
ezuelan migrants be recognized as people in need / seeking international protection.
5. Argentina and Uruguay have granted legal residence to Venezuelans based on the Mercosur Residency Agreement, while
Ecuador has granted temporary residence through the UNASUR visa scheme. Similarly, Perú began issuing Temporary Stay
Permits (PTP) to Venezuelans in January 2017 and Brazil did so in March 2017. For its part, Chile created the Visa of Dem-
ocratic Responsibility for Venezuelan citizens while Mexico has opted for using established immigration channels to offer
Venezuelans temporary legal relief (Freier & Parent, 2018).

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 Subsequently, in March 2018, the government announced the Creation of the
Registro Administrativo de Migrantes Venezolanos (RAMV) or Administrative Registry
of Venezuelan Migrants, with the aim of assessing the migration landscape in order
to subsidize the development of public policy. The RAMV sought to account for all
Venezuelans living in the country in possession of a passport, visa, BMC, SSP (or PEP)
or without any documentation. The Decree, created by the RAMV, explicitly states
that registering does not grant “any type of immigration status, does not constitute
authorization for permanence or regularization, does not replace existing travel
documents, does not generate civil or political rights, or access to social plans or
programs or other guarantees.” Nonetheless, a month after the registration period
ended, the government issued a decree granting access to health and education services
and employment rights to people registered in the RAMV (Decreto 1288, 20186); and
subsequently, the right to apply for a SSP (or PEP) (Resolución 6370, 2018).

Since August 7th, 2018, Colombia has been under the leadership of a new administration.
The new president, Iván Duque, has signaled his commitment to maintaining the approach
to migration adopted by the previous government. At the time of publishing this report,
he has not replaced the heads of Migration Colombia nor the Border Management Unit.
Additionally, the new government recently published (in November 2018) a migration
policy directed towards Venezuela immigration. This new plan seeks “to establish and
implement actions for access to health care, education, early childhood, childhood and
adolescence, work, housing and security; articulate the existing institutional framework
and define new instances for the attention of the migrant population from Venezuela
in a horizon of three years’ (CONPES, 2018).” Nonetheless, the Colombian
government has insisted on the need for support from the international community
given the scale of the crisis in the region. Foreign Minister Carlos Holmes recently stated
that “we are making all possible efforts, and we are going to do more, but the scale of
the crisis is overwhelming. It drains us from a financial and institutional point of
view” (November 2, 2018).

Given the fluid nature of the socio-political and economic situation in Venezuela
and, consequently, of the migration flows towards Colombia, the state has continued
to develop and adapt its programmatic response mechanisms, as well as its efforts
to facilitate the socioeconomic integration of Venezuelans into the country.
Finally, although Colombia has been internationally recognized for its solidarity and
diligent response to the Venezuelan exodus, it is clear that its migration policies
have been a patchwork of emergency measures and decrees, and that a broader
articulation and long-term planning are lacking. These gaps in policy may
threaten the effective integration of migrants into Colombian society and
prevent the safe and adequate conditions adopted in the UN Global Compact for
Migration.

Table 2 below presents a chronology of the bilateral crisis between Venezuela

and Colombia and the administrative and legal measures taken to deal with
recent migrant inflows.

6. This Decree also includes measures to promote the return of Colombians residing in Venezuela.

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 VENEZUELANS IN COLOMBIA

Table 2.
Chronology of the bilateral crisis and response from the Colombian government
(2014-2018).

Colombian-Venezuelan
Closure of the border (Táchira)
Colombian-Venezuelan
border at night The government of Venezuela orders
the closure of the border for three
The government of Venezuela orders
the unilateral closure of its border with Colombian paramilitaries against
Colombia at night as a measure to members of the Venezuelan armed
control contraband. forces.
Extension of the closure of
the Colombian-Venezuelan

August 11, expulsion of Colombians

August 19,
On August 21, the Venezuelan
2014 2015 government decrees the state of
emergency in the border area of
Táchira’s state and decides to close this

August closure extends to other border states.

Permit (SSP or PEP) for 21-28,
During this month the Venezuelan
government begin a process of
Venezuelans
2015 Colombians.
The Colombian government creates the PEP to deal with
regularize Venezuelans whose permission to stay in
Colombia had expired. The PEP allows regular stay for a
period of 90 days, renewable for equal periods for up to 2
years. It allows the holder to work, study and have access

Extension of deadline for August 13, Transit (MCBT)

obtaining the Special Stay 2016 The Colombian government creates the
Permit (SSP or PEP) July 25, August 13, MCBT as a mechanism to register the entry
The Colombian government grants 2016 and exit of Venezuelans to the territory. The
new PEPs by extending the deadline to 2017 card is designed to facilitate pendular
apply for this document. This new
measure allows those who were in and stay for a period of up seven (7)
Colombian territory by February 2 to Reopening of the
obtain a PEP and expands the February April 2017, when a more secure card, called
Colombian-Venezuelan the Border Mobility Card (BMC), was
(Resolución 740, 2018). 5, 2018 border implemented.
The Venezuelan government reopens
its border with Colombia

are granted to people

registered in the RAMV
February The government of Colombia grants
access to access to health and
8, 2018
Management Unit and the rights to people registered in the
March 21, July 25, RAMV (Decreto 1288, 2018).

The Colombian government establishes new measures to

2018 2018
Management Unit and the MSG, which includes The issuance of the PEP is
now allowed for people
Creation f the Administrativ August registered in the RAMV
Regustry of Venezuelan Migrants 1, 2018 The Colombian government grants
The issuance of the PEPs to people registered in the RAMV
(RAMV) (Resolución 6370, 2018).
Border Mobility Card The Colombian goverment implements the RAWV with the
(BMC) is suspended aim of “expanding the information on the migratory phenomenon”.
The RAWV was carried out between April 6 and June 8, 2018
government suspends the issuance of (Decreto 542,2018)
new BMC, but allows people who

November policy document for the

23, 2018
November 27, The Colombia government publishes a
2018 public policy to implement a "strategy

Reinstatement of the BMC

The Colombian government reinstates
the BMC as a measure to control

Venezuela.

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 Guajiro market / informal trade center.

Maicao, La Guajira, October 2018.

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 VENEZUELANS IN COLOMBIA

MIGRATION OF VENEZUELANS IN A BORDER

3 MUNICIPALITY:
MAICAO AS A CASE STUDY

Maicao is a municipality in the department of La Guajira7 located in northeast Colombia (see

Figure 2). With an estimated population of 164,424 people, it is the third most populated
municipality in this department. Maicao is a multicultural town, and is host to a significant
indigenous population (mainly from the Wayúu ethnic group) (DANE, n.d.)8 as well as Afro-
Colombians and descendants of Middle Eastern immigrants (Culture Ministry, n.d.).

Figure 2
Map of the Colombian-Venezuelan peninsular region

Maicao, La Guajira

Source: Colombia Information Management and Analysis Unit (UMAIC). November 2018.

7. Colombia is a unitary republic made up of thirty-two departments.

8. La Guajira holds the third largest indigenous population among departments. This corresponds to 44.95%, or over
625,000 Wayúu (DANE, n.d.).

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 Maicao’s proximity to the Caribbean Sea and the border of Venezuela makes the
area a hub for high commercial flow. Commerce is the main economic activity of the
municipality; however, much of this trade is illegal or informal and therefore does little to
increase governmental revenue. In addition, local governments have been historically
characterized by corruption and clientelism. This context, coupled with the fact that it is
one of the border regions where the Colombian state has had little historical presence,
has contributed to the socioeconomic problems of Maicao and its region. DANE
statistics showed that among the departments, La Guajira exhibited the second
highest monetary poverty rate in 2017 (52.6% against the national average of 26.9%)
and extreme monetary poverty (26.5%, compared to the national average of 7.4%) (see
Annexes 2 and 3). As for the labor market, although DANE (2018) reported that La
Guajira had one of the lowest unemployment rates (6.5% versus the national average
of 9.4%), underemployment and inadequate employment status rates were the highest
in the country (see Annex 3). CONPES (2014) pointed out that in border departments
“informality rates reached 80%, twenty percent above the national average” (p. 20), and
a rate of unsatisfied basic needs of 47.75% was well above the national average of
27.78%.

Such factors have allowed criminal groups to flourish in the region and to take advantage
of La Guajira’s geostrategically located land and sea routes to develop illegal economies
related to drug trafficking, smuggling, weapon trafficking, and human trafficking.
According to the Ideas for Peace Foundation (Fundación Ideas para la Paz [FIP], 2018), the
National Liberation Army (ELN) and the Gaitanist Self-Defence Forces of Colombia are
based in the region where the Los Pachenca faction also operates (see Annex 4).

In the context of the current migration process, after the capital city Bogotá, La Guajira has
become the department with the highest Venezuelan migrant population (120,745
persons, equivalent to 11.7% of the population – see Figure 3). However, Migration
Colombia (2018a) reported that only 25,900 migrants held an SSP (or PEP). As for Maicao,
it hosts 31,201 Venezuelans (as of reported in 2018), the fifth largest number among
Colombian municipalities (CONPES, 2018)9. The high number of migrants in La Guajira
resulted from the extensive land border shared with the state of Zulia in Venezuela (249
km), where the immigration post of Paraguachón (Maicao) is located, and where there
are an estimated 130 informal trails (called trochas) that allow irregular transit (World
Bank, 2018)9.

The accelerated mass migration of Venezuelans into La Guajira has presented

challenges for the local authorities to meet an increasing demand for social services. A
report by the General Director of Migration Colombia showed that cases of emergency
health care in La Guajira rose from 257 in 2015 to 5,841 in 2017. The report also showed
the burden faced by the education system. In 2015, the department’s schools hosted only
4 migrant children, while in 2018 the number rose to 1,367 children (Migration Colombia,
2018c). These figures have alarmed authorities as well as the public, who argued that
the region is on the verge of collapsing, urging the national government to provide
more help to address the crisis. Some local leaders, including the Mayor of Maicao, have
called on the national government to declare a “state of social and economic emergency”

9. The other four municipalities are, in order of number of migrants, Bogotá, D.C. Cúcuta, Barranquilla and Medellín
(CONPES, 2018).

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 VENEZUELANS IN COLOMBIA

in order to expedite the transfer of resources to the region and to tackle the migration
crisis10.

Considering the difficult socioeconomic conditions facing the region, a World Bank report on
Venezuelan migration to Colombia classified Maicao as a “laggard border zone” (World Bank,
2018)11, presenting significant public policy challenges due to multidimensional poverty and
limited economic opportunities in the municipality and in neighboring areas. According to
the report, such zones “exhibit broad gaps in terms of economic opportunities and access
to services and basic needs by the population. These are the most lagging regions of the
country and the arrival of new migrants, especially those in conditions of poverty, makes
the elimination of development deficits even more difficult” (p. 63). Thus, the region is
one of high priority for policy interventions.

Figure 3.
Venezuelan migrants and refugees in Colombia
(October 2018)

Source: Inter-Agency Group on Mixed Migration Flows

(Grupo Interagencial de Flujos Migratorios Mixtos [GIFMM], 2018).

10. “State of emergency” is a mechanism of the Political Constitution of Colombia (1991), which enables the central
government to take immediate action to address public calamities or events seriously threaten the social, economic
and ecological order.
11. The two other categories used by the World Bank to classify the areas receiving Venezuelan migrants are: i) “border
zones of mixed development and densely populated”, such as Cúcuta, considered a non-lagging municipality, but sur-
rounded by municipalities exhibiting gaps in territorial development; and ii) “metropolitan areas of high incidence”, such
as Barranquilla and Bogotá, characterized by advanced territorial development, implying low priority regarding interven-
tions (World Bank, 2018, p. 63).

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 Venezuelan migrant sells sweets and snacks in downtown Maicao.

Maicao, La Guajira, October 2018.

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 VENEZUELANS IN COLOMBIA

4 PROFILE OF VENEZUELAN MIGRANTS IN MAICAO:

EXPERIENCES, NEEDS, AND EXPECTATIONS

This section presents an overview of Venezuelan migrants and refugees in Maicao,

based on surveys of 174 migrants12, three focus groups and five personal narratives. It
is the result of two weeks of field research the month of October 2018. Sayara sought
to have a heterogeneous sample considering gender, sexual orientation, age, schooling,
socioeconomic status, time and type of migration, among other aspects, as part of the
surveys, focus groups and personal narratives. Snowball sampling was used to conduct the
surveys. The research team defined three places for the development of the ethnographic
plan: 1) the Migrant and Refugee Care Center, 2) Paraguachón migratory control post, and
3) public spaces (Simón Bolivar Park, Public Market, and a transportation terminal).

This overview outlines the demographic characteristics of the migrants who participated
in the research, including:

• Sex, sexual orientation, ethnicity, family structure, and educational level

• Access to basic services (housing, health and education), economic and
employment statuses (occupation and income)
• Migration experience (motivations, migratory status, access to humanitarian
aid, residence expectations) and their relationships with Venezuela, their
country of origin (family, remittances, intention to return)

This profile also includes five narratives (see Annex 5) from Venezuelan migrants and
refugees regarding their experiences in Colombian territory.

Sex, age and sexual orientation

Of the total number of respondents, 100 (57%) were women and 74 (43%) were men. 67
(39%) of the respondents were youth (between 18 and 28 years of age), 101 (58%) were
adults (between 29 and 59 years of age), and the remaining six (3%) were elderly (60
years or older)13. The total age range of those surveyed was between 18 to 73 years.

Regarding sexual identity, 154 (89%) of respondents said they were heterosexual, and
the remaining 20 (11%) identified with one of the following identities represented in the
below figure:

12. Out of the total 180 field surveys conducted, six of them were eliminated from the final data set as they did not
comply with the inclusion criteria defined in the methodology. Focus group information has been imbued throughout the
report to inform the analysis.
13. Age cohorts were determined by Colombian law.

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 Figure 4.
Gender and age of participants

39%

Ages ranged from 18 to 73 years in the sample

Youth

18 and 28 years old

58%
29 and 59 years old
Adults

57% 43% 3%
60 years or older
Elderly people

Figure 5.
Sexual identity of participants

89% Heterosexual

7%
Homosexual

2% Bisexual

Transgender
2%

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 VENEZUELANS IN COLOMBIA

Nationality and ethnicity

Of respondents, 168 (97%) had Venezuelan nationality, and six respondents (3%) had dual
Venezuelan-Colombian nationality. In terms of ethnicity, most migrants (136, 78%) did not
identify with one particular group. Among the remaining respondents, 15 (9%) self-
declared as Afro-Descendants and 23 (13%) reported being from an indigenous ethnic
group.

Among the remaining respondents, 15 (9%) self-declared as Afro-Descendants

and 23 (13%) reported being from an indigenous ethnic group. Although the question
was not included in the survey, it is likely that the vast majority of self-declared
indigenous are from the Wayúu ethnic group, which has historically settled in the
territory of the peninsula shared by Colombia and Venezuela (see Figure 2). The
Wayúu are entitled to dual nationality and can freely move between the two countries
(Holstein, 2010).

Marital status and household structure in Colombia

Seventy-six (44%) of the respondents were in a permanent relationship, either married

(7, 4%) were or in another kind of marital union (69, 40%). Seventy-five (43%) said they
were single, 20 (11%) divorced, and two (1%) widowed. Only one person chose not to
answer this question.

Among those in a permanent relationship, twenty-five (33%) said their partner was
not residing in Colombia, reflecting a fracture in family structure. However, the
proximity between the two countries favors the prospect of a future family
reunification.

On the other hand, with respect to established households (defined by people who
co-reside and often share food), 76 (44%) of respondents said they were
residing with individuals under the age of 18 years old (classified as minors by the
Colombian legislation). The number of minors residing with those who were surveyed
totaled 176. In that regard, 24 (32%) of the 76 respondents with dependent minors said
they did not reside with a partner or other relative or non-relative in Colombia. The
lack of support from other family members or friends suggested a high number of
vulnerable and precarious households. It is important to note that most of the
respondents in this position were women (21 women versus only three men).

Finally, it is also important to add that nine women said they were pregnant, carrying
the added risk of giving birth to potentially stateless babies, which is due to Colombian
law, that only grants nationality to children born to foreign parents as long as one parent
legally resides in the country, which can only be proved by a permanent or residence
visa. None of the nine pregnant women were legally in Colombia at the time of the
survey.
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 Educational level of migrants

The educational background of the Venezuelan migrants included in this research report
is classified into four levels: primary, secondary, technical and university14(see Figure 6).
The last two are classified as higher education. The category “no study” was ascribed to
others. The distribution is represented as follows:

Among participants at the university level (20 or 12%), only seven reported 10 semesters
of study or more. Since this is the usual duration of university programs, it is more likely
that only these seven individuals obtained a professional degree, and that
migration had led to the discontinuation of their studies. In sum, the data shows that
the surveyed migrants on average had lower levels of education.

Fifty-two (30%) respondents reported having children or adolescents between five and
17 years of age, most of which (38) said that they were not attending school. The main
reasons for these children not attending school were: 1) not being offered a place at
school, 2) irregular status of the child/adolescent and 3) not being able to afford to study.

Figure 6.
Educational level of participants

Migration to Colombia

Although reasons for migrating differed, the vast majority of participants agreed on one
point: the difficulty of accessing basic services (food, health, and education) in
Venezuela. A large fraction also agreed on unemployment as a key reason for leaving
Venezuela. The figure below displays the participants’ given explanations for migrating.

Survey results concurred with testimonies given by the migrants. In particular, the
stories told by participants conveyed a narrative that despite the adversities of
staying in Colombia, their stay there was necessary in order to acquire the basic
necessities for life.

14. To be placed in a category, individuals must have completed at least one, and not necessarily all grades at that level.

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 VENEZUELANS IN COLOMBIA

Figure 7.
Reasons for migrating reported by participants

*Some migrants and refugees mentioned more than one reason to migrate out of Venezuela.

One Venezuelan woman said that in Colombia, “at least we eat.” Another
woman, highlighting the dire situation in Venezuela, said “at least here, [in Colombia]
we survive.”

“We fled our country because we have to survive. If we stayed there

in Venezuela, our children and my grandchildren would die. That is why
we are here, in Colombia, migrating.”
– Juliana, Venezuelan woman

“Because of my family. Because there, we find work, but money isn’t

enough. There the minimum wage is not enough, not even for a kilo of
rice nor for flour. I have my mom, my dad, three brothers—a family that I
have to support and send money to. Thank God, I am here in Maicao. It’s
going, and it has gone well for me, and I can send money to my mother.”
– Roberto, Venezuelan man

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 “We are here in Colombia, with pain in my heart for leaving my country,
abandoned, but I didn’t leave it because I wanted to, but because of
the situation there. How is it possible that there are children who have
stopped studying in Venezuela because they don’t even have the money
to buy a pair of shoes? Today, for example, my daughter calls me saying:
“Mommy, my daughter is going to start classes, but a pair of shoes costs
me much more than two minimum wages. “My God, what can I do?
Today I’m already gathering what I can, little by little, to buy shoes for my
granddaughter. So, she can go to class.”

– Marina, Venezuelan woman

“I prefer to stay here in Maicao, here in Colombia, because at least here,

we survive. With 50015 Colombian Pesos (COP) you can drink, or you can
eat something. Back in Venezuela, how can a flour cost you more than the
minimum wage?! Where are we going to get that money to eat? If we
buy rice with what are we going to eat it with? With water? It is not fair!”
– Monica, Venezuelan woman

“There we don’t have necessities. Once, I remember I spent a whole day

without eating in Venezuela. A whole day without eating! What could I
do? At least here we eat.”
– Natalia, Venezuelan woman

“It costs me a lot. My two oldest children have autism and I didn’t want
to leave them alone. I have four children. They need treatment, but I can’t
afford it. That is why I decided to come. I remember how painful it was. It
hurt a lot when my 10-year-old son, told me that I didn’t love him because
the classes at school started and he didn’t get to go to class. He said that
I didn’t love him because I didn’t buy him a school uniform and all those
things. That was the end of the line. I felt that I had to do something
and that is why I decided to come here. To find healthcare, education,
and food. Looking for the possibility that when returning I can solve this
situation - health, school, and of course, feeding my children.”

– Ruth, Venezuelan woman

15. Equivalent to $0.16 USD

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 VENEZUELANS IN COLOMBIA

In seeking a way to provide for their families and to survive, most respondents entered
Colombia irregularly, as shown in the below figure.

Figure 8.
Entry to Colombia from Venezuela

These results were consistent with previous studies confirming there is widespread
use of irregular roads (called trochas) between the two countries (OCHA 2015; World
Bank, 2018). This irregular migration has been mostly attributed to the difficulty
Venezuelans have in obtaining passports (a requirement for access into Colombia), due
to their costs or long waiting times. Regarding this issue, two participants explained in
the reasons why they entered irregularly:

“I don’t have a passport and to be able to travel to another country they

demand it from me. Here they didn’t ask for it... or yes they demand it, but
I came by the trochas.”
– Edilma, Venezuelan woman

“You have to pay a lot to get your passport. So, if we tried to get a take out
our passport, we wouldn’t be able to could not eat. At least I get one
meal now, at home, ate at noon but not at night.”
– Lorna, Venezuelan woman

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 Access to Colombia through trochas has been exceedingly risky due to the presence of
criminal groups in those areas (World Bank, 2018; FIP, 2018; OCHA, 2015). Those groups
illegally collect money from migrants in exchange for access across the border.
Among the participants who traveled on such roads, one hundred and thirty-four (68%)
said they had to pay someone to cross the border. The following testimonies describe
the experience of one migrant’s encounter with a criminal group:

“When we came, we passed through the trocha. We had to pay and we

paid the guards for the things we brought. We also had to pay at irregular
checkpoints (mecates). That was the most surprising thing. All along the
road, there were about 25 or 30 mecates where armed men charged money
to in order to allow vehicles to go through. In order to pass the wagon,
they charge a fee to the wagon’s owner. If he does not pay, they send
everyone down. They threaten, they inspect, and they steal. Everybody
must pay something. If they were interested in someone, they’d kidnap
him or her. If it was a woman, they’d violate her. We’ve heard from many
that they’ve killed people for not paying what they demanded”.

“They speak in Wayuu. In this part of Maicao and Venezuela, people

speak Guajiro16. I cannot say if they were Venezuelan or Colombian. Once
you pass the trocha, no one bothers you, not even the DIAN. The DIAN
will stop the truck, see all the faces and that is enough. But, instead, the
Venezuelan Guard takes away everything you bring. They take away your
things and your money. They extort you. It is complicated.”

– Amelia, Venezuelan woman

16. Referring to Wayúu’s native language

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 VENEZUELANS IN COLOMBIA

Permanence in Colombia and immigration status

Most respondents (50, 29%) had been in Colombia for one to three months at the time of
the survey (October 2018).

Figure 9.
Length of stay in Colombia

Respondents with up to three months of residence in Colombia (69, 40%) could not be
included in the registration process (RAMV) by the government because it was carried out
between April and June 2018, (i.e. prior to their arrival to Colombia). They have therefore
been denied the Special Stay Permit (SSP or PEP) that grants Venezuelan migrants the
right to work and access to social services in Colombia.

Some migrants, however, were in Colombia by the time the RAMV was carried out,
or while SSPs (or PEP) were awarded. Survey results suggest that many were not
included in either initiative. Figures 11 and 12 below show the migration status of
respondents and the reasons they provided for not having yet registered their status in
Colombia:

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 Figure 10.
Migration status

Figure 11.
Reasons for not having regularized immigration status in Colombia

26
Does not
know how

63
Lack of
money

67
Does not
have passport

2
Fear

3
Another
reason

* Some respondents gave more than one reason, and some did
not answer the question since they had a Special Stay Permit (SSP or PEP)

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 VENEZUELANS IN COLOMBIA

Venezuelan migrants in Colombia did not need to have documentation to participate

in the RAMV or to apply for the SSP. Therefore, there appears to be a lack of
awareness in Maicao about these government initiatives to regularize their status.

Housing and access to basic services

A high number of respondents (63, 36%), described themselves as homeless, and

a further percentage (21, 12%) said they resided in a shelter— the Migrant and
Refugee Care Center. Study sources declared that (at the moment this research was
conducted) there was only one shelter in Maicao, which have been operating as a
“step home” and allows only short stays (three days on average). With only one
shelter, there is a risk that an increasing number of people will become homeless.
Additionally, 22 (13%) of the participants reported that they resided in places such as
garages or courtyards, which mostly fail to provide access to water and electricity. The
remaining respondents, 68 (39%), resided in a house, apartment or room.

According to the ethnographic work completed in Maicao, homeless people tend to live
in three main locations: 1) the area around the aforementioned shelter (Migrant and
Refugee Care Center); 2) the area surrounding the parking lot of the Espresso Brasilia
transport company, where there is a constant influx of people moving to and from
Venezuela; and 3) the commercial zone in Maicao’s city Centre. Interviews with migrants
indicate the emotional and physical impact of sleeping in the street without adequate
living conditions. Some testimonies of this are outlined below17:

“When I arrived here, in Colombia, I slept on the street. I slept for a week
in the square by Movistar, behind the Tierra Santa. I slept on the floor with
water falling on me. I went hungry many nights, while trying to look for
work. Sometimes I bathed and sometimes I didn’t.”
– Andrea, Venezuelan woman

“One night spent on the street lowers your self-esteem. And so on, for
every day. Can you imagine that?”
– Camilo, Venezuelan man

“I came here and risked my life, only to find this. I wouldn’t wish this on my
family. I would have preferred for us to die on the way to Colombia, but
not to die like this. I cry almost every night. I do not wish this for anyone.
I see the children crying when it’s raining. Can you imagine, at 3 o’clock in
the morning, a boy and his mother lying on the ground in the rain?”
– Julian, Venezuelan man

17. The names in each testimony are pseudonyms given to preserve the migrant’s anonymity.

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 “My baby developed scabies because we sleep on the floor, on the sidewalk.
We don’t even have sheets. Here on our back are the only clothes we have.
Sometimes I wear these same clothes for three days in a row, because I
don’t have a place to wash them. I don’t have a sheet to sleep on. I would
like to have a mattress for my girls, or at least a sheet. I want someone to
help me. With anything. I have two girls, and we need basic necessities.
Yesterday, it rained all night and we were all wet because we don’t have
a place to sleep. I asked people for help, but nobody wanted to help me.”
– Cecilia, Venezuelan woman

“I don’t ask for money. I ask that someone rent something to me for
my children. Somewhere where we won’t get rained on. Yesterday, we
got wet. And it’s terrible because we have children, you know? They are
getting wet. I really want a little house to live with my children, and a job.”
– Teresa, Venezuelan woman

“I sleep in a parking lot; I sleep on the ground. I’ve been here for five
months now. Thank God they have taken good care of me and my baby,
but I feel uncomfortable because there are more than twenty people in
the parking lot. So, I would really like, I’m going around to see if I can get
a little space or a house to rent with one more person. I have my clothes
in a bag, and if it rains, everything gets wet. It is uncomfortable to live like
this., Really, it is a crazy idea to come here. You don’t know how you are
going to live and what challenges you will face. If we knew how much we
would suffer, we would not have come, especially with a child.”
– Silvia, Venezuelan woman

Health and access to medical services

The vast majority of the respondents (171, 97%) were not enrolled in the
Colombian health system. Eighty-three migrants (47%) said they had never used
health services in the country. Some migrants avoided public health services for fear of
deportation. For this reason, they often resorted to NGOs such as the Colombian Red
Cross or Americares.

The survey also examined the extent to which migrants were affected by disease or
chronic medical conditions requiring medical monitoring18. The survey showed that 44
(25%) of the migrants have a special health condition such as pregnancy, high blood
pressure, asthma, diabetes, and epilepsy.

18. In the report “Response Plan from the Health Sector to the Migratory Phenomenon” the Colombian Ministry of Health
(Ministerio de Salud de Colombia, 2018) presents an analysis of public health events related to Venezuelans between
2017 and 2018. According to this report, public health cases increased significantly from 581 in 2017 to 1526 in 2018.
Among the main events are: cases of malaria (from 314 to 599 cases), gender violence (from 71 to 218 cases), HIV/AIDS/
AIDS Mortality (from 20 to 82 cases), acute malnutrition in children under five years (from 13 to 87 cases), dengue (from
6 to 30 cases), tuberculosis (from 14 to 59 cases), and measles (from 0 to 11 cases). For the full report on public health
cases, see Tables 4-5 of the cited report (pp. 43-46).

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 VENEZUELANS IN COLOMBIA

Employment and income

Even though the vast majority of those surveyed were of working age, only nine
respondents (5%) reported having a formal job. Further, none of them are affiliated with
the Colombian social security system (which is mandatory for legal workers). Therefore,
these migrants were not covered by current labor regulations or rights. In addition, all
of the respondents declared a monthly income below the legal minimum wage, which
suggests that they were either illegally employed or self-employed and unable to secure
an income above the minimum wage in order to afford affiliation with the social security
system.

Of the respondents, 120 (69%) were unemployed, followed by a large number of

informal workers— 43 migrants (25%). However, it should be noted that many of the
people who declared unemployment later claimed to obtain their income from
informal work. The following figure shows the various reasons mentioned for
unemployment:
Figure 12.
Reasons for unemployment

74% 5%
Another
Has not found a job reason

4%

37%
Has to take
care of his/her
children

Does not have a

work permit

This question was answered by all those who claimed to be unemployed (with the
exception of one), for a total of 119 respondents.

Amongst those formally or informally employed (52, 30%), the figure below represents
the employment sectors where the migrants were employed by the date the surveys were
conducted:

- 41 -
 Figure 13.
Employment by sector19*

3
26 Mechanics

Informal street selling 3 Handcraft

manufacturing
20
Other trades* 2
Beauty industry

7 1
Construction Sex work
As mentioned, participants were also asked about the sources of income (Figure
14). Some indicated more than one source. For example, at least nine migrants said that
their income derived either from informal work, public assistance or humanitarian aid.
Among the latter, two individuals mentioned a third additional source: one mentioned
family and/or friends, and the other mentioned donations.

Figure 14.
Sources of income*

9
Formal work
13
Donations

22
From family/friends
113
Informal work

35
Public assistance/
*Figure 14 shows answers given
by 169 participants. Some of them
named more than one source of
income.
humanitarian aid

19. Other trades include, for example, jobs related to cleaning houses or hotels and work in the kitchen.

- 42 -
 VENEZUELANS IN COLOMBIA

In the interviews, employment emerged as one of the most pressing issues, as many
migrants had not yet found a stable job to meet the basic needs of themselves or their
families in Colombia (or of family members still in Venezuela through remittances). As one
Venezuelan woman pointed out, “if you don’t work, you don’t eat; if you don’t work, you
sleep in the street.”

Several participants attributed their unemployment to stigmatization from the host

community, while others ascribed it to the difficult economic conditions in the region.
The lack of formal jobs has pushed many migrants into informal jobs (Figure 14), often
as vendors of a diverse set of products in public spaces. In the following testimonies,
participants describe their difficulties seeking employment, the effects on their well-
being, and their coping strategies.

“I have gone out with my aunt to the street. We look for something to sell,
anything, because the truth is that there is no work here, there is nothing.
So, we go out, we see what we get, and we sell it. We help each other. If
we have work, we eat; if not, we don’t eat.”
– Lucía, Venezuelan woman

“I have gone out to look for work in family homes. People are rude because
we’re Venezuelans. They say, ‘all Venezuelans are thieves, they steal from
you.’”
– Estella, Venezuelan woman

“Yes, there are places to work, but what happens is that, if you’re a
Venezuelan, they don’t give you work. But there are sources of work.
What happens is that here, everyone pays the price. If one Venezuelan
does a bad thing, we all face the consequences.”
– Clara, Venezuelan woman

“A lady asked me, “are you Venezuelan?” he said, “give me my sandals

and get out.” She
kicked me out and she didn’t pay me. I felt bad. I left, and when I got
around the corner, I started crying. It is contempt.”
– Felipe, Venezuelan man

- 43 -
 “I am old. I am 55 years old, and my boy is ten years old. He’s disabled.
What do I do? I sell coffee and water. How did I start? Selling chewing
gum, with two thousand pesos that someone gave me. I started selling
gum, selling shorts, selling lamps. Thank God, in the parking lot, the
owner gave me a place [...]. I pay 10 thousand pesos a day20 and use
what I have left to afford at least a piece of bread with water at night for
my son and me.”
– Carolina, Venezuelan woman

“Since I’ve arrived here, I have worked. My husband and I have sold this
and that. We go out to sellwater... and with the baby [...] my son comes
with me. I sell water, I sell vegetables. I go to work with him.”
– Isabel, Venezuelan woman

Experiences of discrimination and violation of human rights

Fifty-five (32%) of the migrants claimed that their human rights had been violated in some
way; examples include episodes of verbal abuse, physical aggression, threat,
arbitrary displacement, sexual harassment, and forced labor, amongst others. Figure
15 shows the forms of violations experienced by the 55 interviewees stated above.
Some migrants named more than one type of violation.

Figure 15.
Discrimination and human rights violations*

7%
Arbitrary displacement
32%Verbal abuse

4% 8%
Extortion Threat

5% 7%
Forced labor
2% 1% Sexual exploitation

Kidnapping
9%
Physical aggression
Sexual harassment

* 55 out of 174 surveyed, reported some violation of their human rights. Some migrants
named more than one type of discrimination and/or rights violation.

20. 10,000 COP is equivalent to$3.38 USD

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 VENEZUELANS IN COLOMBIA

Additionally, many respondents (83, 48%) said they have felt discriminated against for
their migrant status. Most of them described a general sense of discrimination from the
public (73, 88%), and a smaller fraction named authorities or public officials as the source
of discrimination (nine, 11%). As the testimonies above exemplify, several participants
believe that discrimination is a result of the bad behavior of a few Venezuelans that come
to represent the group as a whole. Many concur, saying that “we all pay for what only a
few did,” or “when a Venezuelan man or woman does something bad, we all pay.” Such
statements underscore the challenges of integrating within a wave of tensions between
local and migrant communities.

Needs, humanitarian aid and social support

The vast majority of participants agreed that employment is their main or one of their
main needs; followed by access to shelter and medical assistance. The following figure
shows the main needs identified in the survey:

Figure 16.
Main needs of participants*

65 157 66

Educación/training Employment Legal assistance

86 43 115
Medical assistance Psychosocial support Shelter

* The total sample was 174. Some migrants reported having more than one type of need.

Regarding humanitarian aid, 138 (78%) of the migrants said they have received some form
of institutional help from public or private organizations. The following figure reflects

- 45 -
 the number of surveyed migrants that received aid in education, food, legal assistance,
medical services, shelter or other domains:

Figure 17.
Aid received from public or private organizations*

Figure 17 shows that humanitarian aid targeted three main needs: food, shelter and
medical services. Though in a comparison of Figures 16 and 17, it emerges that institutional
actors have not satisfied the needs specifically cited by migrants, particularly in terms of
employment. Instead, lack of employment and income generates a cycle of dependence
on humanitarian assistance. Unfortunately, for many migrants the reality of the aid
available differs vastly from their expectations.

“Here we go out to look for work, but there are no sources of work. That is
what we need because we don’t want to spend our lives here begging and
waiting for someone to give us breakfast and lunch. We want to make our
own food and be able to pay rent. Cover the needs of our children, buy his
clothes, and everything else.
– Carla, Venezuelan woman

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 VENEZUELANS IN COLOMBIA

“Those of us who come to work would like someone to consider this, to

develop a way to help. We don’t want people to give us things all the time,
we would like people to allow us the opportunity to practice our professions
here. We haven’t come here for pity, we are eager to contribute, but we
can’t do that in Venezuela. If they give me the opportunity to work, surely,
I can contribute because I can bring many benefits to the community.”
– Guillermo, Venezuelan man

“I have listened to Colombians when they talk to each other: “Hey, but
nobody told them to come.” Okay, nobody asked us to come here, nobody.
However, we are not asking anything from them either; we don’t ask
them anything. I came to earn my own things and, when I say earn, I
mean that I came to work, and if I come to work it’s because I’m going
to be productive to this country because in my country, no one can be
productive anymore.”
– Eduardo, Venezuelan man

The survey also investigated non-institutional sources of support. Sixty-nine (40%)

participants said that they had relatives or friends in Colombia able to contribute
towards accommodation, food and employment.

Expectations regarding the immigration process

Most migrants say that they intend to remain in Colombia. The survey shows that 100
(57%) want to continue in the municipality of Maicao itself, while 61 (35%) would rather
move to a different town in Colombia. The remaining 13 (8%) plan to migrate to
another country.

The following participant responses offered explanations for their desires to stay in
Maicao or to relocate:

“We don’t get any job here. The little bit we get, we use to pay for rent.
Sometimes we go to bed without eating so we can pay for a bed. That is
one of the reasons why many people leave Colombia. There is no help.
Here if you don’t have a Colombian identity card, they don’t help you.”
– Claudia, Venezuelan woman

“I plan to get to Bogotá. I have a cousin there and friends there, who
offered me help to stay until I get a place or something I can afford. But I
will be here meanwhile. Because of everything they have offered for me
and my baby, I’m going to stay here in Maicao.”
– Sara, Venezuelan woman

- 47 -
 “I came here because this is like a portal; it’s closer to Venezuela. I think
about being here and thencontinuing later, God willing, but first, I have to
go back to get my children.”
– Marta, Venezuelan woman

“I’ve decided to stay here because at least the baby will start studying and
in fact, they told me to find a place to move because where I live is very
uncomfortable. I’m doing all I can to get a little house to live. I don’t want
to go to another place. I was invited to go to Medellín, to Barranquilla, but
I don’t want to go.”
– Lorena, Venezuelan woman

“I’m very close to my country. I’m here, just a few hours from my house,
my home, and I would rather stay here.”
– Carlos, Venezuelan man

“I like Maicao, I feel like I’m closer to Venezuela and you never know. If
anything happens, we can easily go back to Venezuela.”
– Álvaro, Venezuelan man

Regarding the relationship with Venezuela, 98 (56%) of the participants said they do not
want to return to their country of origin in the short term. Although many expressed
sadness and nostalgia for Venezuela, they claimed to not want to return because of
the ongoing economic crisis. On the contrary, 124 (71%) of participants stated that
their remaining relatives in Venezuela are planning to migrate to Colombia as well.

“There are things I need here in Maicao, but I don’t plan to return to
Venezuela until everything is settled. I want to return, but I’m afraid to
leave because of the necessities.”
– Julia, Venezuelan woman

Among those who plan to return, many cited reasons such as visiting family, Christmas
festivities, and assisting other prospective migrants and their families, but only a small
number (4) said that they intended to leave due to poor living conditions in Colombia.

Finally, it should be added that 144 (83%) of respondents stated that there are some
people in Venezuela who rely on income transfers, as 88 (61%) of them were sending
remittances to cover the cost of food, education, and medicine.

Annex 5 contains the narratives of five Venezuelan migrants’ experiences from

departure to arrival in Colombia.

- 48 -
 VENEZUELANS IN COLOMBIA

Venezuelan sister comforts her newborn brother in the streets of Maicao.

Maicao, La Guajira, October 2018.

- 49 -
 5 THE HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE
TO THE MIGRATION CRISIS

Important national and international actors have mobilized to launch humanitarian aid
projects in Colombia as a result of Venezuelan mass emigration. According to the Regional
Platform for Inter-agency Coordination of Refugees and Migrants in Venezuela,21 19
organizations have acted in Colombia and they have implemented 275 projects in different
areas. La Guajira has the second largest number of executed projects amongst all of the
departments (48), second only to Norte de Santander (74). Table 3 and Figure 18
show the organizations and the number of activities in the region by area of
intervention.
Table 3.
Organizations with presence in La Guajira and number of activities
(September 2018)

Organization Activities

Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) 10

Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) 6

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) 5

International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC) 5

Action Against Hunger (AAH) 4

World Vision International (WVI) 4

International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) 2

World Food Program (WFP) 2

Save the Children (SC) 2

United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) 2

Aldeas Infantiles SOS (AISC) 1

Colombian Red Cross (CRC) 1

International Organization for Migration (IOM) 1

UN Women (UNW) 1

Pan American Health Organization / World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) 1

United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA) 1

Total 48

Source: Regional Inter-Agency Coordination Platform for Refugees and Migrants from Venezuela,
September 2018 (UNHCR, 2018a).

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 VENEZUELANS IN COLOMBIA

Figure 18.
Humanitarian activities according to intervention areas

Food and
Nutrition
Security

Protection

Training
emergencies Water,
Shelter and
Health Non-Food Sanitation
Items (NFI) and Hygiene
(WASH)

24 12 4 3 3 2
Source: Regional Inter-Agency Coordination Platform for Refugees and Migrants from Venezuela,
September 2018 (UNHCR, 2018a).

The Regional Platform offers data on organizations and projects at the department
level, but not at the municipality level. A second platform called the Colombia
Information Management and Analysis Unit (in Spanish, the “Unidad de Manejo y
Análisis de Información Colombia” [UMAIC]), tracks information at the municipality
level. The UMAIC lists in Maicao 16 organizations and 24 projects (see Annex 6).

International funding

The Regional Platform for Interagency Coordination for Refugees and Migrants of
Venezuela and its members have been supported through funding contributions
by development agencies and international governments such as: Latter Day
Saints Charities, the US Agency for International Development (USAID), CERF,
Diocese of Riohacha, the Embassy of Japan, Caritas, the Canadian Cooperation,
the US Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA), Aktion Deutschland Hilft,
the German Embassy, the Government of Brazil, COSUDE, the European Union,
the Emergency Children’s Help Organization (ECHO), The Bureau of Population,

21 .The Regional Inter-Agency Coordination Platform is co-led by UNCHR and IOM and was established following the
request by the UN Secretary-General, on April 12th, 2018, to develop a strategy to lead and coordinate the response to
refugees and migrants from Venezuela at the regional level. In some countries, the strategy is being replicated through
the establishment and strengthening of local coordination mechanisms, in collaboration with host Governments. In Co-
lombia, the local coordination group is called the Inter-Agency Group on Mixed Migration Flows (GIFMM in Spanish). It is
co-led by UNHCR and IOM and has 38 members. Its origins go back to the end of 2016 when it was initially formed as the
Interagency Border Group (GIFMM, 2018).

- 51 -
 Refugees, and Migration (PRM), Food For Peace (FFP), AIDS, the National Military
Family Association, the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) and the
Brazilian Cooperation.

It should be noted that among these major donors, USAID has allocated more
than $48 million USD in additional funds to support humanitarian assistance
activities in response to this regional crisis. Through its implementation partners
in Colombia, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs (OCHA), the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the Pan American
Development Foundation (PADF), the World Food Program (WFP) Colombia, IOM,
UNHCR, UNICEF, Save the Children and Social Pastoral, this US agency has focused
on providing funds to support food assistance, shelter and settlement activities,
multisector assistance, humanitarian coordination and information management,
psychosocial support, protection, health care, water, sanitation and hygiene,
totaling FY 2018 $ 15,846,508 USD (see Annex 8).

With the contribution of $13 million USD in USAID / FFP funds in FY 2018, the
United Nations World Food Program (WFP) continues to provide food assistance
to vulnerable people in Colombia in the departments of Arauca, La Guajira and
Norte de Santander.

It has also allocated $ 4.7 million USD in USAID / OFDA funds for activities in the
healthcare sector, a program aimed at improving the capacities of healthcare
institutions by providing technical assistance, supporting vaccination activities,
and supporting mental health services. Likewise, it has allocated more than
$900,000 USD from USAID / OFDA, to improve livelihoods in the departments
of Cundinamarca, Nariño and Norte de Santander, and in the capital city of
Bogotá.

Through its UNHCR partner, USAID reported support for assistance in education,
health, legal, and shelter to vulnerable Venezuelans and members of the
host communities in La Guajira. In 2018, this agency supported the construction of
three classrooms in the municipality of Maicao to strengthen the capacity of
schools to receive a greater number of Venezuelan students (USAID, 2018 ) (see
Annex 9).

In 2018-2019, the European Union (EU) allocated 39 million euros to

provide emergency medical care, food assistance and protection to Venezuelans
in need, both within Venezuela and in neighboring countries. For Colombia
specifically, the EU has designated more than 12 million euros for humanitarian
aid, healthcare, food and nutrition, water and protection, prevention of
conflicts, reduction of social tensions and outbreaks of violence, protection to
people displaced by the crisis, as well as programs aimed at boosting the
socio-economic inclusion of migrants and support for host communities.

According to a study published by the World Bank “Migration from

Venezuela to Colombia: impacts and response strategies in the short and
medium term” in 2018, the European Union mobilized $4.9 million USD and
bilateral donors have contributed an additional $20.7 million USD. It also
- 52 - ensures that coordination
 VENEZUELANS IN COLOMBIA

among the agencies have been complex and that “despite having managed a
total of $84 million USD, to date, July 2018, only $4 million USD would have been
executed by the different agencies due to delays in disbursements and other
logistical limitations.”

The report established that a large part of the resources are executed through
non-governmental organizations, “which limits the government’s capacity to
direct resources towards the sectors that experience the greatest impacts, such
as health and education.” One result was the creation of the Inter-Agency Group
on Mixed Migration Flows, an effort aimed at improving the coordination of
United Nations agencies, NGOs and local governments.

Furthermore, by 2019, the Platform has developed the Regional Response Plan
for Refugees and Migrants (R4V, Response for Venezuelans), in order to support
and complement the efforts of the national authorities of Latin America and
the Caribbean. Such a plan was intended to impact more than 640,000
refugees in Colombia, for which a financial requirement of $315 million dollars
has been calculated. From this total, 55% would be designated to cover
needs in direct emergency assistance, 11% to the protection of migrants, 28%
for socioeconomic and cultural integration, and 6% towards strengthening the
governments of the receiving communities (Regional Refugee and Migrant
Response Plan, IOM and UNHCR 2019).

- 53 -
 Locals and Venezuelan migrants commemorate the International Day of
Mental Health by praying at the Migrant and Refugee Attention Center.

Maicao, La Guajira, October 2018.

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 VENEZUELANS IN COLOMBIA

6 PRESENCE OF HUMANITARIAN
ACTORS IN MAICAO

This section presents a mapping of the various humanitarian actors in the municipality at
the time of this research, as well as their projects, strategies, and challenges. The
following information was gathered during two months of desk research, a review of
secondary sources, two weeks of field research (in which the team conducted semi-
structured interviews in Maicao), and three weeks of data systematization and analysis.
Priority was given to government entities, civil society organizations (even if they are
not legally constituted) and international agencies.

In order to map the presence of NGOs and Government Entities, a selection was made
according to their roles in the protection of vulnerable Venezuelan migrants in the
municipality of Maicao, department of La Guajira. In total, 30 interviews were
conducted to gather the data expressed below.

Governmental actors

Table 4 lists the governmental organizations (GOs) offering aid in the domains
of food, education, shelter, physical and mental health, employment, legal advice
and protection of human rights to Venezuelan migrants. These shave been serving
approximately 5,285 migrants per month.

Table 4.
Profile of governmental organizations providing programs
and services for Venezuelan migrants in Maicao

Migrants
Objective of the Human assisted
Organization Programs and services for migrants
organization resource* in the last
month
- Food
- Education and training
Provide education
Rural Indigenous - Prevention of human trafficking
at the preschool,
Educational Center FT: 48 - Prevention of forced recruitment by non-state armed 465
primary and
N° 6 groups
secondary levels
- Prevention against discrimination and xenophobia
- Protection of the rights of children and adolescents
- Access to medical assistance
Improve the health - Education and training
San José Hospital of - FT: 462
of the population of - Prevention of human trafficking 1840
Maicao - PT: 8
La Guajira - Prevention against discrimination and xenophobia
- Protection of the rights of children and adolescents

- 55 -
 Migrants
Objective of the Human assisted
Organization Programs and services for migrants
organization resource* in the last
month
Provide education
- Psychosocial support
at the preschool,
Educational - Food
primary, secondary FT: 55 50
institution No. 1 - Education and training
and vocational
- Access to employment
levels
Provide attention
- Psychosocial support
with differential
- Legal assistance
Office of Integral focus to members
- Education and training
Attention to the of the LGBTI FT: 1 60
- Prevention against discrimination and xenophobia
LGBTI Population population in the
- Promotion and prevention in health
municipality of
- Protection of the rights of children and adolescents
Maicao
Technical Office Provide attention to - Access to medical assistance
for Persons with the population with FT: 1 - Psychosocial support 20
Disabilities disabilities - Promotion and prevention in health
Strengthen
- Psychosocial support
the security,
- Food
coexistence,
- Shelter
Maicao’s Secretariat community
FT: 12 - Education and training 600
of Government development
- Prevention of human trafficking
and productive
- Promotion and prevention in health
inclusion in the
- Protection of the rights of children and adolescents
municipality
- Access to medical assistance
- Psychosocial support
- Food
Guarantee the
Colombian Institute - Shelter
welfare of children, - FT: 25
for Family Welfare - Legal assistance ---
adolescents, and - Interns
(ICBF) - Prevention of human trafficking
families
- Prevention of forced recruitment by non-state armed
groups
- Protection of the rights of children and adolescents
Provide orientation
- Legal assistance
to victims of the
Local Office of - Education and training
internal armed
Victims of the Armed FT: 2 - Access to employment 200
conflict on legal
Conflict - Prevention against discrimination and xenophobia
and assistance
- Protection of the rights of children and adolescents
issues
- Access to medical assistance
- Legal assistance
Defend the
Personeria of the - Prevention against discrimination and xenophobia
interests and - FT: 4
municipality of - Prevention of human trafficking 350
rights of the local - PT: 2
Maicao - Prevention of forced recruitment by non-state armed
community
groups - Protection of the rights of children and
adolescents
Manage the risks
of disasters caused - Access to medical assistance
by phenomena - Legal assistance
Municipal Unit - FT: 6
of a natural, - Education and training
for Disaster Risk - Volunteers 1700
socionatural, - Support groups
Management
technological - Promotion and prevention in health
and unintentional - Protection of the rights of children and adolescents
human nature

* The abbreviations correspond to FT: full time, and PT: part time.
Source: Own construction. December 2018.
- 56 -
 VENEZUELANS IN COLOMBIA

Limitations in aiding the migrant population

Most GOs said they face difficulties financing their actions, training employees, and
consolidating human and logistical resources to provide adequate assistance to
Venezuelan migrants. All 10 GOs mapped agreed that they have faced difficulties
accessing public resources. Eight expressed a lack of knowledge of national and
international funding sources, and another eight reported that a shortage of
qualified personnel to write funding proposals was a hurdle to obtaining resources.
GOs mentioned the following shortages in training: management of international
cooperation projects (10), international migration management (8), design of
intervention plans, programs and projects (8), emergency humanitarian assistance (8),
and human rights (1).

Some GOs cited further difficulties in providing services to migrants. For example,
the Director of the Rural Indigenous Education Center No. 6 mentioned that the
complexity of the administrative process resulted in difficulties obtaining identification
documents for migrant children. She also mentioned the significance of security issues;
the presence of criminal groups in zones where teachers or minors must travel to
school, hindered or put at risk their school attendance. The representative of another
GO (ICBF) also mentioned the problems that Venezuelan children face in accessing
services (particularly medical) due to lack of documentation.

Non-governmental actors

During the fieldwork conducted for this study, a large number of national and
international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and UN agencies, were
identified in the municipality of Maicao. It was not always possible to directly obtain
information about their activities and resources, so this study also relied on secondary
sources, including reports created by organizations and agencies coordinating
humanitarian assistance in the region and informative notes in the media. Table 6
outlines the main NGOs present in Maicao.

Table 6.
Profile of non-governmental organizations developing
programs and services for Venezuelans migrants in Maicao

Objective of the Human

Organization Programs and services for migrants
organization resource*
- Psychosocial support
- Food
Social Pastoral / National NGO belonging - Temporary shelter (administers the Migrant and Refugee
- Partners
Cáritas Colombiana to the Catholic Church. Attention Center [CAMR])
- FT: 21
– Riohacha It is part of the Caritas - Prevention of human trafficking
- Volunteers
Headquarters Internationalis network - Prevention against discrimination and xenophobia
- Promotion and prevention in health
- Protection of the rights of children and adolescents

- 57 -
 - Access to medical assistance
- Psychosocial support
- FT: 50
National NGO. It is part of - Food
Colombian Red - PT: 10
the International Committee - Education and training
Cross - Interns
of the Red Cross. - Distribution of travel kits with food items
- Volunteers
- Prevention of human trafficking
- Prevention against discrimination and xenophobia
Objective of the Human
Organization Programs and services for migrants
organization resource*
Local NGO originated
- Partners
in Maicao to work in the - Psychosocial support
Progresa - Honorary
development of programs - Legal assistance
Corporation members
that promote social - Prevention against discrimination and xenophobia
- Volunteers
transformation
- Training sessions on child protection**
- Training in psychosocial support and Child Protection Risk
Assessment with teachers of an indigenous school
International NGO focused
- Operation of a Child Friendly Space (CFS)
Save the Children on promoting and defending ---
- Supply of dental kits (100) for children in the CFS
children’s rights
- Supply of hygiene kits for babies, children and mothers**
- Supply of educational kits for students, teachers and
counsellors**
International NGO focused
- Operation of a medical clinic which provide essential
on helping communities
primary care services and access to medicine
Americares involved in disasters by ---
- Psychosocial support
providing access to clinical
- Promotion and prevention in health
services
- Financial support to provide shelter
- Opening of a new office in La Guajira: Riohacha
- Support to the government on the Registration of
Venezuelans (RAMV)
- Legal assistance
United Nations High UN agency focused on
- Funeral assistance
Commissioner for providing assistance to ---
- Development of an anti-xenophobia
Refugees (UNHCR) refugees
campaign
- Provision of medical equipment for a hospital
- Construction of new classrooms, school kitchen and
WASH services in an educational institution
- Supply of school kits
- Managing of temporary classrooms within educational
United Nations
institutions
International UN agency focused on the
- Support to CFS
Children’s protection and welfare of ---
- WASH activities
Emergency Fund children and young
- Support to the anti-xenophobia
(UNICEF)
campaign launched by UNHCR
- Installation of health care spaces**
Pan American
- Provision of supplies for health care
Health Organization
UN agencies specialized in - Training of professionals in public health emergencies
/ World Health ---
public health care**
Organization (PAHO/
- Vaccination campaigns**
WHO)
- Mental health care
United Nations UN agency focused on
- Training on sexual violence, contraceptive care and
Fund for Population sexual and reproductive ---
voluntary interruption of pregnancy**
Activities (UNFPA) health
World Food Program UN agency focused on the
--- - Development of five community kitchens
(WFP) fight against hunger

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 VENEZUELANS IN COLOMBIA

- Work with ethnic and peasant communities in the

Food and Agriculture UN agency focused on food
--- recovery of autonomous food production and the protection
Organization (FAO) security
of their key productive livestock assets
International NGO focused - Training of teachers and administrators of educational
Norwegian Refugee
on the protection of --- institutions
Council (NRC)
refugees - Operation of CFS
Objective of the Human
Organization Programs and services for migrants
organization resource*

* Abbreviations correspond to FT: full time, and PT: part time.

** Activities carried out in the Department of La Guajira, but without precise information on whether they are developed specifi-
cally in the municipality of Maicao.
Source: Own construction. December 2018.

Strategic alliances

All organizations (except the Government Secretariat and Educational Institution No. 1)
reported alliances with other actors to develop programs and services. The following
table lists the organizations and the number of GOs in each alliance:

Table 5.
Key partners of governmental organizations

Number
Partner organization of GOs
in alliance

UNHCR 4

NRC 3

Americares 2

UNFPA 2

Pastoral Social 2

Save the Children 1

PAHO 1

IOM 1

Mahavir Kmina 1

Caribe Afirmativo 1

AAH 1

Source: own construction, December 2018.

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 Notably, five GOs indicated having a role in the Unified Command Posts (in Spanish, Puesto
de Mando Unificado [PMU]) which actively monitor migration flows in the department of
La Guajira22.

With one exception, all national and international NGOs in Table 6 are members of the
Inter-Agency Group on Mixed Migration Flows (see Annex 7), which helped foster their
delivery and partnerships. The Social Pastoral (SP)— one of the most visible organizations
in La Guajira because of its connection to the Catholic Church— has established important
alliances with international NGOs such as UNHCR, Save the Children, Caritas Internationalis,
Caritas Spain, UNICEF, PAHO/WHO, WFP, and IOM.

SP’s headquarters are located in Maicao, where they have a shelter (the Migrant
and Refugee Attention Center, CAMR) that has been providing temporary
accommodation (usually for 3 days) and food (breakfast and lunch) to migrants. With
the financial support of UNHCR, shelter facilities and services were extended for the first
time in November 2017. CAMR has become a space where NGOs converge to manage
various humanitarian projects. For example, Save the Children has set up a Child
Friendly Space in the shelter, and WFP also operates one of its five community
kitchens here in Maicao. According to information provided by its coordinator, the
CAMR could provide accommodation for about 120 people per day.

22. Since 2015 the Colombian government has ordered the establishment of PMUs in border departments with the high-
est flow of migrants.

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 VENEZUELANS IN COLOMBIA

Venezuelan children illustrate their dreams with artwork at the

Local Catholic Church Facilities.

Maicao, La Guajira, October 2018.

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 7 ATTITUDES AND PERCEPTION OF HUMANITARIAN
ACTORS ON THE MIGRATION CRISIS IN MAICAO23

In order to understand the perceptions of the local community, 24 semi-structured

interviews were conducted with local leaders (10) and with local government entities and
NGOs (14), during two weeks of fieldwork in Maicao. Snowball and convenience sampling
were used to select some of the participants, alleviating the need for sampling systems
that may include more subtle biases. The main criteria in choosing the interviewees
included: 1) connection to a governmental or non-governmental organization that works
with Venezuelan migrants and refugees in the municipality of Maicao, and 2) holding a
leading role in the social, educational, economic, political or cultural field, or recognition
as a leader or social referent.

In total, representatives from five government entities, two education centers, one
LGBTI advocacy group, officials from four non-governmental organizations, two religious
leaders, three social influencers, two social and educational leaders, one stakeholder from
the trade sector, one from the business community and one from the health sector, were
interviewed. The perceptions of community leaders regarding the Venezuelan migrant
influx are described below.

Perceptions of local institutional actors

From the perspective of an already overburdened municipality, the governmental actors in

this study have emphasized their concern about the constant influx of migrants in Maicao,
especially since the municipality’s response capabilities are so limited. In this sense,
migration is perceived as overshadowing local problems and accentuating a pre-existing
socioeconomic crisis caused by a decrease in commercial activity, limited state
presence, and economic issues. Expressions such as “this is a terrible situation”, “crisis
and social disaster”, “we were not prepared” and “we are nearly in the worst of the
possible worlds” were expressed by government agents, reflecting their concern and
doubt regarding the situation in Maicao.

We see some substantial changes because everything has collapsed. For

example, everything has collapsed the health system, employment, and
security. We have crises in all sectors and we have no capacity to react. –
Local government representat ve

To justify their perspectives, agents pointed to various problems they believed were
caused by migrants. The first of these problems was the occupation of public spaces

23. Analyses in this section are based on interviews with 14 institutional agents (9 governmental and 5 non-governmental)
involved in the management of migration in the municipality of Maicao.

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 VENEZUELANS IN COLOMBIA

by the homeless. This situation arose both because migrants could not afford
accommodation and because there were no enough shelters in the municipality to
provide permanent housing. As a result of poor living and sanitation conditions,
homelessness often leads to further deterioration of the health of these migrants.

A second problem related to security and public health issues was attributed to the
presence of migrants. Many government agents perceived that migration has caused
an increase in delinquency and crime in the municipality, such as robberies, fights,
homicides, and consumption of illegal substances. They also claimed that migrants
caused an increase in the prevalence of sexually transmitted infections (HIV/AIDS,
syphilis) and of diseases previously considered under control, such as rubella and
measles.

“Here prostitution has increased, theft, homicides, and in most cases it’s
because migration has reached the municipality of Maicao.”
– Local government representative

“Migration has been of great concern, because the vast majority of the
inhabitants of Maicao see migrants as a problem. Because although some
come to work, there are others who, because they do not have the means
to solve their welfare situation, have caused many social problems, such
as delinquency, lack of respect for others etc. And more worrying, a
situation that Maicao has never faced before, is migrants lying on the
streets, with no chance to support themselves. The vast majority are
families with children.”
– Local government representative

“That the population found itself, so to say, invaded by so many people

from another country, especially with so many needs that this migration
entails. Look at all those people sleeping on the street, children having
to go out to work and beg to get some food. It is a situation that has
generated very negative expectations in the population and also fear, by
conflicting situations that now exist.”
– NGO representat ve

Finally, some agents also believed that migrants are responsible for job loss
and unemployment among locals because migrants often accept lower pay or offer
products and services at lower prices. One government representative explained that
both migrant and local populations are in a vulnerable condition: “migrants are being
economically exploited or even used as slaves, and locals are losing their jobs due to
cheap labor.”

The concern expressed by humanitarian agents reflects their projections regarding the
migration crisis. Many agreed that the number of migrants will continue to
increase, as a solution to the situation in Venezuela is unlikely to happen in the
near future. They also believed that it is likely that migrants will bring more
relatives from Venezuela to the country.

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 Institutional response to the crisis

Among government agents of Maicao, the generalized perception is that the migration
crisis has reached a scale that exceeds the capacities of the municipality, justifying the
demand for intervention by the central government and the international community.
As stated by a government agent, “this is a crisis. This is not a town problem, this is
not a problem for us. This is an international problem.” Although local agents
highlighted the fact that the municipality has aided migrants, most agreed that both
their actions and resources are insufficient.

The central government’s role in attenuating the crisis faced by the municipality has been
criticized by some local agents as passive; they ascertain that the allocation of resources
has never matched the scale of the problem. Many believed that the weak presence of
the State in the municipality reflects a broader historical neglect of border
communities by central governments. Two local agents stated:

“The State has a very poor presence here. They have left all the responsibility
to the mayors of these territorial entities [...]. They help in some things but
not in the magnitude that is required to solve the problem.”
– Local government representative

“There is tremendous social pessimism because we are being left alone.”

– Local government representative

On the other hand, most local government agents recognized that there has
been a significant response by international organizations to address the crisis
in the municipality. Nonetheless, there was dissent regarding their performance for
two main reasons. First, they believed that international organizations have been
inefficient in communicating both amongst themselves and with the local
administration. As a result, their actions have had limited impact or have not met
the expectations of the local government regarding aid provision.

“Let me give an example, the WFP comes, the IOM comes, but each one
is working alone, and the aid that is reaching Maicao is not impacting...
each one is running out on their own, and they do not articulate so that
we can see the impact of their help and support.”
– Local government representative

A second reason was that some believe the organizations to be creating a “pull effect”;
that is, increased assistance to migrants may motivate more Venezuelans to move
into the community.

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 VENEZUELANS IN COLOMBIA

“The national and international NGOs provide help, but we have a

problem with that because it is producing the so-called “pull effect,” that
is, people facing a challenging situation there, come to Maicao, with an
aggravating factor, which is the Venezuelan immigrant who stays here
has less academic, intellectual, and economic resources.”
– Local government representative

The testimonies of local agents illustrated the historically close relationship

between Colombia and Venezuela. Two elements characterize their relationship. First,
Colombians and Venezuelans see themselves as heirs to a common past and as sharing
many cultural features. For example, Colombians, particularly Maicaeros, frequently refer
to Venezuelans as “brothers.” Second, in its prosperous past, Venezuela benefited the
Maicao community through intense trade and through the migration of Colombians
into Venezuela for employment. Given its special customs status, Maicao – the first
urban center reached by land from Venezuela – has historically been a hotspot for
commercial exchange between Colombia and Venezuela. This commercial exchange
has been sustained by the strong performance of the Venezuelan currency, the Bolívar
(VEF), especially since the oil boom of the 1970s/1980s.24 The local community
recognized its debt to its neighbor and feels that it needs to reciprocate based on the
help received in the past.

These two sentiments, brotherhood and reciprocity, have fostered a feeling of solidarity
towards migrants in the area and have also halted the growth of xenophobia, as
expressed by two agents:

“You imagine how, in the beginning, the people welcomed them with
affection… because here in this area, we don’t forget all that what we
received from Venezuela in the past. I, for example, didn’t learn the national
anthem until I went to study in Maicao because the radio station, the
television that we used to watch here [Paraguachón], was Venezuelan.”
– Local government representative

We have not fallen into xenophobia yet because the relationship with
Venezuela was not only economic; we are made of the same clay, the
same umbilical cord unites us, we are brothers, we are the same people.
– Local government representative

While these two sentiments have contributed to the welcoming of migrants by the local
community, some people also identified the opposite: factors triggering xenophobia.
Four factors are constantly mentioned; first, acts of violence and crime committed by
some Venezuelans have caused fear and concern towards migrants overall. Second, a
negative stereotype of a lazy, low-income Venezuelan accustomed to living off state
welfare has emerged. Third, some members of the community perceived Venezuelans

24. According to the Chamber of Commerce of La Guajira, around 90% of the population of Maicao makes a living from
commercial activities. The Venezuelan crisis and precipitous fall of the Bolívar have provoked a 40% fall in the city’s trade
(El Heraldo, 2018).

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 as harming the local population by reducing employment opportunities. And fourth,
there was a sense of discomfort due to the fact that humanitarian aid is dedicated to
Venezuelans but not to locals, who also face economic hardship. An agent commented
on the last issue:

“This is one of the main challenges in any response to a refugee crisis.

Often, agents go to areas already affected by structural problems of
poverty, development, and tensions between the local population and the
refugee population can arise.”
– International NGO representative

In the face of such events, some have reaffirmed the importance of measures to prevent
tension between locals and migrants from escalating into an open conflict.

“These elements are destroying the solidarity they gained at the

beginning, and this is already being reversed by a derogatory attitude of
the local population, resulting in increasing xenophobia.”
– Local government representative

Discomfort and dissatisfaction due to the migration crisis were especially worrying
to local authorities, who are under great pressure to meet the needs and
expectations of the local community. To a large extent, such pressure explains why
some government representatives have proposed radical measures –such as
deportation or confinement of migrants in shelters located far away from the urban
center— to deal with the situation.

“With the pain of the soul, it is needed that those who are not organized,
registered, or with a resident permit please be returned to their country,
with all the pain of the soul, and leave us, because we don’t have the way
to solve the situation of a neighboring country.”
– Local government representative.

Perceptions of the local community leaders

Migration as an inherent social process in Maicao

In the interviews, it emerged that leaders and influencers of the local

community recognized that migration flows have always taken place in Maicao. They
noted the presence of Middle Eastern migrants (especially Lebanese) who have
established businesses in the municipality, as well as Venezuelans, who have historically
held commercial and cultural connections to Colombia. With this in mind, some argued
that understanding the migration process between Colombia and Venezuela requires a
retrospective approach.

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 VENEZUELANS IN COLOMBIA

The historical relationship between the countries has generated a sentiment of empathy
towards Venezuelan migrants within local leaders and the Maicaera community
in general. One of the interviewed Wayúu social and education leaders stated, “we are
not unmindful of Venezuelans; we even consider them as family.” Another Wayúu social
and educational leader argued that there is a feeling of gratitude and debt because
“many years ago, we relied on the bonanza and good times in the Venezuelan State,
and now we have to give back some of what we have received.” In this sense, it can be
said that society in Maicao has never been foreign to migration processes, which
suggests a social and cultural potential in the community to promote the inclusion of
migrants in this municipality, as well as across the department of La Guajira.

Management of migration: insufficient, fragmented, and inefficient

Among the interviewed leaders, there was disagreement on management of the

migration problem. For many, allocated resources have not only been insufficient but
have also been inefficiently deployed, as actions have mostly followed the priorities
and interests of humanitarian agents instead of following common guidelines. One
leader affirms that resources have so far been “insufficient and not used in the best way,
because they are isolated, [and] there is no mechanism to optimize resources and
expand programs.” In addition, many leaders maintained that there is no
communication with the municipal administration, which further jeopardizes the
management of migration.

On the other hand, some leaders agreed that aid provided by different
organizations sometimes adopts the form of assistentialism and does not contribute
to a solution. Additionally, this aid could generate dependence and a passive attitude
among migrants. This is how some leaders expressed this belief:

“We cannot limit help provided to Venezuelans to a bag of food, one sheet
and one pillow to sleep and expect them to go ... we need to find a way
to integrate them into the work system, understand how we accept them,
how we absorb them, without them harming us, or the other way around.
If we continue doing have been doing, we are not going provide any real
solution”.
-Wayúu social and educational leader

“Teach to fish, do not give the fish. Giving him a bite of food does not solve
the problem for the migrant.”
- Education and trade union leader

“More than helping, we can say that they are encouraging begging.”
– Community leader

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 Perceptions and attitudes towards migrants

Community leaders drew attention to two antagonistic perceptions of Venezuelan

migrants coexisting in Maicaera society. On the one hand, they are seen as “Venezuelan
brothers” due to the shared history between the countries. On the other hand, migrants
are seen with distrust and prejudice; some people, including the following leader,
referred to Venezuelans as “people generating violence, people who attack us,
people who are bringing more infectious diseases.”25 Many leaders recognized that
such prejudice hinders the integration of migrants into the community.

“The preventions are many; the prevention, the tension. So, you can easily
hear someone on the street saying, ‘I need someone to cut my tree.’ – ‘Oh,
I know a boy!’ – ‘If he is Venezuelan, I do not want him around.’ ”
- Religious leader

“The vast majority of them have caused damage to the natives - people-
with robberies, assassinations, kidnappings. Then what happens? The
population here is being very cautious about providing or facilitating a
job for them.”
- Religious leader

To analyze the testimonies of leaders, it is relevant to refer to the concept of aporophobia,

coined by Adela Cortina (2017); this term implies that migrants may be disliked not
because they are migrants, but instead because they are poor. In the interviews, many
leaders, including the following one, referred to the condition of social vulnerability faced
by Venezuelan migrants:

“The Venezuelan is not a stranger for us, [...] we have always kept in
contact with them. The problem now is that we have never interacted
with them in the situation they are facing now. That is where the conflict
has generated.”
- Social influencer

Thus, for the local community, the fundamental problem seems to be the poverty of
incoming Venezuelans rather than their migrant status. Some of the following testimonies
illustrate this point:

25. In Riohacha, some entrepreneurs claim that the rise in crime in the trade and commercial sectors are explained by the
increase in Venezuelan migrants (Chambers of Commerce, La Guajira, 2017). These perceptions do not consider the history
of violence and crime reported in Colombian cities, which gives the false imaginary that more conflicts come with the mi-
gratory flow. A convincing fact is that by 2017, out of the total number of inmates in Colombia, only 0.30% are Venezuelans.
In La Guajira, Venezuelan inmates make up 7% (FIP, 2019).

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 VENEZUELANS IN COLOMBIA

“We have a special condition. We are receiving migrants of the poorest

municipality of the state of Zulia, and their human development index is
the lowest in the history of the continent.”
- Wayúu social and education leader

“Poor people, of extreme poverty, who do not know how to work [...].
They were living at the ribs of the Venezuelan government, who gave
them everything. They only know how to beg.”
- Trade and commerce sector leader

Finally, regarding this issue, some leaders agreed in defining Maicao as a

“colander”: migrants with more structured life projects (as a result of their academic,
labor, and social skills) continued on their way to other cities in Colombia or Latin
American countries, while migrants lacking this social, economic, and cultural capital
remain in the municipality.

The need for a comprehensive solution, both or migrants and the host society

In the midst of the problems that migration has brought to the municipality, some
leaders managed to identify a positive aspect: in contrast to its historical neglect,
Maicao has now become visible both to the central government and the international
community.

“It awoke in the national government the need to review the frontier
policies, whether they are working or not. We became visible because of
this reality.”
- Education and social leader

“A positive aspect is that the State gives us a little attention and hopefully
will give some help.”
- Education and social leader

Several leaders hoped that this attention received by the municipality may not only
solve the problems faced by migrants but also address other shortcomings experienced
by the local society.

“It is true that many migrants that came here are facing needs, but there
are also Colombian families in La Guajira who are hungry, who live on the
streets, who are suffering, who have epidemics, and who are not really
receiving the relevant help.”
- Religious leader

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 “Here, there is also the family that goes to bed without eating. Here, there
are also children who do not go to school because they do not have a
uniform or because they do not have a good breakfast. Here in Maicao,
there are also children who, instead of going to school, stay on the street
helping their father get something to eat.”
– Community leader

The ten testimonies above highlight how the migration crisis intensifies the pre-existing
socio-economic problems of this historically-forgotten region. Overall, community
leaders considered aid to the local community necessary to halt the growing
tension between migrants and locals. Such tension is evident in the following
testimony of a religious leader, recollecting a conversation with a person of Wayúu
origin who complained about food assistance to Venezuelan migrants through
community kitchens.

“This is our land, and we are also hungry and also have needs, and why
do not they give us food? If they are not going to feed us, then we will
damage everything.”
– Wayúu community leader (told by a religious leader)

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 VENEZUELANS IN COLOMBIA

VVenezuelan products are sold in the streets of Maicao.

Maicao, La Guajira, octubre de 2018.

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 8 CONCLUSIONS

The migrants who arrive in Maicao from Venezuela are diverse in terms of their sociocultural
background; this diversity is reflected in their ages, ethnic backgrounds, educational
attainment levels, sexual identities, family structures and other characteristics. The design
of effective programs and policies to address the problems facing this municipality and
the rest of Colombia, must take this diversity into consideration.

Historically, Maicao has had a close relationship with Venezuelan society, not only
because of its geographical proximity, but also because of the common geopolitical past
that Colombia and Venezuela share. This relationship is reflected in the rich commercial
exchange that has taken place in this border area, as well as in the shared social and
family networks that have been formed between the countries. These elements are an
important strength that may enable Maicao to cope with the intense migration flow from
Venezuela, creating an opportunity to improve the social inclusion of migrants within this
host society.

This report shows three fundamental needs claimed by Venezuelan migrants living in
Maicao: shelter, food, and employment. Regarding the first need, it should be noted
that permanent shelters are required for migrants to prevent them from ending up in
precarious housing situations or living on the streets. In addition, it is necessary to have
enough temporary shelters to meet the demand generated by migrants who arrive in
transit to Maicao and wish to continue their migratory journey. In regard to food, it is
crucial to implement programs that cover three daily meals, with special attention given to
children and adolescents, pregnant women, and older adults, who are more vulnerable to
health risks. Finally, as the migrants themselves claim, employment is their primary need,
since working would allow the migrants to meet the two previous needs independently
and also to achieve greater inclusion into the host society. It is worth mentioning that
some of the migrants are proficient in certain trades and would only require tools
and resources to start their own businesses, benefiting themselves and contributing to
the local community’s economic development.

Moreover, during the fieldwork in Maicao, it was also noted that perceptions of both local
authorities and their native inhabitants about the migratory process is permeated by a
series of prejudices and negative stereotypes about the migrants; these tensions have
started to create conflict between them and the local community. To mitigate outbreaks
of xenophobia that have begun to emerge, it is necessary to implement awareness-raising
strategies that facilitate solidarity and promote a different conception of immigration.
Ideally, awareness can be raised so that migration is not seen as a problem, but as an
opportunity for the development of both the local community and Colombia in general.

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 VENEZUELANS IN COLOMBIA

In Maicao, the extensive migration flow has led different institutions in Colombia, as
well as national and international NGOs to mobilize strategies and resources to assist
the migrant population. Migrants recognize and value the humanitarian aid they have
received, mainly in the areas of medical care, food, and shelter. However, they, as well as
the local community and the institutional actors themselves, recognize problems in the
humanitarian aid. On the one hand, it is insufficient, as it does not cover all the migrants
nor adequately satisfy all their basic needs. On the other hand, it is not sustainable, as
it does not provide migrants with the resources that could allow them to attend to their
needs autonomously. This fact should be considered an opportunity to improve
migration management in two ways. First, collaboration between the Colombian state
and NGOs should be strengthened in order to increase the scope and impact of their
humanitarian aid initiatives. Second, programs that are aimed at solving the
employment needs of migrants should be developed.

Finally, it is recommended that public policies, as well as programs, projects, and actions,
be focused on the most vulnerable populations within the host society, including not only
migrants but also local citizens who, due to their socioeconomic status, are also at risk of
social marginalization. This is of great importance since it would contribute to addressing
some of the preexisting needs or “development gaps” in the host society (World
Bank, 2018). It would also help to mitigate the tensions arising as a result of the
allocation of public and private resources towards the foreign migrant population.

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 Venezuela mechanic operating his workshop on the streets of Maicao.

Maicao, La Guajira, 2018.

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 VENEZUELANS IN COLOMBIA

9 METHODOLOGY

For this study, a mixed methodology, combining both qualitative and quantitative tools,
was used. The research techniques used during this exploratory study included eight-
weeks of documentation review and analysis, key organization mapping and two-weeks
of field research (in which the team conducted semi-structured interviews, surveys,
focus groups, and obtained personal narratives). Finally, the researchers conducted data
systematization and analysis over three weeks and wrote the final report during the last
two weeks. The total length of the research was three months, from September to
December 2018.

Sampling methodology
Target Audience Sample

Government entities and NGOs 19

Community influencers 10

Focus groups with migrants and refugees 3

Personal narratives with migrants 5

Surveys with migrants and refugees 174

Sampling for interviews with influencers of the host community

Convenience sampling was used to select some of the participants. The

snowball system was also used to avoid sampling systems that include more subtle
biases, such as selecting only volunteers. Another advantage of snowball sampling is
that it uses the social networks of the participating subjects to access certain informants
who, for various reasons, could not otherwise be reached to be part of the research.
This allows access to different perspectives and opinions regarding the social processes
studied; in this case, to different perspective on the migration of Venezuelans to
Colombia.

The following was the inclusion criteria for the influencers:

• Be a native of the region or have resided continuously for at least three years
in the region.
• Reside in the municipality of Maicao.
• Be of legal age (18 years and older).

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 • Play a leading role in the social, educational, economic, political, or cultural
field; or, be recognized by the community as a leader.

Sampling for focus groups and personal narratives with Venezuelan

migrants and refugees

Convenience sampling was used to select the participating subjects of the focus groups
and personal narratives. Sayara sought to have a diverse sample in terms of gender, sexual
orientation, age, schooling, socioeconomic status, and time and type of migration.

The following was the inclusion criteria for migrants participating in these techniques:

• Have Venezuelan nationality.

• Have migrated from Venezuela in the last five years.
• Reside in Maicao.
• Be of legal age (18 years and older).

Sampling for surveys with Venezuelan migrants and refugees

Initially, Venezuelan migrants who were easy to locate or to contact through organizations
providing services in the region were surveyed. Then, through the snowball technique,
the research team depended on these migrants to help locate more individuals. This
process continued until the researchers had all the surveys that they needed or until all
their contacts had been exhausted.

The following was the inclusion criteria for the survey participants:

• Have Venezuelan nationality.

• Have migrated from Venezuela in the last five years.
• Reside in Maicao.
• Be of legal age (18 years and older)

Sampling for interviews with actors of governmental and non-governmental

organization

Convenience sampling was used for the selection of these interviewees. To be selected,
participants had to be part of one of the governmental or non-governmental organizations
that met the criteria to be included in the mapping.

The following was the inclusion criteria for governmental and non-governmental actors:

• Be of legal age (18 years and older).

• Linked to a governmental or non-governmental organization that works with
the population of Venezuelan migrants and refugees in the municipality of
Maicao.
• Have at least four continuous months of connection with the organization.
• Hold a position of responsibility within the organization.

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 VENEZUELANS IN COLOMBIA

A selection of NGOs and government entities was made in accordance with their role in the
issues related to the protection of vulnerable Venezuelan migrants in the municipality of
Maicao, department of La Guajira. Priority was given to government entities, civil society
organizations (even if they were not legally constituted), and international agencies.

The organizations to be interviewed were selected according to the following criteria:

• How commitment to the issue of the protection of Venezuelan migrants in

a vulnerable state.
• Develop activities and strategies related to the protection of Venezuelan
migrants and work in defense of human rights.
• Have representation and decision-making power at the political level and
participate in discussions of international migration.
• Have the power to make decisions on the execution of programs and activities
related to the protection of migrants.
• Provide technical advice to governmental and non-governmental institutions
about the management of migration.
• Work to legally solve cases in which the rights of migrants are violated.

Ethnographic research plan

The research team visited areas in the municipality of Maicao with the objective of directly
observing the context in which Venezuelan migrants and refugees are living.

The ethnographic process focused on the observation of particular aspects that were
important to the investigation: 1) the physical context; that is, the places where migrants
and refugees live in the company of their families or social networks; 2) the institutional
framework; that is, the social services that are available to meet their needs; 3) formal
interactions, which account for the relationships established between migrants and
refugees and both governmental and non-governmental institutions; and 4) informal
interactions, which reveal the processes of social integration within the host society.

The team used audiovisual recording to highlight any significant observations during the
tours. Written notes were also taken to complement the recorded images.

The research team defined three places in its ethnographic plan to be observed:

1. Migrant and Refugee Care Center

This center is part of the Pastoral Social Cáritas Colombia organization. Its objective
is to provide humanitarian aid to migrants and refugees. In October 2017, a bulletin
said that the center had attended to approximately 1,800 Venezuelans in “conditions
of extreme vulnerability” during that year.
2. Paraguachón migratory control post
The control post is located in the corregimiento of the same name, eight kilometers
from the city of Maicao. This corregimiento is located on the border of Venezuela
and this border post is characterized by the continuous flow of Venezuelan citizens
to Colombia.

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 3. Public spaces (Simon Bolívar Park, Public Market, and Transportation Terminal)
These public spaces are established meeting places between people from the region
and those who come from Venezuela. It is precisely in these spaces where one can
see how migrants are being integrated into the host society and the responses to
integration.

Ethical considerations

To guarantee the exercise of good investigative practice, the researchers made the
following ethical considerations: 1) researchers thoroughly explained the informed
consent document, which gave participants accurate information about the objectives,
scope of the research, and potential benefits and risks of participating. The consent form
gave participants the ability to accept free participation in the research or to withdraw,
provided contact information of those in charge of the research, and ensured there was no
conflict of interest; 2) the researchers ensured informed consent of participating subjects
when recording devices or cameras were used; 3) the names and personal information
of participants were kept confidential. A double system of coding ensured that technical
staff could not know the identity of migrants, refugees, and community influencers;
4) voluntary and autonomous participation was guaranteed; 5) the researchers
guaranteed that they would provide any answers or clarification if participants were
unsure about the procedures, risks, benefits, or other matters related to the research
or participant treatment; 6) participating subjects were selected based on the
inclusion criteria mentioned in the methodology.

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 VENEZUELANS IN COLOMBIA

Venezuelan migrant sells gasoline, from Venezuela, in downtown Maicao.

Maicao, La Guajira, October 2018.

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 ANNEX 1.
RESIDENCY PERMITS GRANTED TO VENEZUELAN
MIGRANTS BY LATIN AMERICAN COUNTRIES

Country Date (as of) Population

Colombia 31-oct-18 41.4% 415,298

Chile 31-dec-2017 11.5% 115,661

Peru 15-oct-18 11.1% 111,278

Panama 30-sept-18 10.0% 100,320

Ecuador 15-oct-18 9.6% 96,471

Argentina 30-sept-18 9.3% 93,438

Mexico 30-jun-18 3.3% 32,632

Brazil 31-jul-18 2.0% 19,616

Uruguay 30-sept-18 0.9% 8,643

Costa Rica 24-nov-17 0.6% 5,600

Canada 28-feb-18 0.2% 1,817

Bolivia 30-sept-18 0.1% 1,196

Paraguay 22-apr-2018 0.1% 576

Total 100% 1,002,546

Source: Regional Inter-Agency Coordination Platform for Refugees and Migrants from
Venezuela, September 2018 (UNHCR, 2018a).

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 VENEZUELANS IN COLOMBIA

ANNEX 2.
INCIDENCE OF POVERTY IN COLOMBIA DEPARTMENTS
CAPITAL CITY (%) (2013-2017)

Year
Department
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

Antioquia 24.2 24.3 23.7 21.9 21.3

Atlántico 32.4 28.6 25.7 25.0 24.3

Bogotá D.C. 10.2 10.1 10.4 11.6 12.4

Bolívar 41.8 39.9 39.3 41.0 38.2

Boyacá 39.3 38.2 35.4 32.0 28.7

Caldas 32.2 29.2 27.9 27.6 26.7

Caquetá 42.4 39.0 41.3 35.8 35.1

Cauca 58.4 54.2 51.6 50.7 48.7

Cesar 44.8 40.9 42.3 41.9 40.7

Chocó 63.1 65.9 62.8 59.8 58.7

Córdoba 51.8 46.3 46.6 44.8 45.8

Cundinamarca 18.9 16.9 17.0 17.3 14.7

Huila 47.3 43.9 44.3 45.9 35.7

La Guajira 55.8 53.0 53.3 52.5 52.6

Magdalena 50.5 48.1 44.8 50.0 48.5

Meta 27.1 23.3 21.8 24.5 25.1

Nariño 47.6 42.9 40.0 45.7 40.2

Norte de Santander 39.4 39.9 40.0 40.4 40.0

Quindío 35.6 31.7 31.7 30.3 26.4

Risaralda 28.8 23.7 22.3 19.6 16.3

Santander 19.5 19.6 17.9 18.0 18.9

Sucre 47.3 43.9 44.7 46.7 41.6

Tolima 34.8 32.5 32.9 31.4 29.1

Valle del Cauca 27.2 22.7 21.5 22.6 21.1

National Total 30.6 28.5 27.8 28.0 26.9

Source: DANE - Continuous Household Survey (2002-2005) and Large Integrated Household Survey (2008-2017).

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 ANNEX 3.
UNEMPLOYMENT AND UNDEREMPLOYMENT RATES
IN COLOMBIA BY DEPARTMENT AND CAPITAL CITY
(2017)

Underemployment Underemployment
Unemployment
Department rate rate
rate (%)
(subjective) (%) (objective) (%)

Quindío 13.5 34.1 12.9

Norte de Santander 12.7 21.8 11.3

Meta 12.2 23.9 9.8

Valle del Cauca 11.5 33.9 11.6

Cesar 10.9 31.8 10.3

Bogotá D.C. 10.5 22.4 8.4

Antioquia 10.2 22.5 8.7

Tolima 10.1 34.3 10.9

Chocó 9.8 23.7 3.9

Bolívar 6.4 18.6 6.5

Caldas 9.2 21.1 5.0

Sucre 9.1 39.2 13.2

Córdoba 9.1 14.7 8.1

Huila 8.7 35.8 10.5

Cauca 8.3 33.8 12.3

Caquetá 8.2 28.3 8.3

Cundinamarca 8.0 27.7 12.5

Risaralda 7.8 17.2 7.3

Boyacá 7.5 29.2 8.1

Magdalena 7.4 31.2 11.3

Atlántico 7.4 30.4 11.6

Nariño 6.8 36.9 12.3

Santander 6.8 19.6 8.0

La Guajira 6.5 41.1 13.7

National total 9.4 26.7 9.7

Source: DANE - Large Integrated Household Survey 2017: Labor market by departments (2018).

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 VENEZUELANS IN COLOMBIA

ANNEX 4.
PRESENCE OF ARMED GROUPS IN THE BORDER
AREA WITH VENEZUELA

Source: As publised in Semana Magazine, May 9th, 2015

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 ANNEX 5.
NARRATIVES OF VENEZUELAN MIGRANTS

AMELIA’S NARRATIVE

I come from the Vargas state. Eight years ago, I went to Margarita Island
to live since I needed to finish my degree--a degree in integral education.
With the programs that the president had, at that time Chávez, I got a
house. I had to work hard because they only gave me materials, and I
had to build it. Then my husband, as a general contractor, built it for me,
little by little, every time they gave me materials.

I finished the course, but I could not work there because there was no
capacity for so many people. So, I said, “I am going to teach anywhere.” The
Institute of Attention to Minors opened their doors for me. Apart from that, I
worked in the kitchen as a cook and worked in both places.

The departure

As time passed, the crisis became more acute. They changed my work site. I spent a lot
to buy tickets, and I did not have the salary to support my three children. I did not have
enough money, not even to buy diapers for the baby. It was not easy, and the change was
so abrupt because everything happened very fast. In one year, the currency was devalued.
Little by little, we could not obtain what we needed, even the medicine. I needed a daily
dose of insulin, and I had to look for it in all the states of the country. Not being able to
get the food, the fact that you could not drink a glass of juice every day as you were used
to, that you went to sleep without dinner, that your son must go to school the next day,
and you could not send him because you did not have money to pay for the ticket. My
daughter practically lost a year of education that way, and I had to talk to the teachers.
I insisted so much that the teachers told me, “We are going to give the girl a chance.” I
asked her friends, “Tell me what you saw.” Then, I talked to her about the subject because
I am a teacher and I could help her. My daughter was tested, and my daughter passed her
grade. My daughter had the opportunity for me to help her, for me to explain, but how
many other children missed the school year, how many other children went to bed without
eating, two, three, four, and five days, with just a little piece of bread in the stomach?

There came a time when I got tired. I sat down with my husband, and I told him that
something must be done. What do we do? We do not have a passport. If we leave, we can
go to Brazil, we can go to Colombia. They are the only places we can go to. I decided to
sell the house, and I went to live with my mom. That was quick, in ten days I said, “Let’s
go to Colombia, we will invest the money from the house in Maracaibo, and we will take
things to sell there.” So, we did. We bought 60 kg of meat, but the guard asked a fortune
to allow us to pass.

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 VENEZUELANS IN COLOMBIA

The path
When we came, we passed by the trocha. We had to pay, and we paid the guards for the
things we brought. We also had to pay in the mecates . That was the most surprising thing.
All along the road, there are about 25 or 30 mecates27 where armed men are charging. They
charge a fee in order to allow the wagon to pass. If he does not pay, they send everyone
down. They threaten, they check things, they steal. Each person must pay something. If they
were interested in someone, they lower, kidnap, and if that person is a woman, they violate
her. We heard that many times. They have killed people for not paying what they ask.

They speak in Wayúu. As in this part of Maicao and Venezuela people speak Guajiro, so
I cannot say if they were Venezuelan or Colombian. What I can attest to is that after you
pass that trocha, no one bothers you, not even the DIAN. The DIAN stops the truck, they
see the people, and that is enough. But, instead, the Venezuelan Guard takes away what
you bring, takes away money, extorts you. It is complicated.

The arrival
I came here with my meat. I managed to sell it here on the street. Then, with that money
that I received, I waited for what the Venezuelans brought, I bought from them, and I went
to Riohacha to sell everything. We were doing great. I even stayed in a hotel with my baby.
I brought my one-year-old baby–she was the only one I brought–and we stayed at the
hotel. One day I was robbed. They left me with nothing, everything I was going to invest.
Everything. That day, I had to sleep on the street with the baby.

They told me about a shelter, so I went there with my husband. We asked for help, and
they helped us; they gave us lodging. A man said to me, “Rest assured that God made you
two good hands. You have told me that you cook well, I will lend a pot and cooktop, and
you know all sellers. Ask them to buy on credit the vegetable, the meat and make soup
to sell it. We will lend you the cups to sell.” In three days, I made 150 thousand pesos
because it was a pretty big pot, and it sold fast because the soup was delicious. So, I sold
soup for those three days and managed to gather everything I needed. I bought my anafe,
my cups, all the things I needed.

When we already had some money collected, I went back to look for my children, and I
brought them to me. We pay rent in a house. Sometimes things are tight. Venezuelans
are not paid as they should be because they are illegal here. However, now we have
permission to stay [PEP or SSP], and things changed a little bit. We have lived here for five
months. It is not easy, waiting for someone to open the doors for me to get a job. I have
two professions, but I can practically do nothing because my documents do not have an
apostille.

We got a lot of help. I never thought that the Colombians would be so receptive. I see how
at night people come out, they pray to any saint, and they go out to give food to 20 or 30
people. However, the Venezuelans–I am part of them, and it hurts me to say this–they are
ungrateful. Venezuelans steal and take advantage of the people who help them. Not in all
cases, but yes, this happens.

27. Unofficial check points

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 I want to stay. I think it is a good place to get ahead. I want my eldest daughter to complete
high school. My daughter likes it. She wants to stay because she sees that her father can
work and can move forward. First, I had to seek psychological help because she went
through many changes, many mood changes. She became rebellious, blamed us for
suffering, for selling the house. However, now she sees that she can eat every day. There,
we went to bed many times without dinner because we could not buy food. Now, we
cannot be in a house as comfortable as before, but we can eat every day.

I like Maicao. I feel like I am closer to Venezuela, and you never know, if anything happens,
we can easily return to Venezuela. I want my country to be the same again.

JAIRO’S NARRATIVE
My name is Jairo, born in Venezuela, in the State of Zulia, Municipality of
San Francisco. I come from a middle-class family. I have been working
since I was a child. When I was seven or eight years old, I started to work.
I worked and studied. I managed to continue my studies and graduate.
Since then, my family began to face economic difficulties. I had to work
even more. My parents fell ill, they died, and I had to take control of the
house. I managed to get married and start my family. I worked hard and
managed to set up a microenterprise in Venezuela–in San Francisco, exactly
in the Coromoto area–dedicated to refrigeration, industrial manufacturing,
and electronics.

The departure

The difficulties increased three years ago. The electric energy failed, the economy began
to fail, I began to sell the tools from work. I faced many difficulties. In my workshop, I
could not work because the electrical system did not function. Sometimes I stayed seven
or eight hours without electricity, and as an electrical mechanic, I could not do anything.
No spare parts were available. I could not commit to working on something I could not
fulfill. Also, there is the problem of food in Zulia. All the central markets vanished. This
situation makes everything even worse because there were ten places where you could
find food, now it is just eight. There are two less, and the population continues to grow.
There is an abandonment; there is no electricity, no system, nothing. There is no food,
many malnourished children. We have a government that is deaf, does not listen, does not
accept mistakes. To err is human, but when we do not accept our mistakes, we will never
get anywhere, we will never be constructive. It is a country that is stuck. I decided to leave
because I could not keep my family living in such poor conditions.

My wife, we got married 11 years ago. My wife is a teacher in Venezuela. She works with
the Ministry of Education, but there are many difficulties. Before the situation happened,
we were middle class. We managed to cover our expenses, help our families. Because of
the circumstances now, we had to separate. Here I am alone, because she could not come.

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 VENEZUELANS IN COLOMBIA

There is a certain threat, that if you leave the office for three or four days, it will be taken
away, from government pressure. What my wife earns, can barely afford her a pair of
shoes a month. The house is sustained by what I send them. Thank God, with the money
I earn here, I can sustain myself and them. We both love each other, but we have...that is,
if I return there, we will economically fail, and if she comes, she will lose her job.

We are now in this balance that is quite complicated. We are very mature people, and
we know how to face this situation. We understand each other and ask God for things to
improve. We are trying to see if, at least, she manages to travel a weekend and go back
the next day. It is quite tricky for us, even economically, because the travel is costly and
there is also the danger on the road. A lot, a lot of danger, so sometimes I reject the idea.
However, we are thinking about how to figure it out. Emotionally, as a family, we are
well. It was our turn, as this situation has also touched many Venezuelans. I know that
thousands are in this condition.

The arrival
Here, I am in Colombia, in Maicao. When I arrived on a Monday, it was a holiday here. I
went to find a friend, and when I came, he was not there. He already left for another part
of the country. I could not communicate with him, so I slept that day on 10th Street, on a
sidewalk. The next day they told me about the shelter. I arrived there, and they were very
cordial. I went in the morning, and they told me to return later in the afternoon because
there were too many people, and they were very busy. Pastoral, until now, has been my
family here, and I am very grateful. The next day, I found a work opportunity, small, but
enough. They are quite fond of me, and I think my attitude and behavior helped. I have
been that family person, without vices, with no possessions, and until now, I would leave
anything to help them in whatever they need. They are my family here.

I have been here for five months. I work in electro-mechanics, repairing air conditioning,
washing machines, and things like that. Let’s not say that I had a terrible time. Because it
is not like that. I have met good people, and I managed to establish my family here. I am
very grateful to Colombia and for the many friends that I have around me. Right now, I live
in a school in the Comunero sector. They gave me the opportunity to stay in a school that
was unfinished. I helped finish any work that needed to be done. I have been there since
I moved here. I stay here, and I work in the street.

Going to another city in Colombia would mean starting all over again. I do not see any
good from that point of view. I have already made many friends here. I have stumbled
upon many good people. It would be pointless to go to another city. Moreover, I am very
close to my country. I am only a few hours away from my house, my home. I would rather
stay here. If the country changes in the future, I would return. However, for the moment,
with the current situation, and I do not think I am a pessimist, but I see the daily news,
and nothing seems to be improving. It does not seem to improve, and we see the situation
of the people who are here on the street, arriving every day, in quite critical condition..

We had to migrate. Thank God we came to this country. I know that you are very affected
by the entrance of so many Venezuelans here because there are Venezuelans who–well
I do not include myself–their behavior is quite bad. But we do have professional people
who come to work; we come to fight, to raise our family, and maybe help those people
who sometimes do not appreciate it, but we try to help anyway. Here we are.

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 DAVID’S NARRATIVE

I lived comfortably. My house, my home, with my family, my wife and my

daughter. I was engaged in trade. I bought damaged motorcycles, repaired
and sold them. I lived in the Aragua State, in Maracay, a busy city—similar
to Maicao, but with a greater influx of people, until trade began to decline.
It was complicated, the spare parts went to the clouds. I then dedicated
myself to the sweets trade. I was comfortable, I forgot about the bikes.
Then the shortage of food started, the shortage of raw materials. Wheat
flour, sugar, oil; nothing was available. And if you got anything, it was
bachaqueado, in other words, smuggled. You could not work with that
anymore because you had to buy the sugar from the same guards, the
soldiers themselves, or from the people who dedicated themselves to the
bachaqueo, which is the smuggling of products.

The departure

The situation was changing. That led to problems at home. I divorced from my wife. I did
not provide necessities. If we ate, we could not buy a dress. If you bought a dress, you
could not eat for a week. However, I was looking for the return. Well, I sewed a pair of
shoes, fixed a phone. I sought employment in non-retail stores, shopping malls, clothing
stores, fast food stores, bus collectors. I earned money with video games. Thank God I
have that gift, and about four hours a day I sat on the computer and made money. They
deposited me via PayPal.

Every day we ate chopped rice with sardines. Chopped rice is the food that is given to the
chickens. We ate that because I did not have enough money. A day of work is not enough
to buy a kilo of rice, and you cannot afford to have breakfast. If you want to eat a pie with
a juice, you cannot. That does not give you a day’s work. My daughter was running out of
shoes, and I had to find a way, and do things that I did not want to do to, in order to get
her a pair of shoes. Knowing that my daughter, who will be nine years old, tells me “daddy,
I know it is difficult,” –a girl of nine years told me this, and it broke my heart, “you can give
me a birthday balloon.”. I say that, and it gives me this feeling. Do you know what it is like
for a nine-year-old girl to understand how bad the country is, that all your happiness is in
a balloon? That tears me apart.

There comes a point when I said, “I am going to Colombia.” I had a partner, and he also
said, “let’s go to Colombia.” I thought about it for like six or seven months, until I decided,
I am ready. I started selling one or two things that I had, I had a pair of new shoes, I had
some watches to make the passage, and I took a chance.

The arrival

I do not have a passport. To get a passport there is difficult process, that lasts about four
years. A Guajiro man did me a favor. Sure, they charge, but I spoke to him truthfully, “look,
brother, we don’t have anything, I came with my current girlfriend, and we crossed by

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 VENEZUELANS IN COLOMBIA

the trocha.” The Guajiro did not charge me, and he didn’t say anything to me. We went
through a trocha, and by this way, we got here to Maicao. I arrived here without any
pesos; I had nothing. Thank God they placed us near here and someone told us “there is
a shelter where they help you for three days.” We stayed there for three days and now we
are out. I’ve been sleeping on the street for a month and three days. A little cardboard,
a sheet and to sleep with. And we watch out for our pockets, because if we do not, they
steal from us. Because, as they say here, the chirrete –in my country we say the beggar–
is also Venezuelan. Although it hurts to say it, I think that 100% of the beggars here are
Venezuelan and they are waiting to steal, to take away your things because they want to
buy something. I do not sleep comfortably because of the fear of being robbed.

Nowadays I work on sewing shoes. I earned the trust of several Colombians. They give me
the shoes, I sew them, and they pay me. The shelter helps us a lot when it rains, they let
us stay. They let us use the bathroom and they give us food. That is quite helpful because it
is something that no one longer cares about. We wait quietly for work, knowing that what
we do, we keep a little bit for dinner and the rest we save to move forward.

I have seen that Colombia is wonderful. My goal is to get to Soacha, because they are
waiting for me, but I would like to know Medellín and Barranquilla because people told
me that there are many beautiful things. The reason why I want to move somewhere
else in the country is because I have a friend that already has residency and can help
me with employment. I will not leave because I am afraid they will deport me because
I do not have documents. I am waiting here to see if there is another census for me to
register and travel legally. They told me, “go away, ask for a ride.” but I am also scared
because I do not know the intentions of the person. I am not going to tell you that there
are bad Colombians. Thank God I have the basis to say that from ten Colombians, nine are
educated, good people, attentive. They say, “dear, how can I help?” or “Dear, this is what
I can give, I do not give more because I cannot, or I do not have more.” They are super
kind, super attentive. Some, well, they will have their reasons for being dry., But no, they
are not bad. I do not have reason to complain here. The only thing is that because of my
fellow countrymen, I cannot get a job. Last night, I talked to a man who sells things, and
Venezuelans robbed him. He gave an opportunity to two Venezuelans, and they stole
from him. A woman, whom I did a gardening job for, tells me that she had five Venezuelan
people sleeping in her house and they robbed her. I am ashamed because I say, “what kind
of Venezuelans are coming?!”.

I hope to move forward. However, when I got here to make some money, I came to
Maicao. Why? Well, here there is trade. Money moves quickly here, because there are
so many people. I wanted to sell some typical Venezuelan food, which is fast and tasty.
So, I say, I work somewhere, I invest t, and I come to work. Although there is so much
beauty here, one comes to work. I do not come for the beauty. I came here to help my
family back in Venezuela.

I have listened to Colombians when they talk to each other, they say, “hey, but nobody
told them to come here.” Okay, nobody asked us to come here, nobody. However, we are
not asking anything from them either. We do not ask them for anything. I came to earn
my own things and, when I say earn, I mean that I came to work, and if I came to work it
is because I am going to be productive to this country because in my country, no one can

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 be productive anymore. Here in Maicao, everything they sell is from Venezuela. Gasoline
I think is from Venezuela, all the food I see in the shop is from Venezuela. Sometimes it is
false that they tell bad things about my country and discriminate when they still, even if it
is just a little bit, they still benefit from my country.

Are we damaging the country? In a way, yes, because we are taking some jobs from
Colombians, but it is not our intention. We came to help; we came to produce. I know that
there is the good and the bad, because I said, “look, my dear, if you want, you pay me 10
thousand pesos, and I mud the whole day.” So, I am giving my work away, but understand it.
I am doing it because I want to earn enough to move on and then produce something here.

MARCELO’S NARRATIVE

My name is Marcelo, and I am a Venezuelan migrant. I was born in Maracaibo,

and I am 43 years old. Maria’s only child, I do not know my father and my
mother never raised me; my grandmother raised me. I was with her until
the age of ten. In search of my mother–who I never found–I started
wandering through Venezuela and venturing into Venezuela. They said
she was in Maracaibo, in Cúcuta, and so I traveled and traveled until I
realized I was not going to find her. I decided to come here to Colombia
because I thought she was here in Colombia, and I came to the town
of Maicao, department of La Guajira, where I spent several days in the
streets and met the Caro family. They received me, supported me, and
I spent every night in their house for around three years. They gave me
the opportunity to study, they gave me shelter, kept me well fed, and they
educated me.

But then I continued on with the dream of finding my mom, so I returned to Venezuela.
When I was 18 years old, I joined the army. After that, I met a girl, and I decided to
live with her. I had my children, my two girls. When I left the army, I began to work for
companies, and I set up my own business. My daughters were growing up, and I set up my
food sale as I like it and, well, I started my life.

The departure

As a result of the situation happening in Venezuela, I left in search of a better future, to try
to help our families that are still there. I have my house there, but it is not possible, with a
minimum salary, to buy a good meal, maintain a good diet. We cannot buy shoes, clothes,
and tools to work with. Everything is too expensive, and for everything, they put a lock--a
lock. You must have a card, and if you do not have the card, you will not buy anything. We
are practically like prisoners in our own country.

I decided to come back to Maicao, after 26 years. I came back because I could not stay in
Colombia anymore because I had my business, my restaurant, my breakfast sale, I had my
cars, my motorcycles. All that I had to sell one by one in order to afford the food for my
family. I had big businesses, and unfortunately, due to our president, I lost everything. I
feel very sad because I am far from them.

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 VENEZUELANS IN COLOMBIA

The arrival

I arrived and decided to sell everything I had so my family could sustain themselves while I
was in Maicao. I came here to Maicao to look for the family that gave me support 26 years
ago. I began looking for them, and I found them. Today, they gave me the good news that
they welcomed me again, they received me with open arms and will house me here. They
give me a good education, and I like how I feel. I am staying in the house of one of the
lady’s children. It was hard for me because here, the Venezuelan migrants do bad things,
and because of them, we pay. But here, I am just like that, with my head up, showing that
there are more good Venezuelans than bad ones.

It took time for me to get a job. With the help of one son of the Caros, I went to sell water
in the truck. It was not much that we earned because, here in Maicao, the water problem
has been resolved for years. I paid a bit and kept my money. I bought deodorant and that
stuff, but it was not enough to send my family, my daughters. Little by little, they helped
me get a job. I started selling fried food with Mr. Manuel, and I started working with him.
After the second month, I realized that he was exploiting me. He is Venezuelan, just like
me, and he exploited me. He wanted me to work, work, work and earn less. I realized,
because I had employees, and I know what that is like, what the employee system is like,
and I know we should not be treated the way he treated us. As a result of that, I decided
to buy my own equipment. With what little money I earned, I sent a little to my family and
bought equipment. I bought a thermos, a showcase, a reverberant, a bottle, a tricycle,
and told my fellow, also Venezuelan, that if he wanted to continue there, ok, but if not, he
could come with me because he was exploiting us.

Now, we have our own business, and we made a partnership. He makes the empanadas,
gives them to me, I put them in my showcase, and I go out on the street to sell them. I
sell them at another price. When I arrive, we make accounts. I give him the money from
his empanadas, and I keep my profit. At the beginning it was not easy, because as one is
Venezuelan, then, for what has happened, that is seen in Brazil, in Colombia, in all the
parts where Venezuelans have done a lot of bad things. However, I love people. I am very
charismatic. I always like to say that today is a beautiful day, and never, never am I going
to stop saying it. As bad as things are, I am going to say it will always be a beautiful day
because we always have to keep in mind that God is the one who illuminates the way
for us. I love people very much, and I have many clients, I started with an average of 50
empanadas, 50 fritos (deep fried food) as they say here. Later on, 60, then 80. Today, I am
selling 150 empanadas daily.

Right now, the sales decreased due to the season, but as December approaches, they tell
me that it is very good. People like the food that I serve, the juices, everything. And the
service I give them is always friendly. I say, “good morning, friend, welcome” or “good
afternoon, miss” or “friend, a napkin” and “here are all the sauces” and “take a caramel
to enjoy the day” or “have a nice day friend.” I want to expand my business and the
reputation of my products. I have always said that it does not matter what business it is,
to pick up trash, mechanics, or carpentry, as long as one provides good customer service.
That client will speak well of you and will recommend you to other clients. That is my
motto. The service makes the difference.

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 Some clients tell me to go to Barranquilla: “Hey, mate! I congratulate you. You should go
to Barranquilla. There, you set up your business, and it will go very well.” But the fact is,
that I do not want to go to Barranquilla, the fact is that I have to grow my roots already. I
am 43 years old, and I am getting old, and I no longer have to think about going to venture
there because I have my family, and the more I go into Colombia, I know it will be more
difficult for me. But here, I feel good, here I feel comfortable and with people like you who
are helping the immigrants.

From my profits, I have paid for my food and the equipment that I need to work. I have
bought them one by one, and it is enough for me to send help to my family and my
daughters, which is the most important thing for me. Right now, we are living here, but
my goal is to rent a house later, and buy more equipment in order to bring them to me, to
bring my daughters to study here, and bring my family who is suffering. I am not the only
one; many of us are going through this.

I do not plan to return to Venezuela. Until that government gets out, I do not plan to
return. On the contrary, I want to bring my whole family here and work as hard as I can
to buy my land, make my home here. Why? Because I want a good education for my
daughters, and I want to improve my quality of life. Thank God, I have received many
comments, to keep going forward, work harder, and that is what I want to remember.
People tell me that it does not matter what is happening in Venezuela. Courage! Cheer
up! Cheer up! We must have a warrior heart, to get ahead, not to be faint, because if we
are faint of heart, we will give the president pleasure. Trust God that our country is going
to fix itself, and we will continue as before, but we must also be grateful, not only with
Colombia, but with Perú, with Bolivia, with Chile, with Ecuador, with all those countries
that have opened their hands. Because we are, not just immigrants. We are partners, we
are all brothers, because we all have only one heart and one mind. It does not matter--the
border, the nationalities--we are family, from the heart.

LUCIA’S NARRATIVE
I come from a rural area. My house is not mine. I lived in my parents’ house
with my four children. My two eldest children were diagnosed with a
spectrum of autism.

A few months ago, I was calm, and everything was fine despite the
difficulties with food. Sometimes I would eat. I would get a single plate
of food, and I would not eat for three days. I would give the food to my
children. Sometimes we had breakfast, and we did not know if we would
have lunch, or sometimes we had lunch, and we did not know if we would
have dinner.

My mom got sick in March. It was very fast, very aggressive, because in those
days, the situation was more complicated because I did not have a job. My dad,
who lived with us, also did not have a job. I have a brother who works in a motorcycle
taxi. The motorcycle did not work because of the difficulty in buying spare parts to fix
it. It was very expensive.

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 VENEZUELANS IN COLOMBIA

Then my mom got sick. I took the risk to take her to the doctor because I heard that
there were medical supplies and she had a very high fever for days. Once we arrived
there, they did not take care of her. They said I should do it myself and find the supplies I
needed. Some people were selling supplies outside the hospital. People were selling what
we needed, but they were asking for millions at that time. These were materials that were
solely for hospital use. Those who worked outside received the medical supplies, and I
imagine they shared the profits. The truth is that I did not find anything. It was already
midnight. They gave my mother many things but that did not work. They did not insert
a catheter she needed, so I told the doctor, “Doctor, I am a paramedic, and we have to
improvise because I do not have the money.” Then I got a glass bottle, and it was very
uncomfortable because, it is something that has to be sterilized or something to remove
the bacteria.

I knew that she had a problem in her lungs. Then I took her out in the morning to
search because there was nothing in the hospital. When I returned, I had problems with
other people because they took the bed, because “we no longer deserved the bed.”
Consequently, I felt like my life was destroyed because my mother passed away. I took her
on a Monday, and she died on Tuesday afternoon. It happened because they worsened
the situation. She needed pulmonary drainage, which was not done. I felt terrible because
I counted on her. She was unconditional in my life and in the lives of my children.

The departure

I started to see all the difficulty that we faced. The food we got was little, and all the time
we were eating an arepa26 with a little milk. My daughter developed kidney pains from
eating just that. Even though they have their father, I do not count on him. The father of
my two older children, as well. I had another child who is now a year and a half old. I also
cannot count on his father. I mean, I am practically alone.

It was difficult, very difficult to decide to come here. I spend about two months meditating,
thinking, studying. Tough moments. I was hopeful that the situation would improve, that
I could solve the economic and health situation of my children because they needed
expensive medication.

All those things led me to decide to come. Everyone told me, “You are crazy. How are
you going to leave your children so young? They are so small.” I spoke with my father, but
unfortunately, I never had his support. It was a tough time because even my 10-year-old
son understands the situation we are living in and that it was necessary for me to find a
way to work, to acquire an income so that I can cover their needs. My dad told me, “But
what are you going to do there? Are you going to work as–forgive me for the word–a
prostitute or what? Because that is what happens there, that is what a Venezuelan can do
there.” I said, “Daddy, you know that I can do many things, and I do not look back. I can
do anything, sweep a yard, that is, anything, everything for the children.” My son listened
when he told me that and started crying, and I scolded him. My 10-year-old son said, “But
why can you not help her? Don’t you see what we need, don’t you see that we do not have

26. Corn pancake

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 to be suffering to eat like this?”. Then it hurt because I thought he was going to say “Yes,
my daughter, go. I support you.” He knows that I was not going to work only for myself
but also to support him. It was the hardest thing, not to have the family support. No one
other than my son understood.

I did not sleep thinking that my children needed to go to school in September when classes
began. I had saved some money, so I said, “I am going to buy some shoes for one of them.”
But I was so distressed only to see the cost, that I started crying.

My son was upset. He woke up early to see if I had risked leaving, and then he got upset.
Last week, before I traveled, he woke up angry and punching. He even attacked himself,
because of his condition. I got up scared because I heard the blows on the bed and the
crying. She said, “Mommy, but why didn’t you leave? Go, go, it does not matter; I will
take care of my brothers.” That was like a stab in the heart, one of the last ones, because
that same day in the afternoon, when I had managed to make a few arepas, my son said,
“Mommy, you do not love me?”, and I said, “But why do you say that?”. He tells me,
“Because you know that I want to study. The classes started, and the children are going,
and I did not go. I do not have a notebook, a pencil, any underwear, socks. I do not have
shoes or uniforms.” When he told me that, it helped. It was the final stab, and I said to
myself, “I have to do it, risk it, I have to do it.” Then there comes that feeling of being
useful to my children.

I had no money, nothing for the passport. In those days they were charging 150 million
Venezuelan bolivars (VEF)27 to get a passport. 150 million VEF that I had to pay in order to
enter legally here. What I did was leave a letter to my dad. I left a letter saddened that he
did not support me, knowing everything that we went through, telling him that I would be
more pleased to leave with his blessing.

The arrival

So far, I have not communicated with them. I have not found the way. Here, I have no
money, I have nothing. I fell here because of God. I feel very uneasy because I have not
achieved anything. I know that I am in a place that I do not know, and it is difficult for me.
Yesterday, I was only thinking about my children. Today I was walking, and I saw the food,
and it is complicated, you know?

I want to reach Bogotá because they offered me somewhere to stay there. They offered
me lodging until I can get something. I tried to leave. I woke up early and thought about
how to find the money because that is my obstacle. And of course, that I do not have legal
documents to travel freely here. I only ask that God continues giving me strength.

I know that God is with them and that he is protecting them, my family. I have tried to get
money first before calling them. So that I can call them and say, “Son, here, I have some
money.” So that they see that I am doing something for them and that my dad is well and
that he does not worry. I know that as a person, this will change me. As a religious person,
I see life differently, that is what has helped me the most. I see life in another way when

27. Equivalent to 150 USD aproximaly

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 VENEZUELANS IN COLOMBIA

facing a problem. I see an opportunity, and I know that this situation, the one I am facing
is an opportunity for me, to prove to myself that I can, that I can continue and achieve
what I want.

I think my time is over here [in the shelter]. Tomorrow, I will go out on the street, and I am
going to sleep on the street. It would be the first time in my life that I do this; I do not know
what it is like. I do not know; I am new to this. I did not think that I would face a situation
like this either, that I was going to get put out on the street. But now, I have to live it. I am
waiting, that is, with the best expectations, trying to see what I can do, what I can make
economically, to continue to where I want to go.

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 ANNEX 6.
HUMANITARIAN PROJECTS TO ATTEND THE POPULATION AFFECTED
BY THE VENEZUELAN CRISIS IN MAICAO AND OTHER MUNICIPALITIES (2017 - 2019)

Danish
NGO NGO
Project Description Intervention Refugee
Executing* Implementing*
Council (DRC)

Provide timely and quality

Emergency response to access to WASH and
the humanitarian crisis in nutrition assistance to
AAH AAH WASH, FNS UNICEF
Colombian-Venezuelan population in Riohacha,
border: La Guajira Maicao and Norte de
Santander.

Promote healthy living

Humanitarian assistance
habits and a balanced
to vulnerable population
diet in Wayúu families
affected by the
returned from Venezuela AAH AAH FNS WFP
Venezuelan crisis in the
and affected by
Municipality of Maicao
climate variability and
(La Guajira)
socioeconomic crisis.

Improve the agricultural,

livestock, and community
practices of the Wayúu.
Increase adaptability of
Increase resilience and
the population affected
reduce vulnerability in Office of
by the Venezuelan crisis
livelihoods and food FNS, Early U.S. Foreign
(Wayúu, host population, AAH AAH
security of the host Recovery Disaster
returnees, and
population. Cover the Assistance
Venezuelans) in Maicao
basic needs of the
and Riohacha
affected population while
preparing for a restoration
of livelihoods.

Construction of basic
sanitation facilities
for migrants and
host population, in
Emergency response order to counteract
to the humanitarian the environmental
Shelter and Government of
crisis on the Colombian- contamination caused by AAH AAH
NFI, WASH Navarra
Venezuelan border feces and affecting the
(Maicao, La Guajira) market area in Maicao.
Training actions in the
use and maintenance
of hygiene systems.
Promotion of hygiene.

Provide protection to
Migration Crisis AISC AISC Protection UNICEF
children and adolescents.

FNS, Health,
IFRC´s Emergency Plan Protection,
of Action: Colombia --- ICRC ICRC Coordination, SIDA
Population Movement Shelter and
NFI, WASH

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 VENEZUELANS IN COLOMBIA

Supporting calls for

contribution to the border --- CRC CRC WASH AECID
area with Venezuela

Prevent the deterioration

of food security and
Emergency assistance nutrition of migrants
for food security of in temporary shelters,
FAO FAO FNS CERFR
Wayúu communities of informal settlements, and
La Guajira indigenous communities
through the rapid
production of food.

Recovery of the
agricultural productive
capacity and food supply Brazilian
of the host families of --- FAO FAO FNS Embassy in
Colombians returnee Colombia
from Venezuela (La
Guajira)

Fill critical gaps

in protection and
humanitarian assistance
by (I) improving access
to food for children in
Provision of humanitarian
order to prevent them
assistance to people
from severe malnutrition NRC NRC FNS, EiE SIDA
affected by Venezuela
and (II) improving access
crisis
to temporary shelter and
humanitarian assistance
for people forced to cross
to Colombia to save their
lives.

Protection, humanitarian
assistance, and durable Reduce vulnerability of Protection,
solutions for people people affected by the EiE,
NRC NRC SDC
affected by the conflict conflict and humanitarian Shelter and
in Chocó and the conflict crisis. NFI
and crisis on the border

Provide food, shelter,

and education in Protection,
Emergency response to
emergencies assistance EiE,
people affected by the NRC NRC SIDA
for people affected by the Shelter and
Venezuelan crisis
Venezuelan humanitarian NFI
crisis.

Protection of children
Response to the mixed and adolescents against
migration flow between violence, abuse, and
Colombia and Venezuela: exploitation in the context UNICEF AISC Protection UNICEF
protection of children and of the mixed migration
adolescents flow in the department of
La Guajira.

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 FNS, Cross-
cutting
Increase access Increase access to
issues,
of migrants to complementary health
PAHO/WHO, Protection,
complementary health services and vital
UNHCR, WASH,
services that protect and elements to save lives PAHO/WHO CERFR
UNW, FAO, Health,
save lives in La Guajira, and prevent health
IOM, UNFPA Mental
Norte de Santander, and problems in the migrants'
health and
Arauca families and communities.
psychosocial
support

Develop a humanitarian
Venezuelan migration action on protection
Protection,
crisis and its impact on and education in the SC SC ---
EiE
children in Colombia departments of Arauca
and La Guajira.

Sexual and Reproductive

Promotion of sexual and Gender,
health rights for migrant
reproductive health and Cross-cutting
population, with emphasis UNFPA UNFPA CERFR
rights among the migrant issues,
on women, adolescents,
population of Venezuela. Health
and young people.

Support for community-

based rapid impact
projects in areas receiving Corporación
Reintegration made more CERFR, EIC,
returned Colombian UNHCR Opción Legal, Protection
sustainable BPRC
refugees, as well as UNHCR
for some priority case
reintegration initiatives.

Extend the registration

and profiling of the
Quality of registration Venezuelan population to
CERFR, EIC,
and profiling improved or provide representative, UNHCR UNHCR Protection
BPRC
maintained reliable, and updated
information to the
Colombian authorities.

Provide legal assistance

Access to legal
through legal assistance CERFR, EIC,
assistance and legal UNHCR UNHCR Protection
clinics to people in need BPRF
remedies improved
of international protection.

Emergency response to
Support to victims of Advanced
Colombian-Venezuelan WFP WFP FNS
violence. Fund
border crisis

Children and Provide educational

adolescents affected supplies and psychosocial
by the Venezuelan support to children and
migration crisis receive adolescents to improve
UNICEF WV EiE CERFR
humanitarian assistance access and permanence
to improve their access in the educational system,
and permanence in the in coordination with their
educational system families and teachers.

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 VENEZUELANS IN COLOMBIA

Undertake a multi-sectoral
needs assessment of
protection and humanitarian
Assessing
needs of the Venezuelan
humanitarian and
population with the aim
protection needs of the Ford
of advocating among the
Venezuelan population NRC NRC Protection Foundation
international community
across the Colombian (Andean Area)
and donors to increase
border and neighbor
awareness and response
countries
to the humanitarian and
protection needs of this
targeted population.

Contribute to the
comprehensive protection
of children, adolescents,
and families affected
by migration. Improve
children and families’
access to food and nutrition
Hope without borders. security. Promote friendly
Response to the spaces for children and
WV WV FNS WV
humanitarian crisis: adolescents in schools
Cúcuta and La Guajira and communities. Support
the Ministry of Health and
Social Protection and the
ICBF in the extramural
displacement of equipment
to municipalities of La
Guajira to assist on children
vaccination.

Provide educational
Children and
supplies and psychosocial
adolescents affected
support to children and
by the Venezuelan
adolescents to improve
migration crisis
access and permanence
receive humanitarian WV WV EiE UNICEF
in the educational system,
assistance to improve
in coordination with their
their access and
families and teachers.
permanence in the
Provide protective school
educational system
spaces.

* Acronyms correspond to: AAH: Action Against Hunger; AISC: Aldeas Infantiles SOS; CRC: Colombian Red
Cross; FAO: Food and Agriculture Organization; ICRC: International Committee of the Red Cross; IOM:
International Organization for Migration; NRC: Norwegian Refugee Council; PAHO/WHO: Pan American
Health Organization / World Health Organization; SC: Save the Children; UNFPA: United Nations Fund for
Population Activities; UNICEF: United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund; UNW: UN Women;
WFP: World Food Program; WV: World Vision
** Abbreviations correspond to: EiE: Education in Emergencies; FNS: Food and nutrition security; NFI:
Non-food items; WASH: Water, Sanitation and Hygiene.
*** Acronyms correspond to: AECID: Spanish International Cooperation Agency for Development; SDC:
Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation; SIDA: Swedish International Development Cooperation
Agency; BPR: Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration; CERFR: Central Emergency Response Fund
Regional; IEC: Italian Embassy in Colombia

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 ANNEX 7.
NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS OF
THE INTER-AGENCY GROUP ON MIXED MIGRATION FLOWS

Action Against Caritas Colombian Red Danish Refugee

Blumont Caritas Germany
Hunger (ACH) Switzerland Cross (CRC) Council (DRC)

International
International International
Federation of International International
Committee of Labor
Help in Action Red Cross and Organization for Rescue
the Red Cross Organization
Red Crescent Migration (IOM) Committee (IRC)
(ICRC) (ILO)
Societies (IFRC)

Colombia
Office of the
Mercy Corps Norwegian Information
Jesuit Refugee Lutheran World Resident
Norwegian Red Refugee Council Management
Service (JRS) Federation (LWF) Coordinator
Cross (NRC) and Analysis Unit
(ORC)
(UMAIC)

Office of Pan American

the United Health
Panamerican
Nations High Organization/
Oxfam Foundation for Pastoral Social Plan International
Commissioner World Health
Development
for Human Rights Organization
(OACNUDH) (PAHO / WHO)

Adventist Agency
Terre des for Development United Nations
Save the Children Hommes and Relief UN Habitat UN Women Children's Fund
Lausanne (TdH) Resources (UNICEF)
(ADRA)

United United Nations

United
United Nations Nations High Office for the United Nations
Nations Food World Food
Development Commissioner Coordination of Population Fund
Organization and Program (WFP)
Program (UNDP) for Refugees Humanitarian (UNFPA)
Agriculture (FAO)
(UNHCR) Affairs (OCHA

World Vision
International

Source: Inter-Agency Group on Mixed Migration Flows (Grupo Interagencial de Flujos Migratorios
Mixtos [GIFMM], 2018).

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 VENEZUELANS IN COLOMBIA

ANNEX 8.
VENEZUELA REGIONAL CRISIS COMPLEX
EMERGENCY USAID

VENEZUELA REGIONAL CRISIS COMPLEX EMERGENCY

Last Updated 09.30.18

MEXICO CUBA PH
IC IN
FORMA
TIO

RA

N
GEOG

UNIT
UNHCR

US

A
D
ID F

A
/D C O
HA/

DOMINICAN
HAITI
REP. Puerto
JAMAICA Rico
ANTIGUA &
MEXICO BELIZE REGIONAL ST. KITTS BARBUDA
& NEVIS
iMMAP
GUATEMALA DOMINICA
HONDURAS Implementing Partners

IOM ST. LUCIA

EL SALVADOR
UNHCR TRINIDAD & TOBAGO
NICARAGUA BARBADOS
UNHCR
PANAMA GRENADA
UNICEF
IOM
COSTA RICA TRINIDAD
COSTA UNHCR & TOBAGO
RET
RICA
UNHCR
PANAMA
COLOMBIA
VENEZUELA
Implementing
Partners
PROGRAM KEY
IOM GUYANA
USAID/OFDA USAID/FFP
State/PRM OCHA GUYANA
Agriculture and Food Security PADF COLOMBIA UNICEF
Cash Transfers for Food
PAHO
Education
Pastoral Social
Food Vouchers
Save the Children
Gender-Based Violence Prevention

Health UNHCR
Humanitarian Coordination
UNICEF
and Information Management
ECUADOR BRAZIL
Local and Regional Food Procurement WFP PERU
Livelihoods
BRAZIL
ECUADOR IOM
Multi-Purpose Cash Assistance ADRA
IOM PADF
Multi-Sector Assistance
0 Caritas
200 400 Miles
Protection JRS PAHO
Psychosocial Support UNHCR PERU RET
IOM
UNHCR
Shelter and Settlements UNICEF UNHCR
0 210
UNICEF420 630 Kilometers
Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene
WFP UNICEF

The boundaries and names used on this map do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the U.S. Government.

- 101 -
 ANNEX 9.
VENEZUELA REGIONAL CRISIS FACT SHEET #6
-09-30-2018.

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 VENEZUELANS IN COLOMBIA

Interview with Georgina Deluquez Torregrosa - Deen of the Indigenous

Educational Institution N ° 6 - Paraguachón.

Maicao, La Guajira, October 2018.

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 10 REFERENCES

Álvarez de Flores, R. (2004). La dinámica migratoria colombo-venezolana. Evolución y

perspectiva actual. Geoenseñanza, 9(2), 191-202. Available from http://www.
redalyc.org/html/360/36090205/.

Álvarez de Flores, R. (2009). Refugiados entre fronteras: La nueva realidad migratoria

colombo-venezolana. Observatorio Laboral Revista Venezolana, 2(4), 49-65. Available
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Aya Smitmans, M., Carvajal Hernández, L. & Téllez Iregui, G. (2010). Indagación sobre las
causas de la escasa inmigración en Colombia: ¿Ausencia de políticas públicas o
políticas públicas restrictivas? OPERA, 10(10), 167-183. Available from https://
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Banco Mundial [World Bank] (2018). Migración desde Venezuela a Colombia: impactos y
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Ciurlo, A. (2015). Nueva política migratoria colombiana: El actual enfoque de inmigración

y emigración. Revista Internacional de Cooperación y Desarrollo, 2(2), 205-242.
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view/2276/1992.

Consejo Nacional de Política Económica y Social (CONPES) (2018). Prosperidad para las
fronteras de Colombia. Documento CONPES 3805. Bogotá, D.C., Colombia. Available
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Consejo Nacional de Política Económica y Social (CONPES) (2018). Estrategia para la

atención de la migración desde Venezuela. Documento CONPES 3950. Bogotá,
D.C., Colombia. Available from https://colaboracion.dnp.gov.co/CDT/Conpes/
Econ%C3%B3micos/3950.pdf.

Cortina, A. (2017). Aporofobia, el rechazo al pobre. Un desafío para la democracia.

Barcelona: Paidós.

Decreto 542 de 2018: Por el cual se desarrolla parcialmente el artículo 140 de la Ley 1873
de 2017 y se adoptan medidas para la creación de un registro administrativo de
migrantes venezolanos en Colombia que sirva como insumo para el diseño de una
política integral de atención humanitaria (21 de marzo de 2018). Departamento
Administrativo de la Presidencia de la República. Bogotá, D.C., Colombia.

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 VENEZUELANS IN COLOMBIA

Decreto 1288 de 2018: Por el cual se adoptan medidas para garantizar el acceso de las
personas inscritas en el Registro Administrativo de Migrantes Venezolanos a la oferta
institucional y se dictan otras medidas sobre el retorno de colombianos (25 de julio
de 2018). Departamento Administrativo de la Presidencia de la República. Bogotá,
D.C., Colombia.

Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadística (DANE) (2005). Censo General

2005. Nivel nacional. Bogotá, D.C., Colombia. Available from https://www.dane.gov.
co/files/censos/libroCenso2005nacional.pdf.

Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadística (DANE) (n.d.). La visibilización

estadística de los grupos étnicos colombianos. Bogotá, D.C., Colombia. Available
from https://www.dane.gov.co/files/censo2005/etnia/sys/visibilidad_estadistica_
etnicos.pdf.

Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadística (DANE). (2017). Encuesta Continua

de Hogares (2002-2005) y Gran Encuesta Integrada de Hogares (2008-2017). Bogotá,
D.C., Colombia.

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 Gobierno de Colombia (2018). Avances gestión frontera con Venezuela. Bogotá, D.C.,
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International Organizations for Migration (IOM) (2018b). World Migration Report 2018.
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Migración Colombia (2016). Comunicado de prensa No. 08. Apertura de frontera (15 de
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agosto-2016/apertura-de-frontera/3227-asi-se-movio-la-frontera-entre-colombia-
y-venezuela-durante-el-primer-fin-de-semana-de-reapertura.

Migración Colombia (2017). Radiografía de venezolanos en Colombia. Bogotá, D.C.,

Colombia. Available from http://www.migracioncolombia.gov.co/venezuela/
radiografia_web.pdf.

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 VENEZUELANS IN COLOMBIA

Migración Colombia (2018a). Todo lo que quiere saber sobre la migración venezolana y no
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migracion-venezolana.

Migración Colombia (2018b). Comunicado oficial (27 de noviembre de 2018). Bogotá, D.C.,
Colombia. Available from http://www.migracioncolombia.gov.co/index.php/es/
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ciudadanos-venezolanos-podran-tramitar-la-tarjeta-de-movilidad-fronteriza.

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phocadownload/Oportunidades%20de%20la%20migraci%C3%B3n%20en%20
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(2016). Matriz de monitoreo de desplazamiento en la frontera colombo venezolana.
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 Resolución 6370 de 2018: Por la cual se reglamenta la expedición del Permiso Especial
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art16.pdf

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(2015). Colombia: situación humanitaria en frontera colombovenezolana. Informe
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Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.

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 VENEZUELANS IN COLOMBIA

Colombo-Venezuelan Wayúu reads the “Wayuunaiki”,

the local newspaper of the indigenous community.

Maicao, La Guajira, October 2018.

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 REGIONAL MEDIA ANALYSIS:
11 SOUTH AMERICAN MEDIA NARRATIVES
ABOUT VENEZUELAN MIGRATION

Background

Aimed at understanding the wider regional public perceptions and political implications
of the Venezuelan migration crisis, Sayara International initiated a partnership with
Exovera LLC to collectively apply innovative digital research techniques using the Exovera
Narratives artificial intelligence media analytics platform. The two companies measured
how the media in five South American countries most impacted by Venezuelan migration
were treating the phenomenon and the potential for international involvement.

Exovera, with its unique experience supporting commercial and government

organizations around the globe (including US Department of Defense, NATO’s Resolute
Support mission, and US Department of State missions in Afghanistan, Brasilia,
Baghdad, etc.), provided near real-time media collection and monitoring analytics of
634 regional, national, and local traditional media outlets in South America. Its analytic
tools are designed to measure and provide key data about ongoing and recurrent
narratives portrayed in the media, which ultimately influences the public opinion and
perceptions on issues like Venezuelan migration.

Based on a preliminary review of media coverage and their political understanding of

migration phenomenons in the region and around the world, Sayara’s experts designed
ten narratives which were used as the baseline for digital media listening in the top five
countries that host most of the migrants in the region: Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador
and Peru.

Exovera Narratives tracking provides a comparative regional view of national-level

media narratives about the crisis as a complement to Sayara’s detailed field work in
Colombia. Exovera Narratives software was implemented for 30 days (December 26th,
2018- January 26th, 2019) against nearly a thousand Spanish and Portuguese media
outlets in Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, and Peru. It to measures quantitatively the
relative prevalence/strength of ten key narratives over time, showing spikes and dips,
and comparative data among the five countries.

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 VENEZUELANS IN COLOMBIA

Below, Sayara and Exovera, present key findings to better inform stakeholders on how
regional media is influencing public opinions and perceptions about an unprecedented
migration phenomenon.

Narratives

Exovera and Sayara define a “narrative” as an often deep and enduring set of beliefs,
perspectives, and learned biases reflected in the information environment. Narratives
can be thought of as the way we interpret information around us — based on a
combination of peoples’ own unique experiences and what they are taught. Narratives
are how people make sense of the world, and often differ greatly from individual to
individual and from group to group.

Sayara’s migration experts designed the following narratives as the base line for the
media monitoring and listening:

1. “The Venezuela migration issue is a crisis”

2. “Venezuelans are destabilizing, bring violence, insecurity, delinquency”
3. “The Venezuelans take away/steal our jobs”
4. “We cannot afford to take care of Venezuelans, we need to take care
of our own first”
5. “We need to better control our borders/send migrants home”
6. “We need international community support/aid to help Venezuelans”
7. “We should welcome the Venezuelans/help our brothers and sisters”
8. “Venezuelan migrants are just victims, they are not at fault”
9. “The international community should get involved”
10. “International intervention will violate sovereignty/make things worse”

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 Venezuela project as seen on the Exovera Narratives application portal

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 VENEZUELANS IN COLOMBIA

Volume of the 10 narratives plotted over time, all countries (30 days)

Regional Findings

Clear regional patterns across the five monitored countries were evident in the
results. The overall relative strengths of the narratives were similar, with some notable
exceptions:

“Migration is reported as crisis”: Region-wide Venezuelan migration is seen as a critical,

worsening problem. The narrative that “immigration from Venezuela is a crisis” was the
second strongest measured, found in more than a third (37.6%) of the articles in the set.
This narrative was also up over 50% in the last seven days of the monitoring period as
the political crisis in Venezuela deepened (492 articles that week).

“Support is expressed in coverage for international efforts (Lima Group, etc.)”: The
political crisis in Venezuela and intensifying debate about potential international
community involvement dominated the migration-related coverage during an eventful
30 days. That the international community should get involved was easily the strongest
narrative, seen in 45% of articles containing a narrative.

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 Narratives for (left) and against (right) international involvement, all countries (volume over 30 days)

• The involvement narrative spiked to 285 articles on January 10th alone, the
date of Maduro’s second inauguration. Extremely little support for Maduro was
observed.
• The narrative was also up 150% in the last week of the period (January 21st
-26th 2019) due to coverage of increasing international pressure & protests in
Venezuela.
• Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Colombian President Iván Duque Márquez,
and Organization American States (OAS), Secretary General Luis Almagro, were
featured prominently in coverage containing this narrative.
• Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s comments calling Maduro a threat to the
region to be contained, was also widely reported throughout all 30 days.

In contrast, criticism or opposition of international community efforts was far more

limited, with the narrative “International intervention will violate sovereignty/make
things worse” appearing in only 5.1% of article, including some high-profile op-eds.

“Media is sympathetic to Venezuelans”: About the migrants themselves, the strongest

narrative measured was that “we should welcome the Venezuelans/help our brothers and
sisters,” seen in 17.8% of articles containing a narrative. Frequent appeals to Bolivarian
solidarity were seen, and many articles described actions taken by governments to help
immigrants and manage the situation. The narrative of Venezuelans being “victims” or
exploited and not to blame for their circumstance was found in 6.3% of the article set.

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 VENEZUELANS IN COLOMBIA

“Welcome” narrative, all countries (volume over 30 days)

• The strong “welcoming” narrative saw a decline of 65 percent the last week of
the monitoring period (January 21st -26th 2019), correlating with an increase
in the “destabilizing” narrative happening at the same time.
• Most Venezuelans are portrayed in the media as good guests, although there
were articles recently about a “third wave” coming made up of less educated/
more criminal Venezuelans.

Crime/insecurity is the main complaint”: The narrative that “Venezuelans are

destabilizing, bring violence, insecurity, delinquency” was found in 7.5% of the article
set. Nearly 60% of those, however (152 of 255), were published in the last week (January
21st -26th 2019). The same pattern (192 of 334 the last week) was seen with the
narrative “we need to better control our borders/send migrants home” at 9.8%. These
increases correlated with reporting on the high-profile killing of a pregnant Ecuadorian
woman by a Venezuelan (January 19th, 2019), and Ecuadorian President Lenín Moreno’s
subsequent announcement of the formation of “special brigades to control the situation
of Venezuelan migrants in the streets”, as well as the design of “special permits to enter
the country.” Otherwise, it is noteworthy that the border control narrative was primarily
centered around the region on improving filtering/screening processes, not restricting
immigration for Venezuelans overall.

“Destabilizing” narrative (left) and “control” narrative (right) volume, all countries (30 days)

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 Much rarer were articles expressing or supporting the narrative “We cannot afford to take
care of Venezuelans, we need to take care of our own first” at just 1.7%. Recognizing the
financial burden from the responsibility of taking care of them, however, the “We need
international community support/aid to help Venezuelans” was detected in 5.9%. Pope
Francis’ call for international support to help countries care for Venezuelan immigrant
needs caused a region-wide spike in the narrative on 24 January.

The international aid narrative and Pope Francis’ impact, all countries (volume over 30 days)

Seen in only 4% of the articles, the “jobs” narrative was easily the least important
of the ten narratives during the study period. There were just 13 articles the entire
month in five countries seen to contain this narrative. Nearly half of those (6) were
from Perú alone.

County overview

Brazil

Brazil media has been mostly supportive of immigrants, despite some problems
experienced in remote areas, although there were hard line signs during the
reporting month that the government would become more restrictive in
weeding out criminals. It was also seen that coverage of immigration was partly
crowded out by heavy news reporting on other major domestic news stories. A
few representatives of the Brazilian PT party were in the minority in writing in
support of Maduro.

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 VENEZUELANS IN COLOMBIA

The “cannot afford the cost” narrative in Brazil (volume over 30 days)

• President Jair Bolsonaro’s comments (January 15th 2019) regarding the high
cost of taking care of Venezuelans during Brazil’s financial crisis, caused a major
spike in this narrative in Brazil and was also the largest peak in that narrative in
the region during the monitoring period

The international community should get involved in Brazil (volume over 30 days)

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 • The Forum at Davos, the UE requesting an emergency meeting to the UN and
the OAE holding an extraordinary session to discuss Venezuela political crisis
as well as the self-proclamation of Juan Guaidó as Venezuela interim president
(January 23rd, 2019) lead to the highest peaks in the narrative.

Chile

Chile was less likely to see the Venezuelan migration problem as a crisis as it
may not be seen as impacting the country as directly as the others. As a result,
narratives on debate over international involvement made up a higher proportion
of immigration-related news. With 62.2%, a high in the region, the media was largely
supportive of involvement. 11.4%, however, were against it, also the highest in
the region. Editorials were against the violation of state sovereignty. Several leftist
editorials, for example, argued the intervention was merely an excuse for the US
and allies to take over the country’s oil. Others worried about armed conflict that
could result from a proxy war between the US and Russia.

The international community should get involved in Chile (volume over 30 days)

• The highest peak was registered when Nicolás Maduro assumes his second
term in Venezuela, and as the Head of UN Human Rights calls for independent
investigation on the crisis in this country.

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 VENEZUELANS IN COLOMBIA

“Venezuela migration issue is a crisis” in Chile (volume over 30 days)

• Once again, the media reported Venezuelan migration as a crisis in the

context of Nicola Maduro’s swearing-in as president on January 10th 2019,
with headlines such as “Illegitimate president” and “Chile rejects Maduro’s
new presidential term.”

Colombia

Despite Colombia being the country hosting the most Venezuelan migrants in South
America, the media do not report the “crisis” narrative significantly higher than
the four other countries. With a 37.9%, this narrative was 3.46 points higher than
the average for all five countries (34.44%). The call for “international involvement”
was the highest narrative published in the Colombian media with 43.8%, a little
lower than Chile (62.2%) and Peru (55.4%).

Media content contained little negative sentiment with regard to the narrative
“Venezuelans are stealing our jobs” (0.4%), something similar to “we can’t afford
to take care of Venezuelans” (1.4%). Even though Colombia shares the largest
border with Venezuela, the narrative “we need to better control our borders/
send migrants home” was seen in 9.3%, near the average of the five countries,
meanwhile “we should welcome our brothers and sisters” was seen about twice
as frequently (18.8%).

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 Venezuela migration issue is a crisis” in Colombia (volume over 30 days)

• Just like in all five countries, Maduro being sworn in as president of Venezuela
triggered reactions within the political spheres which spiked the “crisis”
narrative. The Colombian media reported Brazil withdrawing from the UN
Global Compact for Migration, OAS holding an extraordinary session to discuss
Venezuela political crisis, and other local news such as the eviction of 400
Venezuelans settled in the southwestern Colombia.

“The international community should get involved” in Colombia (volume over 30 days)

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 VENEZUELANS IN COLOMBIA

• Specific news stories stoked the involvement narratives such as the Colombian
president Iván Duque asking the international community to “encircle
diplomatically” the Venezuelan political crisis, the UN calling for “dialogue”
to avoid a “disaster”, the OAS not recognizing the government of Nicolás
Maduro and the potential U.S. military intervention where the biggest
headlines identified.

Ecuador

Of the monitored countries, Ecuador’s media was the most negative regarding
Venezuelan migration. By percentage, it had the highest “crisis” narrative (38.3%),
highest “border security” narrative (22.8%), it was easily the most negative about
“destabilization” and security (19.8%), the second least welcoming (14.4%), and
yet still showed the lowest support for international involvement (34.9%).

The “border control” narrative in Ecuador (volume over 30 days)

• The strong “border control” narrative in Ecuador, at 22.8% of the annotations

in that country, was a major outlier in the region. It was clearly linked to the
killing of the pregnant Ecuadorian and very strong political reaction to it and
Venezuelan immigrants by the government.

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 “Destabilizing” narrative in Ecuador (volume over 30 days

• These increases correlate with reporting on the high-profile killing of a pregnant

Ecuadorian woman by a Venezuelan (January 19th, 2019), which triggers the
conversation about security and migration, with headlines like “Altercations as
a result of a case of femicide carried out by a Venezuelan migrant”, “Ecuador
will require judicial past apostille to Venezuelans” and “Venezuelans assaulted
in various sectors of the country”.

Perú

Peruvian media reported highest support for international involvement (55.4%)

after Chile (62.2%). It was the most supportive of “Venezuelans are victims” (15.4%)
and “welcome” (22.3%) narratives of all countries. There were just 13 articles the
entire month in five countries seen to contain “JOBS” narrative and early half of
those (6) were from Perú alone.

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 VENEZUELANS IN COLOMBIA

“Jobs” narrative in Perú (volume over 30 days)

• The reports picked up the narrative “jobs” did present xenophobic sentiments,
but instead denying the idea that Venezuelan are stealing Peruvians’ jobs by
presenting arguments backed up with facts and calls for solidarity.

“Welcome” narrative in Perú (volume over 30 days)

• Graphic shows how the narrative “welcome” was less regular by the end of the
media monitoring. Media reports on late December 2018 and early January
2019 referred to the Temporary Transit Permit for Venezuelans, their uses and
how migrants could issue it in Perú

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 Results (Data Tables)

Table 7.
Percent (%) of Articles by Immigration Narrative by Country
& Total (27 December 2018 - 26 January 2019)

5-Country
Narrative Brazil Chile Colombia Ecuador Peru
average

Venezuela migration issue is a crisis 37.6% 24.4% 37.9% 38.3% 34.0% 36.4%

Venezuelans are destabilizing, bring violence,

3.3% 2.4% 11.1% 19.8% 12.3% 7.5%
insecurity, delinquency

The Venezuelans take away/steal our jobs 0.1% 0.4% 0.4% 0.7% 1.8% 0.4%

We can’t afford to take care of Venezuelans,

2.1% 0.0% 1.4% 0.7% 3.0% 1.7%
we need to take care of our own first

We need to better control our borders/send

8.2% 7.3% 9.3% 22.8% 9.3% 9.8%
migrants home

We should welcome the Venezuelans/help our

18.6% 6.9% 18.8% 14.4% 22.3% 17.8%
brothers and sisters

Venezuelan migrants are just victims, they are

2.8% 3.7% 8.5% 11.7% 15.4% 6.3%
not at fault

We need international community support to

2.8% 4.9% 10.6% 7.7% 9.3% 5.9%
help Venezuelans

The international community should get

42.9% 62.2% 43.8% 34.9% 55.4% 45.0%
involved (intervention needed)

International community intervention will only

4.9% 11.4% 3.7% 4.7% 5.1% 5.1%
make things worse

Total (exceeds 100% because articles

123.3% 123.6% 145.3% 155.7% 168.1% 135.9%
frequently contain multiple narratives)

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 VENEZUELANS IN COLOMBIA

Table 8.
Number (#) of Articles by Immigration Narrative by Country
& Total (27 December 2018 - 26 January 2019)

5-Country
Narrative Brazil Chile Colombia Ecuador Peru
Total

Venezuela migration issue is a crisis 641 60 315 114 113 1,244

Venezuelans are destabilizing, bring violence,

57 6 92 59 41 255
insecurity, delinquency

The Venezuelans take away/steal our jobs 1 1 3 2 6 13

We can’t afford to take care of Venezuelans,

35 0 12 2 10 59
we need to take care of our own first

We need to better control our borders/send

140 18 77 68 31 334
migrants home

We should welcome the Venezuelans/help our

318 17 156 43 74 608
brothers and sisters

Venezuelan migrants are just victims, they are

48 9 71 35 51 215
not at fault

We need international community support to

47 12 88 23 31 202
help Venezuelans

The international community should get

733 153 364 104 184 1,538
involved (intervention needed)

International community intervention will only

84 28 31 14 17 174
make things worse

Total Annotations 2,104 304 1,209 464 558 4,642

Total articles annotated w/narrative (containing

1,707 246 832 298 332 3,415
one or more)

Initial collection set (articles containing

4102 780 2160 870 918 8830
immigration-related terms)

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 Methodology

Countries: Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, and Perú

Number of unique monitored outlets: 634 (Brazil 355, Colombia 94, Perú 77,
Chile 70, Ecuador 38)

Date Range: 27 December 2018 -- 26 January 2019

Number of articles on Venezuela migration collected/classified 8,830/3,415

Narratives: 10 commonly expressed views about the Venezuelan immigrant crisis
& policy

Languages: Portuguese & Spanish

Technology: Content aggregation and classification via human SME and machine
learning (Artificial Intelligence via word vectorization, attention neural networks,
Natural Language Processing).

Media content was scraped and aggregated from 634 unique media outlets
published in five monitored countries to which the most Venezuelans are
moving: Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, and Perú. 8,830 articles published
between 27 December 2018 and 26 January 2019 were collected for analysis
based on an initial search for all articles with keywords related to Venezuelan
migration. Of these, 3,415 were found to contain at least one of the ten Venezuela
narratives defined by Sayara and Exovera. Articles frequently contain more than
one narrative (4,642 classifications made in the 3,415 articles). The rest were
discarded as they were either not related to Venezuelan migration or contained
none of the identified narratives.

Exovera Narratives uses a combination of machine learning classification

(Artificial Intelligence) and human training/tagging to detect and measure the
strength of specific narratives in media content. In addition to identifying trends,
it reveals which content specifically is “driving” each narrative. Because overall
trends ebb and flow across media types, Exovera’s collection and measurement
methodology combines a strong representative sample of print media with social
media content and reaction. Exovera Narratives is based on providing a core set
of proprietary text classification models trained on specialized artificial neural
networks that pay “attention” to word, sentence, and paragraph-level features.
Unlike keyword searches, mechanisms that identify these features automatically
provide far better classification in documents that express complex positions or
attitudes, and it automatically adapts as a narrative emerges in new contexts.

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 VENEZUELANS IN COLOMBIA

About Exovera

Exovera LLC (Exovera), an SOS International LLC (SOSi) company, is a global

provider of media monitoring and analytics services for large government and
commercial organizations. Since 2006, Exovera has been trusted by thousands of
end-users operating in countries and regions with significant security, political,
and economic challenges to provide local situational awareness, narrative
tracking and assessment and predictive analytics. Exovera has monitored and
analyzed media and international developments in over sixty countries and forty
languages across a wide range of complex political, economic, security, and
humanitarian issues.

Exovera Narratives is a tool that provides a framework to automatically organize

vast amounts of media information the way human brains might. The technology
uses proprietary iterated neural network deep learning and machine-driven
NLP (natural language processing) processes to detect and quantify narrative
currents as they play out in the world’s media.

For more information about this project, please contact

Andrew Katona
Product Director
[email protected]
202.441.2518
Exovera LLC
11091 Sunset Hills Road
Suite 200
Reston, VA 20190 USA
www.exovera.com

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