Argentinian rooter camping at the Terreirão do Samba, Rio de Janeiro
With no documents or empty pockets, many Argentinians who came to Brazil in the context of the 2014 World Cup are seeking consular help in Rio de Janeiro to return to Argentina, as instructed by the local Rio government on Wednesday (July 16).
According to Argentinian Deputy Consul Raul Ailán, since the end of the World Cup on Sunday (13), about 250 Argentinians have sought help from the consulate. “Analyses on a case by case basis have found different scenarios. One of them is about documents stolen or lost, and another major case includes those among the Argentinian visitors who can't afford to go back to their country. We have given special attention to those falling into one of these two scenarios,” he explained.
The Consulate of Argentina has issued 153 temporary passports for those of their citizens who do not have the required documents to return to Argentina. Furthermore, bus tickets were provided to 84 Argentinians to allow them to return to their home country.
“We have provided a bus ticket, and after looking at each case, we also gave an amount that should meet their meals costs in the coming days until they arrive in Argentina. Our estimate is that requests continue coming in for a few more days, but the flow should taper off in the course of the week,” Aidán said.
Among the 886,000 tourists who visited Rio de Janeiro during the World Cup, the paulistas (people from São Paulo state) (167,000) and the Argentinians (77,000) were the largest numbers according to the local tourism board.
Translated by Mayra Borges
Fonte: Argentinians seek consular help to go back home
