International

Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru seek solution for Venezuelans

These are the countries with the most Venezuelan immigrants

Published on 28/08/2018 - 14:59 By Renata Giraldi - Brasília

The Brazilian, Colombian, Ecuadorian, and Peruvian ambassadors have been meeting since yesterday (Aug. 27) at Colombia’s Dirección de Migraciones in Bogotá, in an attempt to devise joint efforts to address the crisis sparked by the exodus of Venezuelans from their country.

As part of the agenda proposed by Colombian authorities, the assembly today entails an overview of Venezuelan immigration in each one of the countries, followed by the formulae found by governments to deal with the challenges and what they consider crucial when receiving the immigrants.

Colombia proposes the creation of an integrated database on Venezuelan immigrants, with a focus on specific categories, like health care, education, employment, and documentation.

Last week, Colombia’s Director for Migration Christian Krüger Sarmiento said that the “exodus of Venezuelans citizens” is not the problem of one specific country, but rather a regional issue.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that over 1.6 million people have left Venezuelan since 2015 and that 90 percent of them set off for South American countries. In the region, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru are the countries receiving the highest number of immigrants.

Approximately 35 thousand people cross the Venezuelan border with Colombia, also according do UNHCR, some of whom in search of medication and food, others intending to leave the country for good. According to official data, at least one million Venezuelans have permanently settled down in Colombia.