“You can lose your life along the way. There are many dangerous people: they rob you, stab you, attack you. We could stay in some hostels, but they are often not safe,” says Mariana*, a Venezuelan woman who received support in an EU-funded shelter in Santiago de Chile.
When her family had nothing to eat, she had no choice but to flee Venezuela. “Sometimes you have to beg for a ride, and, for us women, the price we are asked to pay is in sexual favours. If you deny yourself, you don’t know what the reaction might be. It is frightening and humiliating”.
67-year-old Juana was assaulted and robbed when she reached Bolivia. She had left Venezuela 3 weeks before. “There are armed bandits assaulting the trucks we use to get a ride,” she says.
Mariana and Juana are among the more than 440,000 displaced Venezuelans currently in Chile, often living on the streets with their families and in highly vulnerable situations. Many have spent weeks walking across South America facing various risks.
The EU works with UNHCR and its local partners to provide vulnerable Venezuelans with emergency shelter, food, and legal advice on their rights.
Forcibly displaced Venezuelans undertake a long and treacherous journey to reach Chile. The country’s northern border is particularly harsh: a mountainous desert exposed to extreme temperatures ranging from -20°C to +40°C.
© UNHCR, 2023. All rights reserved. Licensed to the European Union under conditions.
Those who manage to cross are exhausted and have nowhere to stay. They must rely on a network of often unsafe hostels. The EU works with UNHCR and IFRC to provide the most vulnerable with emergency shelter and legal orientation about their status.
© UNHCR, 2023. All rights reserved. Licensed to the European Union under conditions.
People who left directly from Venezuela had to walk or ask for passage to reach the border with Chile. It is a journey of 4,000 km. “You are attacked, robbed, humiliated,” says Mariana*, a Venezuelan woman housed in an EU-funded shelter.
© UNHCR, 2023. All rights reserved. Licensed to the European Union under conditions.
Most displaced Venezuelans aim to reach the capital of Chile, Santiago, hoping to find a better life for their families. They often end up living in extremely precarious conditions, in makeshift camps on the streets of Santiago.
© European Union, 2020 (photographer: S. Arcos)
“Venezuelans are increasingly vulnerable: there are whole families living on the streets without access to food, water, sanitation or any other basic services,” says Roman Majcher, EU rapid response expert for Latin America and the Caribbean.
© UNHCR, 2023. All rights reserved. Licensed to the European Union under conditions.
“We had to live on the streets. I didn’t sleep for days fearing that someone would hurt my son,” Juan* says. Shelter and food are the most urgent needs of forcibly displaced Venezuelans. The EU funds the UNHCR to coordinate a network of safe havens.
© European Union, 2020.
In these shelters funded by the EU and managed by UNHCR and its local partners, vulnerable Venezuelans can stay, eat and receive legal advice on their rights in the country.
© UNHCR, 2023. All rights reserved. Licensed to the European Union under conditions.
“I was forced to live on the streets. I stayed in this centre for 2 months. They supported me, helped my husband to find a job and my son to go to school. They were like my family,” says Yusmari, 1 of the beneficiaries of the EU-funded reception centres.
© UNHCR, 2023. All rights reserved. Licensed to the European Union under conditions.
*Name has been changed for protection reasons.
Story by Daniele Pagani, Regional Information Officer for Latin America and the Caribbean, EU Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations.
Publication date: 16/03/2023
