Jhonny, 26, and his wife Cribsel, 19, who is six months pregnant, sit with their two children at a migrant reception center. Sunburned and catching their breath, the 12,000-foot altitude and icy weather conditions have undoubtedly taken their toll on this young family of four.
They walked for five hours from Bolivia to Chile. Since they left Venezuela two months ago, and after 5,000 kilometers, they have had to cross five border crossings. “We were exposed to cold weather for the first time. That was perhaps the most difficult”, says Jhonny with chapped lips and injured feet. And we were not well prepared with blankets or winter coats.”
This construction worker had lost his job in Venezuela and for this reason meeting the basic needs of the whole family had become impossible. They decided to leave their hometown of Aragua with just $450 and a backpack of essentials, to venture down the long trails through the highlands of the Andes, first crossing into Colombia and later into Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia, sleeping on the streets for most of its journey.
Near the Chilean city of Colchane and at dawn, as they cross the shared border with Bolivia, Jhonny’s family and other migrants are relieved to have found much-needed and vital humanitarian assistance. They arrive hungry and with hypothermia and dehydration, in addition to being sick from the altitude.
As of July 2022, there were approximately 127,000 migrants who had entered Chile through irregular crossings, according to estimates by Chilean authorities. Many enter Chile every day through Colchane, a small town of less than 500 inhabitants, of which 85% is indigenous. They are often driven by the desire for family reunification and to contribute to their host communities.
“Our goal is to work and do something constructive. I want people to see me as a Venezuelan who has something positive to give. This will help change the perception of us”, adds Jhonny.
Extreme winter conditions increase illnesses
Since his arrival in Chile, Francisco and his family have had to overcome numerous challenges for months, including living on the streets of the City of Iquique in conditions of very low temperatures, a great difference with the tropical climate of his city of source. The family of five members, has now found accommodation in a temporary shelter financed and managed by the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
“We slept under a blanket, hugging each other for warmth, and that blanket usually ended up covered in ice. We had to use our backpacks as pillows to also prevent theft at night.”
Maria, 18, has finally achieved some degree of stability after giving birth to a very healthy boy in Chile. She has a place to live in Iquique and is one of the hundreds of people who receive humanitarian assistance from the International Organization for Migration in the form of cash checks, which have been distributed among vulnerable families so that they have the means necessary for the purchase of food, hygiene products and warm clothing.
IOM/Gem Cortes
Aerial shot of Venezuelan migrants walking through the Atacama desert.
Increased UN aid
Throughout Chile, the UN agency has increased its presence and the provision of humanitarian assistance to respond directly to the needs of migrants and refugees arriving in that country.
“We continue to provide food, water, medical care, shelter and basic relief items such as blankets and winter clothing provided by NGOs,” said Susan Saavedra, IOM representative in Colchane. The Organization has also deployed a medical team that provides first aid care, an intervention that benefits migrants and host communities alike.
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the UN agency in Chile has stationed field staff in Colchane, which will allow rapid coordination and implementation of humanitarian assistance.
In coordination with the authorities and civil society organizations, the International Organization for Migration has put in place the necessary infrastructure to temporarily house the migrant population in transit, and promptly attend to their pressing humanitarian needs.
Since 2014, more than 6.8 million Venezuelans have left their country; about 450,000 live in Chile.
IOM/Gem Cortes
IOM staff talking to newly arrived migrants.
Looking for a lifeline
Janeth Pérez, 36, never thought that one day she would have to leave her beloved home. In her native Venezuela, she worked as a high school teacher, teaching physics and mathematics, but her financial situation forced her to abandon her life and profession. She began the long road to Chile with the hope of being able to restart her life in that country.
After an arduous 11-day bus journey, he recently arrived in Chile and made up his mind to go to the port city of Valparaíso, approximately 2,000 kilometers south of the Bolivian-Chilean border, with the aim of reuniting with his sister and start a new life working in a supermarket.
With this new job I will be able to support my 15-year-old son and my mother, whom I left behind in my hometown of Barinas. I am very happy with this new opportunity and with this new beginning”, she said upon arriving in Chile very tired after a final walk of ten hours.
Despite all these challenges, Janeth and many others are very grateful for the opportunity to work and help their families, both in Chile and at home in Venezuela. She dreams of being able to regularize her immigration status, validate her university diploma and work as a teacher, which is her passion.
“The future I envision for myself is one where I can teach again to make enough money to buy a house and return to my hometown with my son and mother to live together in peace.”
IOM/Gem Cortes
Francisco and his family of five now live in a temporary shelter.
This story was written by Gema Cortés, from the International Organization for Migration in the Office of the Special Envoy for the Regional Response to the Situation in Venezuela.
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