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STORY: COLOMBIA / VENEZUELAN REFUGEES
TRT: 02:54
SOURCE: UNHCR
RESTRICTIONS: PLEASE CREDIT UNHCR ON SCREEN
LANGUAGE: SPANISH / NATS
DATELINE: 3 AUGUST 2019, PAMPLONA – PÁRAMO DE BERLÍN – CUCUTA / COLOMBIA
1. Wide shot, city of Pamplona
2. Wide shot, road to paramo
3. Wide shot, caminantes sitting in front of Marta’s home
4. Med shot, Martha with baby
5. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Marta Duque, Colombian Host to Venezuelans:
“It all started one night when I saw people huddled on the bridge in front of my house, getting wet.”
6. Med shot, caminantes sitting on the floor in front of Marta’s home
7. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Marta Duque, Colombian Host to Venezuelans:
“It was raining and very cold. It occurred to me that we could open up the garage where we keep the car.”
8. Close up, CU faces of people cuddling
9. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Marta Duque, Colombian Host to Venezuelans:
“We got some plastic tarps, some mats and blankets so that at least those people wouldn’t get wet outside.”
10. Med shot, Marta
11. Med shot, women and children inside Marta’s shelter
12. Wide shot, Venezuelans crossing the bridge to Colombia
13. Wide shot, back kitchen in Marta’s shelter
14. Med shot, caminante and his children inside Marta’s shelter
15. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Marta Duque, Colombian Host to Venezuelans:
“My living room, dining room and kitchen have all disappeared. There are so many people, and we have to use the whole house, so no woman or child is left outside in the cold.
16. Med shot, women and children inside Marta’s shelter
17. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Marta Duque, Colombian Host to Venezuelans:
“We haven’t had a day off. We’re at it all year long.”
18. Med shot, caminante outside Marta’s home
19. Med shot, Grexys Gonzalez
20. Med shot, Marta with migrants in her home
21. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Venezuelan Migrant:
“I’m not in good health.”
22. Med shot, Grexys Gonzalez in Marta’s home
23. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Venezuelan Migrant:
“I’m way too skinny and don’t think I’m in any condition to cross the mountains on foot.”
24. Various shots, people in Marta’s kitchen
25. Various shots, people outside Marta’s home
26. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Marta Duque, Colombian Host to Venezuelans:
“What motivates me the most is seeing the children, very young and very vulnerable children, and also women who have just given birth, and women with premature or sick babies.”
27. Med shot, children
28. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Marta Duque, Colombian Host to Venezuelans:
“No one lends them a hand, no one gives them any food. I can’t understand it. Many people have the means to help, but they don’t.”
29. Close up, Marta
30. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Marta Duque, Colombian Host to Venezuelans:
“I’m sure that if one day they’re no longer here, I’ll feel lonely.”
31. Wide shot, caminantes sitting on the floor in front of Marta’s home
For the past two years, Marta Duque has hosted scores of Venezuelans in her two-bedroom home in the mountain town of Pamplona, Colombia. The 56-year-old says the sight of Venezuelans women and children sleeping on the streets was so upsetting she decided to open her doors to those in need.
SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Marta Duque, Colombian Host to Venezuelans:
“It all started one night when I saw people huddled on the bridge in front of my house, getting wet.”
SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Marta Duque, Colombian Host to Venezuelans:
“It was raining and very cold. It occurred to me that we could open up the garage where we keep the car.”
SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Marta Duque, Colombian Host to Venezuelans:
“We got some plastic tarps, some mats and blankets so that at least those people wouldn’t get wet outside.”
For a few Colombians, the sight of Venezuelan women, men and children huddled together on the sidewalks of their towns is so overwhelming that they decide to take action and offer space in their own homes, turning them into shelters.
Marta Duque is one of those generous individuals.
SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Marta Duque, Colombian Host to Venezuelans:
“My living room, dining room and kitchen have all disappeared. There are so many people, and we have to use the whole house, so no woman or child is left outside in the cold.”
SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Marta Duque, Colombian Host to Venezuelans:
“We haven’t had a day off. We’re at it all year long.”
For many of the more than 1,400 Venezuelans fleeing to neighboring Colombia daily, the trip from their homes to the border depletes their limited budget. Once they cross over into Colombia, many are unable to afford transportation on to their destinations - cities throughout Colombia and in other South American countries.
Many are left with no option but to walk, trekking for days or weeks. Along the way, the “caminantes” - or walkers, as they are known in Spanish - eat and sleep in the soup kitchens and shelters that dot the route, most of them run by local aid groups. And when there is no room left in the shelters, they sleep along the side of the road.
SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Venezuelan Migrant:
“I’m not in good health.”
SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Venezuelan Migrant:
“I’m way too skinny and don’t think I’m in any condition to cross the mountains on foot.”
Every single night, Duque, her husband, and several volunteers provide dozens of Venezuelan families with warm meals and a safe and warm place to sleep.
SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Marta Duque, Colombian Host to Venezuelans:
“What motivates me the most is seeing the children, very young and very vulnerable children, and also women who have just given birth, and women with premature or sick babies.”
SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Marta Duque, Colombian Host to Venezuelans:
“No one lends them a hand, no one gives them any food. I can’t understand it. Many people have the means to help, but they don’t.”
SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Marta Duque, Colombian Host to Venezuelans:
“I’m sure that if one day they’re no longer here, I’ll feel lonely.”
Her tireless generosity allows them a safe haven to rest before continuing an exhausting and dangerous journey through the mountains.
