COLOMBIA / GRANDI VENEZUELAN REFUGEES
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STORY: COLOMBIA / GRANDI VENEZUELAN REFUGEES
TRT: 5:13
SOURCE: UNHCR
RESTRICTIONS: PLEASE CREDIT UNHCR ON SCREEN
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / SPANISH / NATS
DATELINE: 06 FEBRUARY 2021, MAICAO, LA GUAJIRA, COLOMBIA
06 FEBRUARY 2021, MAICAO, LA GUAJIRA, COLOMBIA
1. Wide shot, Paraguachón border crossing, between Colombia and Venezuela
2. Close up, Paraguachón border crossing, between Colombia and Venezuela
3. Various shots, people passing through Paraguachón crossing point
4. Wide shot, of people crossing through one of the irregular crossing points in Paraguanchón border
5. Wide shot, fence where an irregular crossing point begins
6. Various shots, Grandi arriving at immigration centre in the Paraguanchon crossing point and greeting local authorities
7. Various shots, Grandi accompanied by local authorities at Paraguachón crossing point
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Filippo Grandi, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees:
“Here in this municipality of Maicao, the Mayor of Maicao just told me that one person in three, one person in four is now a Venezuelan refugee or migrant. This is to give the essence of the enormous proportion of people that have arrived across the border from Venezuela. The border is now closed because of the pandemic, but people continue to filter into Colombia through irregular crossing points.”
9. Aerial shots, Integrated Assistance Centre (CAI) in Maicao
10. Med shot, Grandi with officials walking in Centre
11. Med shot, Grandi and child fist bump
12. Various shots, Grandi interacting with children at CAI’s education centre
13. Various shots, Verónica Petit, displaced Venezuelan migrant, and her children at CAI’s food area
14. Wide shot, Verónica and her family walking through
15. Various shots, Verónica combing her daughter’s hair, Franyimar
16. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Verónica Petit, Venezuelan migrant:
“Having a valid ID in Colombia would make people say ‘See, she has something that allows her to work and to raise her children, and provide them with education.’ It means the world to me to be in this country.”
17. Various shots, Verónica and her children meeting with UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi
18. SOUNDBITE (English) Filippo Grandi, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees:
“We have met families and people, with their terrible stories of loss, of dangerous travels of deprivation. The main problem here in Colombia is that for many Venezuelans, they remain in an irregular status, and this lack of regularization marginalizes them, penalized them. The government is working very hard to try and find solutions to this problem, because regularization would mean that Venezuelans coming to Colombia can have access to employment, to work and can have access to services, to health, to education, in a more predictable way.”
19. Wide shot, Refugee Housing Units
20. Wide shot, people sitting outside Refugee Housing Units
21. Wide shot, residents chatting
22. Med shot, residents chatting
23. SOUNDBITE (English) Filippo Grandi, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees:
“I really want from here, from La Guajira, from this very remote area of the country, to share a message to the international community, first of all of great appreciation for what the government and the people of Colombia are doing for those who are fleeing their country. And second, that this generosity should not be taken for granted. Colombia hosts 1.7 million Venezuelans that have fled from their country. Colombia needs more international support. This is why I´m here and this is my appeal to the international community from Maicao.”
24. Various shots, Venezuelan children playing at CAI
UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said the Colombia’s generosity in hosting Venezuelan refugees “should not be taken for granted” and appealed for international support for the country’s efforts which are under way to protect displaced people despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Grandi visited Colombia as the country continues to receive refugees and migrants from Venezuelan, while coping with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
He reiterated the importance of promoting regularization of refugees and migrant from Venezuela to ensure their inclusion in society and praised the Colombian Government’s efforts to address the issue.
An estimated 5.4 million Venezuelan refugees and migrants are currently living abroad, having fled widespread food and medicine shortages and insecurity back home – making it the second largest displacement crisis in the world.
Colombia is host to 1.7 million Venezuelans, more than 37 per cent of the 4.6 million refugees and migrants from Venezuelan in Latin America and the Caribbean. More than half of Colombia’s Venezuelan population lack regular status, affecting their ability to access essential services, protection and assistance.
During the field visit, Grandi met with the Colombian authorities to thank them for their continued support to refugees and other displaced populations in the country and their commitment to find long-term solutions so they can integrate in the Colombian society.
He also met with refugees like Veronica, a single mother with four kids, one of them (Franyimar, five-year-old) who has a motor disability that prevents her from walking properly. The family entered Colombia through an irregular crossing on 27th November 2020 with the purpose of finding health care for Franyimar. They spent about a week sleeping in the streets until they found out in December about the Integrated Assistance Centre supported by the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) and the Colombian Government.
Now at the Centre, Veronica has received medicine to treat her daughter’s condition. Veronica and her children have also received phycological and legal orientation to regularize their situation in Colombia.
UNHCR in Colombia supports Venezuelan refugees and migrants through access to information and orientation, documentation, shelter, health services, cash-based assistance, gender-based violence (GBV) prevention and response, as well as the promotion of community engagement and campaigns against xenophobia.