10 Jun THE SUFFERING FACES OF OUR VENEZUELAN BROTHERS AND SISTERS/colombia
By the side of the Northern Highway in Bogotá, dozens of our Venezuelan brothers and sisters hope to find some way to travel to the border city of Cúcuta, and from there to be able to return to their country.
This problem has become more acute with the passage of time, and confronts the authorities and the neighbors of that sector, who hinder them from staying on the sidewalk and oblige them to walk to the outskirts of the city.
Everywhere doors are closed to them, since they are considered a serious threat of contagion because of the Covid 19 situation.
“We want them to help us to return to our country, for here we lack many necessities, and we prefer to be there.” stated Sonia Machado, a Venezuelan who has travelled from Ecuador with her two children, ages three and six.
Like Sonia, many of the Venezuelans there have come from countries such as Peru and Ecuador, places that they left for fear of contracting COVID 19.
They are in an unhealthy situation, and they have even had to endure heavy rainfalls. Moreover, they have nowhere to go to take care of basic hygiene.
In the face of this situation of marginalization and health risk, the mayor’s office of Bogotá has proposed a temporary lodging for them, but what they are actually requesting is to be given the possibility of traveling to the border in order to return to their country and be with their families. They say that they are suffering from hunger, and some of the children are sick due to the inhumane living conditions.
These are situations in which we feel humanly helpless, since it is a vulnerable population group that grows daily (500 – 600 immigrants).
During these days we are following this situation and looking for ways to become involved in the light of a reality that from one moment to the next changes everything for us regarding our project with the migrants and with our school.
Let’s ask the God of life to continue to accompany us in this boat, that the storm may soon pass, and that we can continue to be better guardians of his creation.
Juan Jairo Laverde, FACI
