Another thousand Venezuelans to be relocated across Brazil
A thousand Venezuelan immigrants sheltered in the state of Roraima, north Brazil, will be relocated late in August, said Tuesday (Aug. 21) Viviane Ese, acting sub-chief of the president’s chief-of-staff, a member of the team assembled by the government to visit Pacaraima, the town on the Brazilian border with Venezuela.
As it stands today, the Venezuelan nationals are distributed across ten shelters in state capital Boa Vista and Pacaraima. Due to the city’s location on the frontier, it has received thousands of Venezuelans since the aggravation of the political and economic crisis plaguing the neighboring country.
Most immigrants are facing homelessness, and the government seeks to speed up its resettlement efforts. Since early this year, 820 people have been sent to a number of states throughout Brazil.
In the next stage, Ese said, Venezuelans are to be transferred on flights scheduled for late August and early September, most of which heading for the South of the country. The exact destinations have not yet been disclosed.
The government also announced the construction of a new transition shelter between the cities of Boa Vista and Pacaraima, in addition to the increased number of beds in existing shelters. Construction works are to begin immediately, Ese reported.
“The goal is to bring the frontier situation to a normalized state in a humanitarian fashion. The resettlement plan is also being carried out so that we don’t have more homeless people. President [Michel Temer] unveiled efforts to strengthen this initiative,” she went on to say.
National Public Security Secretariat Flávio Basílio said that more 60 National Force men were sent to Roraima to back up the work of the Federal Police, the Highway Police, and the Army. They left Brasília in 16 vehicles and one bus. On Monday (20), the first 60 men of the National Force arrived in Boa Vista.
On Tuesday, a team with specialists from 11 ministries are visiting Pacaraima to assess the situation and gather data for the adoption of new measures to help the immigrants. They met with UN representatives who deal with refugees and social agents assisting foreigners.
Challenge
One of the organizations that took part in the meeting was Fraternidade – International Humanitarian Federation, in charge of the coordination of four Boa Vista shelters directed at Venezuelans, and one shelter for indigenous people in Pacaraima.
Ricardo Rinaldi, Fraternidade’s coordinator for emergencies and humanitarian aide, said that some 500 Venezuelans enter the state every day, adding that the state government is no longer in financial and structural conditions to properly receive all immigrants seeking refuge in the country.
*Luana Karen, from TV NBR, contributed to this article.
