Religion

Venezuelans in Colombia trapped between coronavirus and bureaucracy

Bogota, Apr 26 (EFE).- Thousands of Venezuelan migrants who want to return to their country are trapped in Colombian cities due to the coronavirus pandemic and the bureaucracy of authorities, which they accuse of stalling their travel for no reason. In the Vision de Colombia neighborhood in western Bogota, more than 200 people have been sleeping on four buses for four days, they said, waiting for the immigration authorities to give them permission to leave the city and travel by road to Cucuta or Arauca, two cities that have border crossings with Venezuela.(Camera: JUAN FRANCISCO CHAVEZ). CONTAIN FOOTAGE COURTESY OF COLOMBIA MIGRATION.SHOTLIST: A GROUP OF VENEZUELAN CITIZENS AND THE BUSES THAT THEY RENTED TO RETURN TO THEIR COUNTRY IN THE FACE OF THE EMERGENCY CAUSED BY THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC, BUT THAT WERE TURNED BACK BY THE COLOMBIAN AUTHORITIES IN BOGOTA, COLOMBIA. SOUNDBITES: JAIRO ROA,VENEZUELAN MIGRANT AND JUAN FRANCISCO ESPINOSA, DIRECTOR OF COLOMBIA MIGRATION (IN SPANISH).TRANSLATIONS: 1.) Jairo Roa: None of us have had symptoms or anything. There are many babies. There are 12 children on the bus where I am on and one of them is less than twenty days old (02:26-02:37).2.) Jairo Roa: In my case, I came after seeing on Facebook that buses were leaving and they would be arriving at the border. My families and friends have already left. They crossed the border without any problem. Migration came to the toll in the municipality of Chia (on the outskirts of Bogota) and gave them authorization and then they left. I don't know why this did not apply to our case (02:37-02:57).3.) Jairo Roa: The reason they gave us is that Venezuela is not going to open the border for us, that the border is not open to us – this is the reason, the excuse that they have given us (02:58-03:07).4.)Juan Francisco Espinosa: To date, nearly 12,000 Venezuelan citizens have returned to their country. However, it is important to remember that in Colombia at this time there are a series of measures that seek to control and prevent the spread of COVID-19. Among these measures is compulsory isolation, which must be complied by both Colombian nationals and foreigners, including Venezuelans. This process of returning (to home country) is understandable but these Venezuelans must not be the risks for other Venezuelan citizens nor the communities through which these people have been in transit (03:07-END).