“With the pandemic, everything is more difficult for the refugees”
Interview with Juan Carlos Murillo González, UNHCR responsible for South America
BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA — Talking about refugees is always delicate because most of the time their luck is at stake and sometimes even life itself. But in times of a pandemic, the issue becomes more sensitive and the parties involved are cautious. UNHCR is a UN body that watches over the fate of refugees; each of the governments do not want diplomatic problems with their neighbors or with the UN and the migrants themselves because they do not want to lose the possibility of getting out of a compromised situation exacerbated by the pandemic. Talking about human lives and their stories in this context becomes difficult because silence and good manners are the tunnel through which the lives of millions of people pass. It is enough to watch the series on Netflix about the situation of refugees to understand the seriousness of the situation. Series such as Trapped, Sorjonen, Suburra or Displaced, are just a handful of examples of treatment, mistreatment, arbitrariness and negotiations with refugees.
The situation generated by the coronavirus pandemic has its hardest blow in vulnerable populations. In this group we have to include those displaced for political reasons, racial persecution, economic situations and wars or internal armed confrontations in different countries. Migrants in search of asylum or refuge are displaced at risk in the midst of a pandemic: without a home, no money, or work, they go in search of something better and find Covid-19.
In the southern cone of South America, the situation is complex. Bolivia suffers from a dictatorship. Chile faces decades-long social issues that have now erupted in the face of a liberal government. Argentina came out of a liberal government and was unable to rearm itself when the pandemic surprised it. Uruguay has just passed from a social democracy to liberalism and Paraguay maintains a constitutional government with the particular conditions of that country since the fall of the dictator Alfredo Stroessner in 1989.
However, displaced populations flock to all these countries in search of a better life in the midst of the pandemic. The mission of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) is to ease the living conditions of these people in their difficult decision to go out to find a new destination.
Refugee and asylum status are granted to those who suffer some form of persecution or fear for their life in their native or other countries where they live. However, in practice both instances have differences.
Refugee status is regulated by law and is granted to those who formally request the authorities of a country to be received because their life or quality of life is at risk due to their political beliefs, their creed or their race. The asylee, in general, is a figure applied to individuals who consider their life in danger for political reasons and is the step prior to being admitted as a political refugee.
UNHCR Southern Cone currently has approved a budget of 24 million dollars and the main population displacements in the last three years are Venezuelan and Colombian citizens who emigrated from their countries due to the internal political situation. Colombians preferably chose their neighbor Ecuador and are not usually considered by the press. However, the figures show that the migration of Colombians to the neighboring country increases in the same way that migrations from Nicaragua to neighboring countries have risen in the last six years, according to UN data.
Until last June, the largest population displaced to the Southern Cone is originally from Venezuela, which has some 5.2 million citizens fleeing the country. UNHCR alone in Argentina contains 185,702 displaced, mostly Venezuelans. 3,881 and refugees and 8,044 asylees of different nationalities. In Bolivia, it welcomed 878 refugees and 244 with asylum requests and also 5,472 displaced Venezuelans. In Chile, there are 2,053 refugees, 8,585 people requesting asylum and the displaced Venezuelan population amounts to 452,712 people. In Paraguay, it contains 1,016 refugees and 694 people of different nationalities requesting asylum, in addition to 3,588 Venezuelans. In Uruguay, UNHCR has 516 refugees, 13,750 asylees from different countries, including Cuba and Syria, and only from Venezuela another 14,362 displaced citizens awaiting resolution of their legal situation. In Uruguay, UNHCR has 516 refugees, 13,750 asylees from different countries, including Cuba and Syria, and only from Venezuela another 14,362 displaced citizens awaiting resolution of their legal situation.
Juan Carlos Murillo González is the head of the UNHCR Southern Cone region that includes Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia and Paraguay and spoke with The Pandemic Journal about the situation of migrants in the midst of a pandemic.
-What were the main challenges for UNHCR in South America in the face of this pandemic?
-The main challenge was to work with the governments that decided to close the borders completely to get them to make exceptions to the refugee and asylum requests of many people who are displaced or persecuted in other countries. We succeeded in getting Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia and Paraguay to make humanitarian exceptions and enable those seeking asylum to enter the border crossings. The other important point was that we were able to agree with those same governments the possibility of enabling asylum or refugee requests remotely, online. That was an important step.
-That’s regarding the individual processing and humane treatment of the displaced, but what were the difficulties of UNHCR South America in the face of the pandemic?
-A complex problem was that many of those seeking asylum or refuge belong to the informal sector of the economy in their countries and it was necessary to deal not only with refugee status but also with the lack of economic resources of that population. It is necessary not only to give them space in the country they are seeking to arrive, but also to provide them with livelihoods, food, clothing and health. And suddenly with this pandemic, we went from having a few hundred cases to thousands and thousands. We are overwhelmed. We had funding difficulties to cope with our work and items had to be redirected from UNHCR in order to continue working with migrants and displaced persons.
-What impact does the pandemic have on the migrant population with whom you work?
-We do not have numerous cases of infections among the refugees to alarm us. The conditions in which we receive them are similar to those brought from their countries. Covid-19 is not our main problem now at UNHCR South America in terms of contagion. But it is true that there is a prejudice of seeing the migrant as a virus carrier and that can lead to discriminatory situations that we need to avoid. The pandemic does not discriminate, but we do and that is the risk that migrants face.
-What things are needed to improve the situation of the displaced in these conditions?
- Much more cooperation is needed from the international community. Awareness about the situation of the displaced has to be deeper because the reality is very harsh. The five countries in which I have been working since 2018 here in South America are countries that refugees seek to settle and take root. They are not transit countries as occurs with other realities, for example in Central America, where there are countries like Mexico that receive displaced persons from Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras or Panama in transit to the United States. In the South American case, the social support networks that open around the refugees are extremely important. In all countries, in their urban centers and especially in the neighborhoods, there is solidarity to receive migrants and make a place for them in the community.
-How is the work with countries whose governments face serious social questions, such as the dictatorship in Bolivia and the eroding Piñera government in Chile?
-It is true that these are countries with some internal problems to solve but I have to be honest and say that those domestic problems in each country did not lead the governments to modify their cooperative attitude with UNHCR. I insist that in Latin America all countries have hermetically and completely closed borders, but nevertheless, the humanitarian exceptions in South America have been present to meet our requests and those of the refugees.
-The latest UNHCR South America reports show a very significant demand for asylum requests from Venezuela. How did this impact the requests from other countries?
-In the last twenty years, asylum requests have grown between Latin American countries. The number of population displacements on our continent increased considerably. The situation in Nicaragua is serious, where there are many who leave the country. Colombia is another country with a high number of displaced persons and many pending refugee and asylum requests in Ecuador and Chile where we are working smoothly with local agencies to achieve visas and refugee status. But without a doubt the unprecedented exodus that implies the displacement of 5.2 million Venezuelans borders outside their country complicates the task that we are developing. Many choose to claim a Mercosur visa to reach the destination countries. Others choose to aim for refugee status, which makes the process more complex and lengthy that we are trying to speed up with the national administrations. However, we also continue to process the requests of Cubans and Syrians who request to enter, for example to Uruguay.
-In the face of a pandemic that does not yet have an expiration date, What mechanisms should be specifically improved to facilitate the movement of those seeking asylum or refuge and for UNHCR to carry out its task effectively before this pandemic?
-It is essential that governments understand the need to open borders as a humanitarian gesture towards those who are facing the difficult situation of having to leave their land. Secondly, that remote asylum applications systems continue to improve in times when public offices are not open or personalized attention is difficult. And thirdly, that those who enter the territory as asylees or refugees are guaranteed equitable income to employment, health services, education and housing for individuals or family groups. Uprooting is very hard and with this pandemic everything is more difficult for the refugees.
