As Large Numbers Leave Venezuela, Fears of Growing Xenophobia

 

Freddy Brito had just finished singing on a bus in Peru’s capital. He was crossing a street on his one good leg when the driver of a taxi sped up and turned his car toward the singer.

“Veneco!” the driver shouted, using an insulting term for Venezuelans. “Get out of here,” he added.

As large numbers of people flee Venezuela’s collapsing¹ economy, the warm welcome many migrants received in other countries has begun to wear thin.

In recent weeks, several videos on social media in Peru have shown migrants being attacked or threatened. This has fueled concerns that xenophobic attacks on the new arrivals are increasing.

Many Venezuelan migrants and refugees have settled in other South American countries. United Nations' records point to an increase in the number of Venezuelans who reported facing discrimination in those countries.

A recently established telephone hotline reported 500 incidents in two weeks.

“It has been rising in recent months,” said Federico Agusti. He serves as the U.N. refugee agency’s representative in Peru.

The incidents of discrimination include being expelled from housing, threats of violence and actual attacks.

In one video, a young Venezuelan woman is whipped by attackers on a dark street. In another, men in what appear to be military clothing announce on a loudspeaker that they will not let “another miserable² Venezuelan” into Peru.

In a third video, a young man appeals to several officers standing³ around him not to take away the chocolate he is trying to sell to earn some money.

“How am I going to eat now?” he cries out to the officers.

Those and other incidents have many people worried. Human rights experts warn that a number of conditions normally linked to xenophobia are happening.

Several nations with large numbers of Venezuelan migrants are experiencing political and economic problems. They are also announcing new policies aimed at restricting migrants.

When Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra recently dismissed the nation’s legislature, one angry opposition⁴ lawmaker took the microphone to say that Venezuelans “needed to leave Peru!”

“It’s not surprising that rising levels of people arriving to countries with economies that are not prepared to absorb that work force lead to this situation,” said Tamara Taraciuk Broner. She is the acting⁵ Americas deputy director for Human Rights Watch. “It’s one of the biggest concerns we have,” she added.

Brito and his wife fled Venezuela a year ago as it became increasingly difficult to feed their six children. Once part of a popular music group, Brito said Venezuela’s economic crisis made it impossible for his musical career to grow. The family also worried about their security in a country where robberies and kidnappings are common.

Having lost a leg while being shot while at a party several years ago, Brito said that some people once tried to steal his replacement⁶ leg as he sat near his home.

“That leg must be worth something!” he remembered them saying. After taking his jewelry⁷, they tried to remove the leg, but could not.

Lately, he cannot wear the leg because he cannot find the skin protector he needs. He moves around Lima on one foot.

“I feel like I’m in the air,” he said, laughing.

Ruth Guillen, his wife, took a job as a beautician when they first arrived. She said some people refused to let her touch their hair because she is Venezuelan. She said the family has been forced to move twice because they are Venezuelan. They now live in a religious group’s shelter.

“You come here with dreams,” she said. “And when you arrive you find something else.”

An estimated 4.5 million Venezuelans have fled their homeland in recent years, report U.N. officials. About half of those are now living in Colombia or Peru.

The U.N. refugee agency reports that 46.9 % of Venezuelan migrants across Latin America say they have felt discrimination, up from 36.9% earlier this year.

Words in This Story

to wear thin – phrase to become less acceptable

xenophobic – adj. showing a dislike for or fearing those from another country

hotline – n. a direct telephone line set up for a reason

whip – v. to hit or beat with a small instrument or stick

microphone – n. an object used to make a voice louder

absorb – v. to take in and accept

1 collapsing   

压扁[平]，毁坏，断裂

参考例句：

• Rescuers used props to stop the roof of the tunnel collapsing. 救援人员用支柱防止隧道顶塌陷。
• The rocks were folded by collapsing into the center of the trough. 岩石由于坍陷进入凹槽的中心而发生褶皱。

2 miserable   

adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的

参考例句：

• It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他，这是可耻的。
• Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。

3 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

4 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

5 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

6 replacement   

n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品

参考例句：

• We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。
• They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。

7 jewelry   

n.（jewllery）（总称）珠宝

参考例句：

• The burglars walked off with all my jewelry.夜盗偷走了我的全部珠宝。
• Jewelry and lace are mostly feminine belongings.珠宝和花边多数是女性用品。