The Venezuelan confronts Xenophobia in other countries
At the moment hundreds of people have emigrated to other countries, but at the moment it is to be proud, to say that one is Venezuelan, people tell us their stories of the daily life and how they hide their accent and their flag for the rejection of which they have been victims, and because if Venezuela has been a country that has received thousands of Colombians, Peruvians, Chileans, in fact there are businesses of Spaniards, Chinese who have made a fortune in Venezuela because the change, is that perhaps the new policy of the Venezuelan in the last 18 years and its change of culture have affected etc
Change the accent and disguise when speaking, deny in opportunities that the country of birth is Venezuela, much less wear the Venezuelan cap with the national flag, even worse, never take with it any garment allusive to the tricolor criollo, are some of the tactics of the Venezuelans to escape the growing xenophobia that lurks in several countries, especially in Latin America, where there is a greater presence of fellow emigrants.
The acts of discrimination that the young Fernando Gómez lived inside one of the wagons of a metro line in Panama City made him reconsider his idea of living in the Caribbean country and prompted him, a year later, to move to another nation .
"I left work and as usual I took the subway to go to my house. I was standing, there were a lot of people inside. I was tired, I worked in construction for eight hours in a row under the sun. In one of the stations, a chair was unoccupied and when I was going to sit down, a Panamanian pushed me and shouted that the seats were not for foreigners. I remained calm and I continued standing. After several minutes, another Panamanian spit in my face and insulted me for being a Venezuelan. I had the tricolor cap on, I always carried it with me because I feel proud of my nationality but, unfortunately, in countries like Panama, sometimes, you have to hide it a bit and only carry it in your heart, "he told PANORAMA.
Let's see another Example
Alejandra Palacios took another "bitter drink" from Panama, but in her case, the act of xenophobia that she suffered almost took her to jail. Her then boss at the advertising agency where she worked saved her from an imminent flight home due to deportation. Now, living quieter in Ecuador, she dares to tell her story.
"I had been working as a public relations officer for four months, I was earning $ 800 that I was able to live comfortably, but without luxuries. In the office he shared with two other Venezuelans; a designer and another programmer, the three of us were in a more hidden room so that no one would see us because we worked the legal documents. "
"A compañera who is a graphic designer was jealous of our work and insulted us when we had lunch in the company's dining room. 'You are some dead of hunger', 'they have the country invaded', 'they are taking away the work of the Panamanians', were some of the phrases we had to listen to. We defended ourselves and asked that they respect us, it seemed to us that the incident was there, because after that day they did not attack us again verbally. However, after two weeks the worst happened. "
"The designer's mother-in-law worked on migration from Panama and ordered a visit from immigration agents to the advertising agency. The three Venezuelans hid in the bathroom to avoid being seen, but the officials went to the office for us, they had our identities. The company was going to be fined 15 thousand dollars and the three of us were in jail, but my boss who is Panamanian went under the line with them and paid them only 5 thousand dollars so that we would not go to jail. However, that same day I was unemployed, because the warning was clear if we continued working there, they would close the office. "
"After that incident I could not live in peace again in Panama. I felt terrible paranoia, I saw immigration agents everywhere and I thought every time I was going to be deported. I decided to go to Quito and I am better; It is not easy in Ecuador to get a job, but I have my job and I am legal ", narrates the Venezuelan without hiding detail.
What happens with professional careers
Just as there are Venezuelans who exercise their careers and have good salaries, most do not run with that luck. The rejection that exists makes many companies prefer to hire other foreigners of low academic level, just for not hiring Venezuelans, and what two years ago was very easy (to get a job), today is a nightmare.
Currently, there are at least 27 restricted careers for foreign citizens in Panama, including nursing, dentistry, public relations, veterinary, accounting, journalism and all engineering. Applying for a work permit in that country costs between $ 2,800 to $ 3,000 and the payment is not a guarantee that it will be approved, an extremely high cost when compared to Argentina, where it only costs $ 100 to change. "Living and working legally has become a utopia," they comment.
If the border can not be disguised
On the northern border of Ecuador, right in Peru, this week the xenophobia against the Venezuelan was exposed and was rejected by the Peruvians themselves. On this occasion, the act of discrimination was carried out by the local police. Officials tried to confiscate all the merchandise from a young Venezuelan who sold the aperas on a busy avenue, verbally abused him and cornered him. However, the citizens who traveled the area defended it.
"Unfortunately I have to start from scratch in Peru, my will is not to sell my whole life, but as long as it can accommodate me I have to work honestly to survive," he said in tears, the young man in an interview that made him a news channel. The video went viral among Venezuelans.
In the Dominican Republic, discrimination against Haitians is a social problem that the government has recognized and deplored on several occasions. But recently, Venezuelans have also been victims of rejection, especially those "with greater academic preparation, because they have become" competition to the Dominican labor market. "
Orlando Rivera moved to Santo Domingo, the capital of the Caribbean island, a year ago. He quickly got a job at a hairdresser as a barber. At first, the environment was friendly, until the "work jealousy" began to surface.
"The other barbers who were Dominicans were upset because I hoarded the clientele. They said that since I had arrived at the place, all the men wanted to cut their hair with me; The truth was like that, but I was not to blame for that. They started insulting me and even asked my boss to bounce me, but he did not listen. "
"When they saw that they did not fire me, one day they threw scissors at me, but thank God they did not have good marksmanship. The worst thing that they did and that almost cost me my stay in the Dominican Republic was that they denounced me before migration and the police arrived at the premises ".
"Like every third-world country, the policeman asked me for a few reales (local currency) so as not to be deported, I paid him what he asked for and nothing happened. Now, I moved from town to another hairdresser, where the owner is Venezuelan. "
"Venezuela has always had open arms for foreigners of any nationality, it is a country where everyone has always fit. It is very sad that in certain countries we can not receive what we have always given. warmth, "says the stylist.
If many Venezuelans think of moving abroad to improve their quality of life, to be happier or to achieve the love of their lives, keep in mind that they are likely to come to the tables with their heads or have luck or better prudence when talking about it. it is not known if one can be faced with a xenophobe or an obnoxious person who does not mind making another person feel shame for knowing that he no longer feels proud of being Venezuelan
At the same time it is a hope for all those who feel a motivation to travel and not take into account the prejudices of people who are not living the situation of the Venezuelan
image taken from a magazine