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Six million Venezuelans have left their homeland in recent years to escape the enormous crisis. So does 29-year-old Pedro Sanchez.
Pedro works as a tour guide. He accompanies tourists through the rainforest in northern Colombia, in the Sierra Nevada. The 29-year-old Venezuelan works as often as possible for a travel agency in this region. Because he regularly sends money to his home country. He left his parents and siblings three years ago.
“I had a very good job in Venezuela, earning three times the minimum wage, but it wasn’t enough to buy basic necessities for the family.” So he was forced to leave the country, Pedro explains to SRF News.
Legend:
Pedro with tourists in front of the travel agency
SRF/David Karasek
Pedro lived in La Grita, a town in northwestern Venezuela. He studied health sciences and then worked for the public prosecutor’s office. Not a bad job. However, the salary was not enough for three meals a day.
20 kg lost
When he had lost 20 kilograms from sheer hunger, it was clear to him that he had to emigrate. “It was a pretty difficult time. I don’t know if it was the poor quality of the food or just not enough. Or stress.” It’s exhausting always having to think about what to feed your little siblings, says the 29-year-old.
Legend:
Overview of the world’s largest refugee crises. Venezuela could overtake Syria this year and become the world’s biggest refugee crisis.
Organization of American States (OAS)
Venezuela is on the brink of collapse: famine, unemployment and now the pandemic. If the situation was already tense before Covid-19, it became unbearable with the pandemic. Many have lost jobs and income.
96 percent live in extreme poverty
According to the latest data from the main universities and observatories in Venezuela, 96 percent of Venezuelans live in extreme poverty and live on less than two dollars a day. President Nicolas Maduro is clinging to power, human rights organizations are reporting on extrajudicial executions and the persecution of opposition figures.
In its latest report on Venezuela, the United Nations refugee agency writes that all of these reasons have forced millions of people to flee and triggered one of the largest displacement crises in the world.
“Loneliness hurts”
Observers fear that the number of refugees could rise to more than seven million in 2022. A mass exodus from Venezuela – far from the world public. Most refugees remain in South America, moving south to Chile, Peru and especially Colombia. This is where most Venezuelans live today, over 1.7 million people. So does Pedro Sanchez.
Despite his work as a tour guide in northern Colombia, where he has to deal with many people, he often feels alone. “It’s difficult without a family. The loneliness hurts. But that’s the way it is, I have to do it.”
Legend:
Where are the 6 million Venezuelans fleeing to?
Organization of American States (OAS)
The latest data from the Venezuelan central bank from the beginning of January show that the economy is recovering slightly, and the country is producing more oil again. But only a small, rich elite benefits from this. 900 Venezuelans are still leaving their homeland every day.