Shelters for Venezuelan migrants in the northern Brazilian municipality of Boa Vista have reached their maximum capacity, but this has not stopped them from continuing to care for all arrivals, Lt. Ana Seabra, a representative of Operacion Acogida, the humanitarian operation responsible for the hosting of refugees, told Sputnik Wednesday.
BOA VISTA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th August, 2018) Shelters for Venezuelan migrants in the northern Brazilian municipality of Boa Vista have reached their maximum capacity, but this has not stopped them from continuing to care for all arrivals, Lt. Ana Seabra, a representative of Operacion Acogida, the humanitarian operation responsible for the hosting of refugees, told Sputnik Wednesday.
"Boa Vista shelters are working at the maximum capacity, but they are managing," Seabra said.
About 500 Venezuelans cross the Brazilian border through the state of Roraima in the north of the country every day, many of whom then settle in shelters and refugee camps in Boa Vista.
Some 4,600 people live in the new shelters of Boa Vista. When another refugee camp, Rondon II, opens at the end of September, 500 new places for new arrivals will become available.
Venezuelan migrants are resettled in two refugee reception centers. The first is in the border town of Pacaraima and second is in the city of Boa Vista, where there are new shelters.
There is only one shelter in Pacaraima, and it is for the Warao people. Venezuelans who come to the city without money have to spend the night in churches, in neighboring houses or on the street.
The military plans to open a temporary shelter for 500 people soon, but the maximum stay there will be limited to three or four days, the period of time that it usually takes authorities to make a decision on a residence permit or asylum.
Venezuelan Luis Angel Vega is living with his wife and three children in the new refugee camp in Boa Vista Rondon I. The shelter is located on the outskirts of the city and occupies 22,000 square meters (236,806 square feet). There are 120 houses on the territory, where 700 people are living. The houses are made of plywood and have small windows; there are solar panels to charge mobile phones.
"We feel safe here, everything is working out fine, we can go out during the day to look for a job," Luis Angel told Sputnik.
According to other migrants, the shelters in Rondon I are clean and in good condition, although there are those that are worse, such as the Jardim Floresta camp, where only families with children live.
Venezuelan Julia Martin told Sputnik that when she arrived to Brazil, she had severe pain in her hands and was given the necessary medical care.
"The situation is 20 times better than in Venezuela, they look after you here, give medical drugs ... they cared for me very well, but I want to return to my country," Julia Martin said.
On Tuesday, Brazilian President Michel Temer said that the Brazilian government sent troops to Roraima to ensure security because of the large inflow of Venezuelan migrants.
On August 8, the government of Ecuador declared a state of emergency in the provinces of Carchi, Pichincha and El Oro, and extended it until September 30. The authorities of Colombia and Peru announced that they would set up a database of Venezuelan citizens who enter, leave or stay in their territories.
According to the United Nations more than 1.6 million Venezuelans have fled the country since 2015, when a severe economic crisis and galloping inflation hit Venezuela.
