Boa noite a todos! Good evening to all.

Have you been keeping up with the notícias (news) lately? If you have, you probably heard about the current crise migratória (migration crisis) that has been taking place in Venezuela over the past few anos (years). This is decidedly the largest crisis of refugiados (refugees) recorded in the Americas and it has become a major diplomacy issue in Brazil.

Photo by Carlosar [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html), CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/) or CC BY-SA 2.5 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5)], via Wikimedia Commons

The entrance of Venezuelans across the fronteira (border) on a large escale has intensified for the past few months here in Brazil. Their main access is through the state of Roraima, particularly the town of Pacaraima, which admits over quinhentos (500) immigrants diariamente (on a daily basis).

However, this increasing migration flow inescapably leads to conflicts that reveal Brazil’s lack of preparedness to deal with this new migratory demands. Tensions have been rising and the newcomers’ foreign presence is often met with hostility by locals. Lacking basic infrastructure to offer public services even to their own residents, local resources have been strained and cidades (cities) in Brazil fail to accommodate refugees, who ultimately end up vivendo (living) under precarious conditions. Although organizations have been created to assist the Venezuelan immigrants and help them in the transition process, episodes of discrimination and violence were registered. Some even propose fechar as fronteiras (closing the borders).

And even though Brazil is not listed among the top destinations for the Venezuelan diaspora, the matter is urgent. The deep political and economic crisis is affecting the lives of Venezuelans in many levels. Strategies like allocating them to other Brazilian states with more to offer has been considered. To acolher (welcome) those who arrive and not turn our backs to our vizinhos (neighbors), the responsible bodies need to come with other ways of offering them legal proteção (protection) and abrigo (shelter).

Desejo a todos um bom fim de semana. I wish you all a nice weekend.