Latin American nations offer to take in Syria refugees

[lego 44,165]

Latin American countries are opening their doors to Syrians fleeing the civil war in their country, as Europe struggles with a growing refugee crisis.

Chile and Venezuela have this week both offered to take in Syrian refugees , and Brazil said it would continue to welcome people escaping the country’s brutal conflict. Argentina and Uruguay have also created special programs to resettle Syrian refugees since the war started in 2011.

 

Chile’s government said on Tuesday that it would take 100 families seeking refuge “to address the grave humanitarian crisis affecting thousands of Syrian citizens”.

“The decision has already been made by the president and it will happen as soon as possible,” said the foreign minister, Heraldo Muñoz. 

On Monday, Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro said that his country would accept 20,000 refugees from Syria – while at the same time reiterating his support for the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, whom he described as “the only leader with authority in Syria”.

“I want 20,000 Syrians to come, Syrian families to our Venezuelan homeland to share this land of peace, this land of Christ, and of Bolívar, to work with us and to contribute to … the development of this magic land,” proclaimed Maduro.

The figure cited by Maduro is just over the estimated 18,000 Colombian nationals who have fled Venezuela since mid-August after a wave of deportations of undocumented migrants there.

Brazil’s president, Dilma Rousseff, said she wanted to “reiterate the government’s willingness to welcome those who, driven from their homeland, want to come live, work and contribute to the prosperity and peace of Brazil. Especially in these difficult times, these times of crisis, we have to welcome refugees with open arms.”

 

Brazil, Latin America’s largest country, has been the main destination for Syrians seeking refuge in the region, with more than 2,000 Syrians granted asylum in the country since the start of the Syrian conflict.

Brazil, which has a large Syrian and Lebanese immigrant population, launched a humanitarian visa programme in 2013 for those affected by the Syrian conflict which gives people the right to apply for refugee status once they are in the country.

 

Argentina’s “Syria Programme” created special humanitarian visas for Syrians fleeing the conflict, offering permanent residence after three years.

Latin America has a history of taking in immigrants and asylum-seekers from across the world. A wave of Spaniards fled to Latin America during the Spanish civil war and the Franco era, and many Jewish refugees settled in South America during and after the second world war. By the late 20th century, it was Latin America that was producing refugees fleeing civil wars, dictatorships and hardship.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/09/latin-american-countries-welcome-syrian-refugees

 

http://news.yahoo.com/latin-american-nations-offer-syria-refugees-053441163.html

 

[Alii 2,039]

That's great!  

[TiphEret 1,320]

Awesome but how can they get there?