Violent Protest Over Venezuelan Migrants In Chile

[RAMROD 116,991]

The United Nations expressed concern Monday at "violence and xenophobia" meted out to undocumented migrants in Chile over the weekend by locals fed up with their presence in the country.

Some 3,000 protesters took to the streets of the northern port city of Iquique on Saturday, some burning the belongings of rough-sleeping migrants who had been occupying a public square for months.

The Iquique protesters waved Chilean flags and chanted slogans against the migrants, mainly Venezuelans fleeing dire economic conditions in their country by crossing the Andes mountains and Atacama desert.

Eduardo Stein, the UN Refugee Agency and UN Migration Agency's representative for Venezuelan migrants, expressed his "sadness and dismay" at what he described as acts of "hate, intolerance and xenophobia."

The demonstration took place a day after police evacuated a migrant camp that had existed for a year on the town square. Most of the migrants, poor and undocumented, are surviving on odd jobs and sleeping in tents.

Chile is Latin America's wealthiest country per capita.

Venezuela, meanwhile, is in an unprecedented economic and political crisis that has led millions of people to leave their country, rich in oil resources but mismanaged and rife with dysfunction.

Venezuela's national currency, the bolivar, has lost 73 percent of its value to the dollar so far this year. Inflation is about 3,000 percent.
 

 

https://www.rfi.fr/en/un-concerned-about-xenophobia-against-migrants-in-chile

 

 

[dit 46,738]

I will NEVER understand why people attack migrants when they should be upset and rioting at the governments of the countries that have led to the destruction or poverty of those nations which led to those migrants migrating out of their homeland. 

[Fernster7 7,976]

As a Venezuelan also living in another country this is so heartbreaking to see, I can't imagine how I would react if that happened to my or the people I care about here. People are sick.

[Butters Stotch 5,379]

4 minutes ago, Fernster7 said:

As a Venezuelan also living in another country this is so heartbreaking to see, I can't imagine how I would react if that happened to my or the people I care about here. People are sick.

Same here. I'm glad I'm in a country where immigrants are treated with dignity and kindness, and are welcomed with open arms. It's so sad, and not only because I'm venezuelan too, because I'd feel the same about any immigrant from any country that has to go through something like this... as if being an immigrant wasnt't already difficult enough.

[Fernster7 7,976]

1 minute ago, Butters Stotch said:

Same here. I'm glad I'm in a country where immigrants are treated with dignity and kindness, and are welcomed with open arms. It's so sad, and not only because I'm venezuelan too, because I'd feel the same about any immigrant from any country that has to go through something like this... as if being an immigrant wasnt't already difficult enough.

Yeah, I wish those people could feel how awful it is to be hated on just because of the place you were born, it's something I try to understand but always fail to do  it's not right in any way.

I am also thankful the place I'm at is mostly accepting of immigrants and apart from a few things it's okay, but you always live with the fear of that changing and it's super sad.

[HausofGabo 1,289]

As a chilean I feel so ashamed the way those people acted, violence is never the way. I hope those families receive the help they need, a place to live and jobs.

[NichuuB 43,788]

I love in Manaus, a city where lots of venezuelans migrated to, and it so sad how they have to face constant xenophobia

[NCgaga 4,345]

While I hate to see migrants in crisis, I really do wonder what some of your opinions on what Chile should do? They can’t just open their borders and be flooded with Venezuelans. The Infrastructure wouldn’t be able to handle it. That’s the same with any country that has lots of migrants trying to get in.  More prosperous countries have also donated tons of money to 3rd world countries, only to be taken by the corrupt govt’s of those 3rd world countries. I wonder with all the opinions here, what are you solutions to the opinions?