“Enough of invasion”: climate of violence against thousands of Venezuelan migrants intensifies in Chile

In recent days, the xenophobic climate in Chile, in particular against the thousands of illegal Venezuelan migrants who entered from the north of the country, and also towards the Haitians. And this Saturday, the newspaper The third reported eleven detainees and one person injured during another violent demonstration against foreigners in central Santiago de Chile. Also in the town of Iquique, 1,750 kilometers from the capital, there were serious incidents, with a crowd shouting “enough migrants”, who attacked the new arrivals, in the midst of a spiral of violence still homeless.

Venezuelan migrants arrive illegally from BoliviaThen, without documents and without the possibility of working, a humanitarian crisis erupted in the north of Chile that the government of Sebastián Piñera has not yet fully resolved, allowing the explosive situation to lead to conflict.

The images on social media showed some of these protests of rational hatred and xenophobia, highlighted by the media as having no history in Chile, even with the burning of some of the migrants’ rare possessions, Of course, they arrived in the midst of situations of extreme poverty, fleeing the Chavist ordeal that plunged Venezuela into hell, whose statistics show more than 90% of the population.

In return, there were “counter-marches” which spoke out in favor of welcoming migrants and helping them, which further polarized the situation.

At Iquique, mobilisations are increasing, neighbors are complaining “We are fed up with so many immigrants, all these people live lying in the streets, they ask us for money, relieve themselves in the middle of the public road, occupy the beaches, squares, parks, and complicate us seriously life “, say angry neighbors, who demonstrated against the new arrivals by burning them mattresses, clothes and personal effects. The situation thus becomes even more serious, as the migrants are left to fend for themselves with absolutely nothing.

While it is emphasized that “There is no trace of this type of racist violence in the history of Chile”Authorized voices point out that in recent years more than a million migrants have arrived in the neighboring country. “The fault lies with the Chilean government, which did not face the problem in Iquique, they maintained a restrictive entry policy, which ended up being worse, since the immigrants entered illegally and as they did not of papers, they cannot work, so they have to try to survive informally, without being able to return to a normal work routine. “

“It’s not immigration, it’s an invasion”, one of Iquique’s neighbors shouted on television, “We can no longer live, you cannot go out at night, there is insecurity, they steal from you, we cannot go out, the border no longer exists and thousands of people are entering all the time”, asserted.

In return, there were “counter-marches” which spoke out in favor of welcoming and helping migrants, which further polarized the situation.

Thousands of people marched to the convocation this Saturday, carrying Chilean flags and posters with nationalist and violent messages. They also demanded that the government take measures to stop the migratory advance.

Anti-foreigners march in Chile: the shocking stories of Venezuelans

The Chilean Jesuit priest Felipe berrios, assured the The country What “Immigration is not going to stop. Because Chile, no matter how much we criticize it, is the richest country with the best prospects in the region ”. He also stressed that these immigrants arrive through unauthorized access, that the government does not give them the necessary papers and that they are left “in limbo”, which explains why they only exist in settlements under the conditions. very deplorable.

While Venezuelans in Chile have desperately declared that “We arrived because we have nothing, or what to eat, and in addition they attack us, accuse us of everything.”

The Chilean authorities denounce that the entry of foreigners into the country, in particular of Venezuelans from the North, has generated a social and migratory crisis, specialists on the subject and NGOs warn against the humanitarian “crisis” and the rise of the xenophobia, that they ask the Government to abandon its restrictive policies and to help the new arrivals.

The idea of ​​a migratory crisis began to circulate in the Chilean press and in the public debate at the end of July when the local authorities of the municipality of Colchane (district), in the region of Tarapacá, near the border with Bolivia, denounced that the area collapsed due to the entry of more than 200 people every day who were camping in public places, causing unease and rejection from neighbors.

Chile, a country of about 20 million people, has more than 1.4 million resident foreigners, according to data from the Department of Migration and Foreigners. In repeated interviews, Javier García, mayor of Colchane, said he was facing a generalized crisis due to the excessive influx of migrants and accused the “Colchane plan” of Sebastián Piñera’s government of “failure” . more tolerant of the arrival of South American citizens. “The vast majority of Chile does not share the xenophobic and racist violence of the group that burned the property of migrants,” he warned. Carlos figueroa, director of incidence and studies of the Jesuit Migrant Service (SJM), in dialogue with the BBC.

At the moment, Chile has a population of around 20 million people and more 1.4 million foreigners residents, according to data from the Ministry of Migration and Immigration.

RB / HB