Afghan refugees arriving in Colombia will be accommodated in hotels and receive medical assistance: Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Before the imminent arrival of four thousand afghans in the country, the vice-president and chancellor, Marta Lucia Ramirez, assured that these will not be dispersed on Colombian territory, but will be concentrated in Bogota while completing their transit to the United States.

Ramírez provided details on where they will be hosted as well as the actions that will undertake Migration Colombia to issue temporary permits allowing Afghan refugees to stay and move around the country.

Here are some of the details provided by the Vice President and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Colombia:

– The group, which will remain in Bogotá, will be accommodated in hotels in the city, like Tequendama, located in the center of the city

– Travel logistics will be provided by the US Air Force to airlift refugees from Kabul

– Migration Colombia will manage the documents to stay temporarily in the country

– In collaboration with the city’s health authorities, PCR tests as well as biological tests will be provided to Afghan refugees to fight against covid-19

Regarding the arrival of the group of refugees, transported by the North American Air Force, Ramírez said that the date of arrival is not yet known:

Currently, this data is being defined by the United States government, the Presidency of Colombia, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Migration Colombia, however, it is not yet a specific problem.

Afghan refugees who will arrive in the country served in government and international agencies

The Vice President confirmed that those who will be welcomed by the country are people who had ties to the Afghan and North American governments, international agencies and NGO workers, among others.

At the request of the mayors of Barranquilla and Cali, who offered their cities to welcome the Afghan diaspora, Ramírez was conclusive stressing that the point of reception will be Bogotá:

A people fleeing the horror that everyone will want to be close to among their compatriots. Spreading them may not be the best or the most convenient for them. What is clear is that they will not be distributed nationwide

Even if Migration Colombia to issue temporary permits to Afghan refugees, Ramírez did not say if any of them would need temporary status to stay in the country, a situation linked to negotiations between the North American and Colombian governments.

However, the Vice President and Chancellor felt that The refugees will stay in Colombia for a short time: “We hope that the stay of Afghans in Colombia will be relatively short, according to what has been declared by the government of the United States,” Ramírez said.

Migration Colombia: to manage temporary permits

In dialogue with Yamid Amat and the newspaper El Tiempo, the director of the entity, Juan Francisco Espinosa, reported the role that will play in welcoming the group of refugees:

“His temporary stay in Colombia is being considered. These are foreigners who do not intend to stay permanently on the national territory; their protection is sought for the duration of their immigration process in the United States. We are not faced with a population uncertain of its future; they will be protected while they continue to the United States ”.

According to the figures of the entity provided by Espinosa, in the country there are “a little more” than two million foreign residents, 87% of whom correspond to Venezuelan citizens, that is 1, 7 million who have arrived in the country especially since the exodus due to the crisis on the other side of the border.

Of these, it is estimated that a million are in an irregular situation and it is they who have the possibility of accessing Temporary Protection Status.

According to Espinosa, It is following the Venezuelan migration of recent years that Colombia has become one of the migratory centers of the world, whereas before this situation, it was mainly an exodus of Colombians abroad. ..

A floating and resident migration which was accentuated with the crises in countries like Haiti which produced a dam of more than 12,000 people in the municipality of Necoclí.

Regarding Afghan refugees Countries like Chile, Mexico, Italy, Denmark and Costa Rica have expressed their willingness to the United States to receive them, as has Colombia..

President Duque explained that the commitment to the United States is to streamline immigration procedures so that transit is faster.

KEEP READING: