In Chile, they burnt tents where Colombian and Venezuelan migrants were sleeping

A group of demonstrators from the city of Iquique, in northern Chile, gathered for a demonstration against the migrant population who settled in the squares and parks. After the authorities expelled the irregulars, some people burned their property and the tents in which they slept.

The migratory flows from the north of the continent, mainly from Venezuela and Colombia, are directed towards the capitals of the south. In Chile, migrants cross unauthorized crossings of the Bolivian border, arrive in the community of Colchane, then settle in Iquique, on their way to Santiago.

Although the main nationality of migrants is Venezuelan, due to the fact that they live in their country, Large numbers of Colombians also come to Chile, joined by Dominicans and Haitians in search of better life opportunities.

However, levels of migration have led to violent and aggressive actions against migrants. This Saturday, protesters in Iquique and other towns in northern Chile demonstrated against irregular residents and burned their property.

Protesters, according to the Nuevo Herald, carried banners with messages such as “No more unwanted migrants” or “Close the borders now”, and they also shouted slogans such as “Chileans first” or “to resume. the city “. The protest created an atmosphere of tension in the city.

Protesters attacked makeshift tents that migrants had set up in Plaza Brasil, where clothes, mattresses, strollers or cardboard boxes used to build their kiosks were set on fire. The authorities had expelled the migrants the day before, but the spirits did not calm down because they had to settle in other parts of the city.

In this place, for several months, migrant camps have been established which cross the unauthorized crossings of the northern border, from Venezuela and from Nariño and Valle del Cauca in Colombia. They settled there as a crossing point to Santiago de Chile, the capital, a little less than 2,000 kilometers away.

Most of the migrants who settle there claim to have relatives or friends in the country who can help them settle. Likewise, the population that arrives in search of refuge evolves with more irregulars arriving daily.

According to the mayor of Iquique, Mauricio Soria, thehe city is home to more than 1,000 migrants who have settled in parks and squares, a situation that has prevented residents from taking advantage of these spaces again.

The president, according to the Associated Press, stressed that these were not xenophobic actions, but said they were “A march of discontent, that we must not make mistakes, it is because the measures were not taken to make it happen in an orderly manner.”

The mayor criticized the actions of the Chilean national government because it did not take control of the border and many migrants are not identified. Likewise, the evictions they have carried out only move people to other places, but they do not ultimately solve the problem.

Xenophobia and opposition to migrants has manifested itself in an increase in migratory flows in Chile, which It has grown from 16,848 people in 2020 to 23,000 in the first half of 2021, of which more than 7,000 have crossed the northern border.

In addition, the situation was also triggered by disinformation due to fake news being disseminated against migrants. Some believe that those who arrive irregularly are Venezuelan prisoners who have been released by the government of their country, a false rumor that has also spread in Colombia against the migrant population.

Authorities have announced investigations to shed light on the violent events, while Sebastián Piñera’s government seeks to reactivate mass expulsions of irregular people, such as those it has already advanced during the year, despite opposition from the authorities judicial and international. authorities.

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