Action coordinated by Manaus City Hall in partnership with United Nations agencies is part of the local response to protect refugees and migrants from Venezuela
Manaus, 04 de setembro de 2020 – A group of 81 indigenous Venezuelans were relocated this Thursday (September 3) to a new shelter in Manaus. Led by the city government, through the Municipal Secretariat for Women, Social Assistance and Citizenship (Semasc), in partnership with various United Nations agencies, the transfer is a continuation of the response to the influx of indigenous Venezuelan refugees and migrants of the Warao ethnic group in the city, intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Located in the Tarumã-Açu neighbourhood, on the west side of the city, the space has a hammock, a room for collective work (respecting the maximum number for occupancy, according to recommendations from health organizations), technical rooms, a canteen, toilets, washbasins and hand-washing points. The space will offer psychosocial care and recreational activities, as well as guidance and referrals to the social assistance network.
By July 2020, 158 indigenous people who had been accommodated in temporary spaces erected during the COVID-19 pandemic had already been relocated to a neighboring shelter.
Supporting the action were the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). Civil society institutions such as Instituto Mana, ADRA and Aldeias Infantis SOS Brasil, as well as the Municipal Health Department (SEMSA), were also involved.
"It's better here, there's more security and space. It was an old desire to come here, so now we just have to thank you for the help we're receiving and all the support with transport, hammocks and shelter," said Edilza Sanchez, 27, a Warao indigenous woman recognized as a Venezuelan refugee by the Brazilian government, who has been in the country for just over a year.
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has been working to protect the indigenous population in the city, providing technical support for the management of shelters, the construction of temporary isolation areas for suspected COVID-19 cases, as well as the delivery of individual and collective hygiene kits, hammocks, mattresses, covers and other basic items.
With the support of the Mana Institute, the UNHCR has also carried out various protection and communication activities with the community, helping to set up management committees and facilitating the exchange of health information among the population via the Yakera Jokonae community radio station, which is currently led by the indigenous people themselves. More than 10,000 basic necessities, such as cleaning and hygiene kits, beds and mattresses have already been distributed.
In addition to providing technical support for the relocations, during the period when the pandemic was at its worst in Manaus, the IOM has already provided more than 18,000 meals to the Warao sheltered by the City Hall, and has also reinforced the supply of sanitary pads, diapers and other basic necessities, including drinking fountains. In this new space, the IOM will also implement health actions in partnership with Semasc and Semsa and other United Nations agencies.
Por meio do seu Programa de Assistência Humanitária, o Fundo de População das Nações Unidas (UNFPA) realiza atividades de sensibilização comunitária nas temáticas de saúde sexual e reprodutiva, planejamento familiar e prevenção e resposta à violência baseada em gênero, visando promover a autonomia e facilitar o acesso a direitos e aos serviços da rede pública local. As equipes do UNFPA também trabalham identificando vulnerabilidades e necessidades de proteção social, dando o encaminhamento necessário. A atuação do Fundo de População é focada em mulheres, adolescentes, meninas, gestantes, lactantes, pessoas sobreviventes de violência baseada em gênero e pessoas vivendo com HIV.
As part of the COVID-19 response to the indigenous population, UNICEF has been working to promote community health, access to water, nutrition, hygiene and sanitation, education and the protection of children and adolescents. In these new spaces, UNICEF and its partners Aldeias Infantis SOS Brasil and ADRA, work on dialog with the communities about the new shelter and on health assessments of the population, ensuring that possible cases of people symptomatic in relation to COVID are identified.
Safe spaces of protection and education for children and adolescents, the Super Panas, are also being consolidated together with Children's Villages, as well as health, nutrition, water, hygiene and sanitation actions through ADRA.
Situation in Venezuela
Since the beginning of the influx of Venezuelans in Latin America, which intensified in 2017, more than 5.1 million people have left their country. Around 264,000 have applied for migratory regularization in Brazil, according to federal government data from June. Recently, 46,000 people were recognized as refugees by the Brazilian government. More than 129,000 Venezuelans have applied for temporary residence.