Brazil is home to at least 9,552 people who have fled 82 different countries due to persecution or serious human rights violations. By 2014, most of the refugees who chose to live in Brazil were from Africa (42%) or the Middle East (44%), with Syrian (31%), Angolan (14%), Congolese (12%), Lebanese (8%) and Colombian (7.5%) nationalities standing out.
Brazil is home to at least 9,552 people who have fled 82 different countries due to persecution or serious human rights violations. By 2014, most of the refugees who chose to live in Brazil were from Africa (42%) or the Middle East (44%), with Syrian (31%), Angolan (14%), Congolese (12%), Lebanese (8%) and Colombian (7.5%) nationalities standing out.
This data is part of the study Refuge in Brazil: characterization of the socio-demographic profiles of refugees, launched today (26) by the Institute for Applied Economic Research (Ipea). The study analyzes 4,150 grants of refuge received by Brazil between 1998 and 2014, as well as documents from civil society institutions and international bodies that work with refugees. Although the country is not a usual destination for refugees, the mapping shows that there has been a significant increase in the number of applications in the last decade. Until 2011, Brazil registered 180 applications for refugee status per year. In 2015, there were 7,662.
According to Ipea researchers, this change is marked by the so-called Arab Spring, a sequence of protests that shook Arab countries from 2010 onwards, and the civil war in Syria, which has a major impact on Lebanon. By 2012, there were 50 Syrian refugees in Brazil, a figure that reached 1,739 just two years later. In the case of the Lebanese, the proportional increase was 1,255,17% between 2011 and 2014, according to the research carried out in partnership with the National Committee for Refugees (Conare) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
The explosion in the number of refugees is a challenge for the whole world. In 2016, the number of people who migrated due to war or persecution reached the highest figure since the Second World War: 65 million people, according to the United Nations. "Refugees are a consequence, not a cause. They leave where they are for political reasons, religious persecution or other conditions that make it less dignified to be where they live," said Ipea president Ernesto Lozardo, who celebrated the fact that Brazilian legislation is recognized throughout the world as one of the most progressive when it comes to receiving these people. "Brazil has a framework that can welcome them, a refugee law that guarantees people's dignity," he said.
Two types of immigration
The cases analyzed by Ipea were divided into two groups: requests for eligibility, when people arrive spontaneously at the country's borders and seek refuge, and requests for resettlement, when, through UNHCR, refugees are displaced from other countries where they sought protection. In this situation, 168 requests were identified, mainly involving Colombians (68%) and Palestinians (21%). On the other hand, 3,982 came via eligibility, which represents 89.1% of the total.
In addition to nationality, there are gender differences between the two groups which highlight the fact that women are registered mainly as accompanying persons, according to Ipea. Among those recognized via eligibility, 73% are male and 27% are female. In the case of those resettled, the figures are 55% and 45%, respectively. In both cases, the predominant profile is male and aged between 18 and 59. This age group includes 80% of the members of the first group and 70% of the second.
With regard to education, the survey shows that many refugees have a basic education (eligibility 19% and resettlement 29%), high school (eligibility 29% and resettlement 21%) or higher education/technical training (eligibility 22% and resettlement 14%). Despite their qualifications, getting these people into work is a challenge. One of the main obstacles is language, since only 21% of the applicants declared that they spoke Portuguese when they applied for refuge. Among the most common languages are Arabic, English, French, Spanish and Lingala (a language native to the Democratic Republic of Congo).
In the four years following the approval of Law 9.474/97, the legal framework for refugees in Brazil, the most sought-after states were São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro (RJ). As the year went by, São Paulo continued to concentrate the largest contingent of refugees (26%), but other places were added to the refugee route, such as Acre (22%), Rio Grande do Sul (17%) and Paraná (12%), according to 2014 UNHCR data highlighted in the survey.
The dramatic situation in their countries means that many of them don't even have the opportunity to choose where they are going. Of the refugees surveyed, only 56% said they knew that Brazil was their country of destination. "These people go where they can survive," said João Brígido Bezerra Lima, a researcher at Ipea and one of the authors of the book launched today. Refugees then start to live and work in precarious conditions, which is why "the character of vulnerability is associated with them", which can reveal itself in the form of prejudice.
Faced with this situation, the Brazilian government hopes that the research can contribute to the development of public policies. This expectation was expressed by the Ministry of Justice's National Secretary for Justice and Citizenship, Astério Pereira dos Santos. "Here [in the research], we have several fundamental inputs for the implementation of public policies aimed at refugees," he said. He pointed out that although Brazil has cutting-edge legislation, "it is important that there are policies aimed at making this law effective".
Venezuelan migrants
UNHCR official Paulo Sérgio de Almeida pointed out that Brazil is currently facing the challenge of making legislation on immigrants effective. This is because the country has received a large population of Venezuelans. Their massive arrival has taken place in the last two years, which is why they were not included in the Ipea survey. Nevertheless, a recently released study by the National Immigration Council (CNIg), with the support of the UNHCR, [http://agenciabrasil.ebc.com.br/direitos-humanos/noticia/2017-09/pesquisa-51-venezuelanos-nao-indigenas-no-brasil-recebem-menos-de] showed that 16,000 Venezuelans have recently migrated to Brazil, with more than 8,000 crossing the border in 2017 alone.
Most of this population is in Roraima, a state that has had the support of the government and UNHCR to establish policies for receiving, welcoming and integrating them. These migrants do not necessarily qualify as refugees, as many did not come to Brazil to flee persecution, but in search of better living conditions. Despite this situation, they have also faced obstacles in obtaining jobs that match their qualifications and even in taking part in Brazil's cultural life. Faced with this situation, Paulo Sérgio de Almeida recalled that the presence of people from other nationalities should be seen as an opportunity for Brazil, since it is not only an opportunity for the country, but also an opportunity for the country.
They contribute with their knowledge and cultural diversity.
Carlos Mussi, director of the Economic Commission for Latin America (ECLAC) office in Brazil, explained that the situation in Roraima is illustrative of this challenge, which is not just related to resources, but to the complexity of developing policies in various areas and with the participation of different federal entities. For him, the ability to respond to unexpected refugee situations will define the role Brazil can play on the world stage.
Source:agenciabrasil.ebc.com.b