Thousands of indigenous Warao people, mostly hailing from the Orinoco Delta in eastern Venezuela, have fled to Brazil to seek a new life.
Thousands of indigenous Warao people, mostly hailing from the Orinoco Delta in eastern Venezuela, have fled to Brazil to seek a new life.
Anxious to escape the escalating economic and social crises at home, hundreds have made their way to makeshift camps in the Amazonian city of Manaus, in the north of the country.
Hector Calderon, an indigenous man, said he made his way to the city after a friend told him food and clothes would be available there.
Marimar Gonzales added that she, too, was in search of food.
“There isn’t any food in Venezuela. That’s why we came here,” she told reporters.
#Venezuela: around 900 native Warao people (indigenous to the Orinoco Delta) have fled to #Brazil as the crisis back homes worsens pic.twitter.com/pLzRG4QgsQ
— Thomas van Linge (@arabthomness) May 9, 2017
The Manaus city governor has declared a social emergency and is calling for state and federal help.
Brazil’s Ministry of Justice claims over 5,400 Venezuelans have requested visas and the right to remain in the country.
Nearby hospitals and schools are said to have been put under strain as a result of the numbers entering the country.
According to local media reports, many Venezuelans have been deported amid concerns about vagrancy and begging.