Coronavirus compounds misery among “most vulnerable” South American refugees

By Elket Rodríguez

Immigrants in South America are the "most vulnerable among the vulnerable" on the continent, especially in the wake of COVID-19, reported Loida Carriel, the Latin American and Caribbean regional advocacy advisor for Tearfund, a Christian nonprofit that focuses on ending poverty.  

"Even with the stay-at-home orders, they are exposing themselves on the streets, trying to sell whatever they can to survive," Carriel said. "Without a home, without food and with physical strain, they are an easy grip for the effects of Covid-19."

Carriel lives in Guayaquil, Ecuador, where dead bodies lie alone in hospitals, in homes and on the streets. Fear of dying is spreading rapidly, she conceded, noting, "Seeing that so many friends are dying or suffering, has made me rethink [life]." 

The death toll has escalated so rapidly, Guayaquil officials have distributed cardboard coffins and set up a helpline for citizens who need corpses to be removed from their homes.   

"I have reported on the war between Ecuador and Peru before, and I've never been terrified like I am now," said Carriel, a journalist who has reported widely in Latin America. "It is different now, because (with any decision) you can end up doing damage to your family."

Among South American immigrants, Venezuelans are most affected. The country's political and economic instability has resulted in the exodus of more than 5 million citizens in the past five years.    

"In Ecuador, we have around 500,000 Venezuelan immigrants with enormous needs," Carriel estimated. "Some of the food rations distributed by the (South American) governments are only meant for nationals."

In addition, migrants do not have access to basic services needed to survive a pandemic. 

"To this dire situation, add the collapsed health care systems we have in South America, where even nationals don't have access to a good quality of health care in normal circumstances," Carriel explained. 

Xenophobia also is on the rise in South America, especially in Peru, where citizens have protested against Venezuelan immigrants. 

But a Peruvian pastor has stepped up to help the immigrants. Manuel Castillo, pastor of Primera Iglesia Evangelica Bautista in Lima, has developed three ministries to serve and protect them. 

Castillo operates a shelter for 40 Venezuelan immigrants who receive breakfast, lunch and dinner every day. The church also operates a food pantry that distributes lunch to 100 immigrants daily. 

When the pandemic increased the need for food the church opened a third ministry. "Last week, we started a food-basket delivery program,” Castillo explained. “We fed 250 families. The basket will feed a family for a week. 

"We don't know if we are going to be able to do it next week, because this was just temporary. But I've already received more than 500 phone calls of people asking for help. People are hungry."

Castillo is excited about expanding his feeding ministry. He's also positive about the results the pandemic will have on the church.

"The church will not be the same after this quarantine," he predicted. "We needed to get out of our caged security and embody Christ. We had to get out to the streets. This is our opportunity."  

Primera Iglesia Evangelica Bautista faces an overwhelming challenge as it attempts to serve people living and sleeping on the streets, brought on by unemployment and evictions. The church’s resources are scarce, but members are determined to continue assisting the vulnerable, especially the Venezuelan immigrants. 

"There are over 1.2 million Venezuelans in Peru. When we saw their need, we decided to be pertinent to the need in our community," Castillo said. "They are mostly unemployed right now. We will continue doing what we can."  

Inside Venezuela, the situation is similar for Venezuelans who remained home. Extreme poverty and insecurity haunt them. Hyperinflation robs them of the ability to earn enough money to support themselves and their families.

"We are alive because God is making miracles," Pastor Ivan Martinez of Iglesia Bautista Salem in Carabobo said. "People are cutting mortadella slices and eating them with pasta. We don't have money to buy eggs or meat."

Martinez's church operates a food distribution center that feeds about 500 families per week. 

"We used to feed 100 families per week before the coronavirus hit us," Martinez said. "We only have $32 in our church's benevolence budget. We give out love baskets that contain rice, cereal, milk, sugar, pasta, tuna and spaghetti."  

"We are totally marginalized. We are getting beyond poor, we are in a critical state," Martinez concluded. 

Elket Rodríguez is the immigrant and refugee advocacy and missions specialist for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and Fellowship Southwest.