Venezuelans fleeing crisis face desperate hike to 12,000 feet

The Refugee Brief, 21 February

By Kate Bond | 21 February, 2019 WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW Venezuelans fleeing crisis face desperate hike to 12,000 feet. Thousands of Venezuelans continue to leave their country amid shortages of food, water, electricity and medicine, as well as political tensions. Many go on foot, writes The New York Times, trekking a treacherous 125-mile journey over a 12,000-foot pass in the Andes Mountains. Some people with HIV, adds the Guardian, are fleeing to Peru to get the antiretrovirals they need to survive. Last week, Euronews reported that the number of citizens leaving the country will continue to rise, citing projections by UNHCR. The refugee agency said that if the upward trend continues, it is estimated that 5.3 million inhabitants will have left Venezuela by the end of December 2019, or one in six people. Donations pour in for Syrian refugees who lost children in fire. A fundraising drive for a Syrian refugee couple who were resettled to Canada in 2017 and lost all seven of their children in a house fire on Tuesday has raised C$339,042 (around US$250,000). According to the crowdfunding website GoFundMe, the money came from almost 6,000 people within 24 hours. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was among the hundreds of people who gathered at a vigil for the family on Wednesday night. All seven children, ranging in age from 4 months to 15 years old, died in the blaze, and the father is said to be in critical condition in hospital. In a Facebook post , the Hants East Assisting Refugee Team (HEART), the group that sponsored the family, said it seemed “impossible we won’t hear their laughter and feel their hugs again.” WHAT’S ON OUR RADAR Irish watchdog: Enrol Syrian refugee children in schools. Syrian children living in emergency reception centres in Ireland should be enrolled in local schools while they wait to be housed, the country’s children’s watchdog has said. According to the ombudsman for children, those living in the three centres in Ireland are “not receiving appropriate education”. Jordan's PM appeals for more aid for Syrian refugees. Jordan’s Prime Minister Omar al-Razzaz has appealed to major donors to continue funding for Syrian refugees in the kingdom, with many unlikely to return home soon. He said maintaining funding that covers education, health and services for tens of thousands of Syrian refugees and local communities was “crucial”. Myanmar refugees in Thailand to return. Over 500 Myanmar refugees in Thailand are returning to their former villages amid improving security in south-eastern Myanmar, according to UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. More than 97,000 refugees from Myanmar are living in nine camps along the Thai-Myanmar border, mainly ethnic Karen and Karenni. The return is part of a voluntary repatriation led by the Thai and Myanmar governments with UNHCR’s support. The agency and its partners are providing returnees with counselling and information at their destinations. GET INSPIRED A diner staffed by Yemeni chefs and waiters on South Korea's Jeju Island is bringing refugees and their hosts together over food. DID YOU KNOW? The Venezuelan Pharmaceutical Federation estimates AIDS-related deaths in the country have more than doubled as a result of an 85 per cent shortage of medicines.

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