It was Friday night in Lima and Gustavo Borrero, one of the 180 Venezuelans who will be repatriated on Tuesday and Wednesday to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela from the Republic of Peru, counted the hours for his return to the country while guiding the vehicles that were parked in an avenue of the Peruvian capital.
He arrived in Peru about five months ago, that for him were “an eternity”. Xenophobia and limited work opportunities were the main reasons why he decided to voluntarily adhere to the Plan Vuelta a la Patria sponsored by the Government of Venezuela since August 2018.
“I went by bus and it was a horrible journey, I could not wait to get there and now I can not wait to leave (…) They are totally different cultures, there is no respect, there are no values, there is no consideration”, said Borrero a few days after his return to Venezuela.
In Lima, the resources he was able to obtain from his last informal job, parking and washing vehicles, were always insufficient to cover his stay and needs; Even during the last weeks his nights were spent in the open.
“Since I could not pay more for the hotel where I stayed, I sleep where the night grabs me, I have had a lot of sleep in the street, what I earn is only for ‘half-eating’, I have more than two months of crossed arms because I can not get a job and when I get it, they want to pay less than its value”, said the Venezuelan.
On the contrary in Venezuela, he argues, despite the current economic conditions there will always be opportunities.
“We must fight and move forward for our country, there is nothing more beautiful than being in your country with your family and your friends”, he added.
A similar story is that of Eduardo Manzabel and his family, who after a month in Peru returns to Venezuela on Tuesday with the Plan Vuelta a la Patria.
Manzabel with his wife and son traveled to Peru attending a supposed work offer for him that, although it included his transfer to the Inca nation, turned out to be a hoax.
“In Venezuela I have my own home and work (…) I came because they made me believe in a better offer and it was not like that, when I arrived in Peru it was bad for me because on the second day we had to sleep in the street, they paid me everything and it turns out that it was a lie”, he narrated from a humble room where they spent the night in the suburbs of Lima.
His wife Yasmín Cuervo accompanied him in the decision and traveled to Peru thinking of a “great future” for the family.
“In the end it was all a lie, and so there are many Venezuelans who are being deceived, do not go through the experience that we had, it is horrible to sleep on the street and like us, we have seen Venezuelans currently sleeping in the street with their little children”, he adds.
Uphill Health
From a room in a modest hostel in Lima, Karol Lopez, another Venezuelan who returns Tuesday, gave testimony of the difficulties she faced during her 10 months in Peru.
“They told me that I could do well working but it was not like that; I came to seek a better life for my family and my health because I suffer from diabetes. Here I was declining little by little, I was diagnosed with osteoporosis, diabetes rose a lot and I went into depression, I was unemployed, because of my condition they fired me”, he confessed.
Lopez spent her last days in Lima with the support of the diplomatic mission of Venezuela in Peru.
“I have been bad because of the situation of many Venezuelans who are here under great needs. I came to be a warrior woman and I return with a cane in my hand”, she added through tears.
Karol López, 50 years old woman, also claims to have been the victim of xenophobia and abuse in the workplace.
Other nationals also denounced the physical and verbal aggressions suffered by their children in schools and the obligation to sign a letter of refuge upon arriving in Peru even when they traveled to that country for specific reasons.
In this new day of the Plan Vuelta a la Patria from Peru, which will take place between Tuesday and Wednesday, 180 Venezuelans will be repatriated in two flights of the state’s Conviasa.
The Venezuelan consul in Lima, Marlon Celegon, emphasized that through the Plan Vuelta a la Patria from Peru, health cases, elderly people, pregnant mothers, single mothers and family groups have been prioritized.
On this occasion, the diplomat said, 15% of citizens are elderly, 40% are minors and the rest are adults.
“The Consulate of Lima attends between 400 and 700 people daily, of which 10% request to return to Venezuela voluntarily, from there the selection is made”, complemented the Consul Celegon and stressed that the Plan Vuelta a la Patria “is a social plan at the initiative of our president Nicolás Maduro Moros”.
The Plan Vuelta a la Patria has guaranteed, since its launch in August 2018, the return to Venezuela of 14,341 nationals from Brazil (7,055); Peru (2,831); Ecuador (2,797); Colombia (764); Dominican Republic (276); Argentina (434); Chile (272); Panama (1) and Uruguay (1).
