The presence of Venezuelans in the country and, of course, in Pereira and its surroundings, generates mixed feelings in the community. There are people who seem to understand their situation, but in other communities they only generate rejection and hatred. Headlines such as “16% of the homeless in Colombia are Venezuelans”, “Pereira Personnel alert for sexual exploitation of migrant minors”, “Venezuelans are begging in Pereira”, “Venezuelans involved in robberies”, are continuously reported in this capital and lead some Risaraldenses to engage in xenophobic behavior.
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Despite these situations, which overshadow the relations between Pereirans and Venezuelans, there are other citizens who show the Risaraldian idiosyncrasy based on help, empathy and resilience for the other. So you can also read headlines, such as: “Campaign to donate dinner to Venezuelan families”, “Schools must guarantee places for migrants”, “Venezuelans received humanitarian protection”. This whole situation shows that, despite bad times and difficult situations, the Venezuelan community has also received help.
The phrase “the good are more” is not a lie. It is demonstrated by José Luis Antonio Gavazut, a 54-year-old man born in Caracas (Venezuela), who, due to the situation in his country, made the decision, like many of his countrymen, to migrate to another nation. He arrived in Colombia four years ago. A math teacher, he has experienced adversity, but what he did not expect is that his story would be replicated by a photograph of him at the traffic lights in Pereira, where he asked for help to find a job. It went viral on social networks and so many people, fortunately for him, were able to contact him.
This image of the teacher asking for help at traffic lights went viral on social networks.
Photo:Private Archive / The Newspaper – Pereira
“In Venezuela I studied pure mathematics and dedicated myself to teaching for almost 20 years. Then I was in a car accident, which is why they fitted me with a prosthesis. Due to the situation in my country, I had to migrate, more than half of the professionals left. The workload is a minimum of eight hours a day, but you have to add the hours of correcting tasks, evaluations. In what time can a person go out to search to round up their salary? Not to mention that they only paid us two dollars a month, that’s how no one can support themselves,” José told El Diario.
Faced with so much difficulty, looking for an opportunity for his family, José came to Colombia to try to support himself and send something to his country: “I arrived in Pereira in 2018. I never thought he would ever teach again.”
I started selling fast food in the park in Cuba. For a year I sold delicious products, stuffed potatoes, empanadas, pork rinds, that’s how I defended myself. With the arrival of the pandemic, the authorities talked to the vendors and made us evict. Understandable, due to sanitary conditions. That led us to stay in the air, not knowing what to do or how to hold on. But a friend I met reached out to me, helped me to have a roof over my head, he didn’t leave me alone. Now came the rummage to get the meal.
To classes with teacher José
His friend asked him what his strength was, what his profession was, and he replied: “mathematics teacher”. Then they distributed posters around Pereira. Little by little, mothers appeared to help. “I have to point out that the first people who called me were Doña Teresa and Doña Lorena. Thanks to them I survived. They are the mothers of some of my students. So I started teaching classes. When I realized it, I already had a large group and I was able to help them with their work. Everything was going well, but in January of this year, the prosthesis that I handle broke, it opened, I made a repair, but it is not the same and that was the problem. Most of the students that he had obtained in Pereira, Dosquebradas, La Virginia, could not visit them, they could not stand long walks. The rubbing of the prosthesis bothers me, because I can’t stand one more patch and it is seriously affecting me. So I was left with no way to continue with the work that I had already been developing, which gave me to sustain myself”.
The Venezuelan teacher who teaches in Pereira and asked for money on the streets
Photo:The Daily – Pereira
José, desperate and not knowing what to do, once again invented something for himself. “Even if I fall a thousand times I come back and stop. Seeing that everything was complicated, I made a banner to recruit students virtually. Since I had no way to publish it, I went to the stoplight, not to ask, but to make it known that I work and needed to do it. Someone came, took a picture of me, I didn’t realize when, but it ended up on Facebook and this went viral in record time. They have called me a lot and it is very satisfying that they believe in my work, also because I do it with great pleasure. I came to this country to work, to improve my quality of life and that of my family.”
The incredible thing about this story is that many have turned to help him. They state that these are welcome Venezuelans and that it is excellent to see a community that is hardworking and moving forward. José says that Pereira is a paradise and that he thanks life for coming here. “Everything has been a blessing, I don’t think I’ll leave here, I planted my heart in this territory. I love to show that we are good people, that we like to work, achieve what is ours, but without a doubt the best thing is to meet citizens with such kindness and affection, this city is characterized precisely by that”. Like José, there are many Venezuelans who have come to the Coffee Region to support the growth and development of the region.
Fact
Clever León, associate of the UNHCR office, highlighted the importance of joining efforts to serve this population that is significant in Risaralda: “according to figures from Migration Colombia, at the end of October 2021 51,351 Venezuelans were reported in the Coffee Region, of which 35% in Pereira and 13% in Dosquebradas. According to the Secretary of Social Development of Pereira, the number of Venezuelans amounts to 21,000 in the city.
ALEXANDRA MONCADA*
The Daily – Pereira
United Colombia
