The Venezuelan Exodus
Nearly 5 million people have fled Venezuela as the South American country spirals into an economic and political crisis. Hyperinflation has turned country's currency, Bolivars, into little more than colorful scraps of paper, leaving people starving. Meanwhile the authoritarian government of President Nicolás Maduro stamps out opposition, often violently.
Migrants flee across the region, landing everywhere from Colombia, to Peru, to Chile. The mass-migration is one of the biggest in the world, surpassed by only Syria, yet in international aid, migrants receive pennies on the dollar compared to their Syrian counterparts.
The lack of aid has had serious humanitarian ripple effects, which I have documented over years of reporting on the crisis in Colombia. Medical facilities, soup kitchens and migrant shelters are overwhelmed by influx of people, unable to meet the needs of the growingly vulnerable populations arriving to their doorstep. Unable to afford bus tickets, families walk sometimes hundreds or thousands of miles through extreme conditions. The Colombia-Venezuela border region is defined by instability, violence, illegal groups, human trafficking and more, pushing fleeing Venezuelans to extremes.
