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'They wanted a better life': the young Venezuelans escaping into Brazil alone
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/feb/24/venezuela-children-minors-brazil-migrationBetween July and December last year, at least 422 Venezuelan children and teenagers entered Brazil through its northern border without their parents or guardians, according to the public defender’s office. Some were as young as 11.
A recent report by the Venezuelan investigative news website Armando.info said 25,000 unaccompanied minors had left since 2015, mostly for Colombia and Brazil.
The surge in arrivals has been such that the UN’s agency for children, Unicef, recently opened two homes in Boa Vista, the nearest major city to the border, to cater specifically to young migrants.
“They come to Brazil hoping to find some kind of work, to survive and to help their families back in Venezuela,” said Ligia Prado da Rocha, a public defender who monitors incoming minors at the Brazilian border.
Rocha said most of the underage and unaccompanied arrivals were – like Jesús – boys aged 15 to 17 who often ended up being exploited on the streets of Boa Vista.
